Lowering Millage Rates in Coral Gables Raises Political Temperature

When your city is ranked as the most expensive zip code in America, besting Beverly Hills, you would think its local elected officials would advocate for ways to offer tax relief to their residents, right? Apparently, not in Coral Gables. A proposal last week from Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago to lower the city’s millage rate by 2% during the city’s budget workshop was voted down by three commissioners. Instead of tax relief, the city residents got one of the most acrimonious city council meetings in years, full of yelling, table pounding, calls for resignations, and even accusations of politicians needing breaks to take “their pills”

According to Florida state stature, all municipalities require a 4/5 vote to adopt a new millage rate for next year. Without that supermajority vote, the city of Coral Gables would have to adopt a roll back rate, instead of the staff proposal which would keep the current millage rate in place. The problem with keeping the millage rate at its current level, said Lago and Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson, is that residents would in fact pay more due to the increases in property values.

Towards the end of the meeting, Commissioner Kirk Menendez, who is up for reelection next April, made the motion to keep the millage rate at its current, but his motion ultimately failed 3-2. A few days later, Menendez was the target of a text message sent citywide by a political committee that supports Mayor Lago, informing residents that Menendez didn’t support the tax reduction proposed by the Mayor.

The Commission will reconvene in early August to discuss this matter again, but unless Lago or Anderson cave, or two of the three commissioners that voted against the proposal change their minds, the city will have to adopt a rollback rate, that may create headaches for the city manager and the administration, but that will ultimately benefit the city’s taxpayers.