Community Newspapers SERVING MIAMI-DADE COUNTY SINCE 1958
SUN
JANUARY 31 , 2011
INSIDE THIS
ISSUE WHERE IN THE WORLD IS SIB SUN
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SUNNY ISLES BEACH AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM
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FOUR SEASON WINTER JAZZ CONCERT
S unny I sles B each
VOL. 29, NO. 5
State of the Union BY MAYOR NORMAN S. EDELCUP Dear Citizens of Sunny Isles Beach: According to the City Charter, the Mayor is to present a “State of the City” message on an annual basis in January. This affords the Office of the Mayor the ability to inform our citizens about important issues that came before your City Commission this past year. It is my pleasure and privilege as Mayor of Sunny Isles Beach to report to you, the citizens of our wonderful City, that the state of the City’s financial condition continues to be very secure and strong. This past year we have been able to maintain our funding on scheduled capital improvement projects and at the same time maintain a healthy general fund reserve in excess of $10 million. During the past 3 years the financial and real estate markets in this country suffered the worst downfall since “The Great Depression” in the 1930s. Locally we have seen real estate values drop by as much as 25 to 50 percent. In recognizing these economic changes the City Commissioners and I set into motion important policy and budgetary changes affecting the financial wellbeing of our City. The projected budget for 2011 is $27.8
million, a 1% increase from 2010. According to the Miami-Dade County Tax Assessor’s Office, property values in Sunny Isles Beach - excluding new construction, dropped overall from $5.9 billion to $5.2 billion which basically reduced tax bills for everyone. The City added $454 million in new construction to our tax base in 2010. This basically offsets most of the decrease in the existing real estate tax base. In the seven years that I have been Mayor, our taxable property values have risen from $2.5 billion to $5.6 billion, an increase of 124% even after 3 years of economic down turn! Our millage rate of $2.886 per $1,000 of taxable value was a small increase from prior years of $2.65 per $1,000. The rate is 14% less than the 3.35 millage rate we had in 2003 when I became Mayor. The City of Sunny Isles Beach took advantage of its strong liquidity investment and borrowing capacity by taking out $18.5 million in loans from Sun Trust Bank and BBT. These funds will be used for developing parks in the southern and western areas of the City. The land provides necessary green space pursuant to the City’s Comprehensive Plan. The year 2010 got off to a fast start when the Bennett Lifter Beach Access was dedicated on January 30th 2010 at 19501 Collins Avenue. The beach access was named in
––––––––––––––––––––––––– See UNION, page 21
DAMIRA FELDMAN: PIANO AND EDUCATIONAL CONCERT SERIES, PG. 10
For information about events, call 305-792-1706
CITY HALL CLOSINGS Monday, Feb. 21 Presidents’ Day CLOSED SIB Government Center SIB Branch Library Pelican Community Park U.S. Post Office
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The Community Shuttle Bus runs the Green line from 7:30 am to 3:30 pm