MIAMI Dade County Brian Trachtman Beginnings of MiamiDade

MIAMI Dade County Brian Trachtman,

Beginnings of Miami-Dade County • After the US gained possession of Florida, area where Dade County is today was an area inhabited by people living off of items from shipwrecks • In the 1920 s after Henry Flagler built railroads through the area, the land was settled and tourist resorts started springing up. • After WWII, men from the war who trained in Miami returned to live their with their families. • Immigration in later years played a large role in the county’s government

Geography of Miami-Dade County • North, Central and Eastern portions are highly urbanized. • High rises • South Florida’s central business district • South: agricultural economy • Redland makes up 1/3 of land area and is not as densely populated as the North • The Unincorporated Municipal Services Area (USMA) refers to all areas in Miami-Dade County that are not a part of a muncipality

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Miami-Dade County Demographics • Immigration: • Thousands of Cuban refugees started coming to the area in the 1960 s. In 1962, this helped the county’s population surpass 1 million. • In the 1990 s, Haitians fled to Dade County to find a better life, causing to grow even more.

Impact on population • Population of Dade County in 1950 was 495, 000 before a lot of the immigrants living in the County now came • In 1972, the county’s population went over 1 million • 2010 census recorded a population in Dade County of 2, 496, 435 • Most populous county in Florida • 8 th most populous county in the United States • Dade County is Florida’s third largest

Miami vs. Miami-Dade County Government • Two-Tier system of government: • Cities are on the “lower tier” • Counties are on the “upper tier” • City of Miami’s powers: • Fire, police, zoning, code enforcement • Dade County’s powers: • Emergency management, airport and seaport operations, public housing and health care services, transportation, environmental services, solid waste disposal

Switching Municipal Powers from City of Miami to Dade County • Technical and political reasons: • Expansion on the metropolitan area proved to be too much to handle for the City of Miami or other municipalities • USMA has almost 50% of population in the county, but is not under the jurisdiction of any municipality • Consolidating governmental powers also reduced the Cubans impact on politics in Miami • Legislation first introduced in 1945, but no action was taken until 1953 • Metropolitan Miami Municipal Board (3 M board) set out to draft new government plan • Used newspapers to promote their new plan

Miami-Dade County Government Structure • Governed by a Board of Commissioners with 13 members, one for each district of the county. • Board is overseen by mayor of Miami-Dade County • Mayor has the right to veto any of the board’s actions within 10 days of the action

Dade County Government • Mayor: Carlos A. Gimenez • Currently has over 26, 0000 employees and a budget of over $6 billion • His mission includes reducing taxes and shrinking the size of government • Focused on stimulating job creation, expanding international trade, and attracting businesses and industries to the diversity of Miami-Dade County’s economic base.

Commissioners • The County is comprised of 13 districts and are represented by 13 commissioners. • Office of the Chair District 1 - Barbara J. Jordan District 2 - Jean Monestime District 3 - Audrey Edmonson District 4 - Sally A. Heyman District 5 - Bruno A. Barreiro District 6 - Rebeca Sosa District 7 - Xavier L. Suarez District 8 - Lynda Bell District 9 - Dennis C. Moss District 10 - Javier D. Souto District 11 - Joe A. Martinez District 12 - José "Pepe" Diaz District 13 - Esteban Bovo, Jr.

Discussion Questions • How can metropolitan areas handle urban sprawls in a different manner? • What do you think would happen if the city kept all of its powers to itself? • What other cities do you think could benefit from giving municipal powers to its county government and why?