Miami-Dade restores early-morning bus service, boosts public safety spending in new budget
Key Points(5)
- Miami-Dade County will restore early-morning service on dozens of bus routes and increase funding for public safety under its newly adopted budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year.
- The Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners approved the budget following its second and final public hearing on Sept.
- The spending plan keeps the county’s operating property tax rate unchanged while maintaining funding for several community programs.
- Among the most significant changes is the restoration of approximately $12.5 million for early-morning service on 45 bus routes, preserving transportation before 6 a.m.
- for residents who depend on the system to get to work.
Miami-Dade County will restore early-morning service on dozens of bus routes and increase funding for public safety under its newly adopted budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year.
The Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners approved the budget following its second and final public hearing on Sept. 17. The spending plan keeps the county’s operating property tax rate unchanged while maintaining funding for several community programs.
Among the most significant changes is the restoration of approximately $12.5 million for early-morning service on 45 bus routes, preserving transportation before 6 a.m. for residents who depend on the system to get to work. County Commission Chairman Anthony Rodriguez separately said $12.4 million was added to restore early bus routes that had been slated for cuts.
The county will also study a potential increase in transit fares, which have remained unchanged for more than 13 years. Officials estimate an increase could generate about $10 million in recurring annual revenue that could be used to restore late-evening bus service and improve the transit system’s long-term finances.
The issue is expected to be discussed when commissioners meet Oct. 6.
The adopted budget also increases funding for the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office by more than $67 million, bringing its total budget to approximately $1.2 billion. Additional funding is being directed to other parts of the county’s public safety system, including Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, Corrections and Rehabilitation, Emergency Management, the courts and violence prevention programs.
“Keeping our community safe requires a sustained investment across our public safety ecosystem which has been a priority for my administration since day one,” Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said.
The mayor said the county remains committed to providing the Sheriff’s Office with necessary resources while protecting Miami-Dade’s long-term financial stability.
The budget follows efforts to reduce county spending through the administration’s WISE305 initiative. According to the county, the initiative has produced $121 million in savings and cost reductions since 2025 and resulted in the elimination of more than 400 vacant positions. The original budget proposal kept the operating property tax rate flat for a fourth consecutive year, at its lowest level since 1982.
Environmental programs also received funding, with just over $20 million allocated to the Environmentally Endangered Lands program to maintain sensitive lands and plan for additional acquisitions.
Funding for community-based organizations and arts and cultural groups was maintained as part of the final spending plan.
“After months of hard work and conversations with both our Board of County Commissioners and our residents, I’m so proud of what we have accomplished together,” Levine Cava said. “We passed a balanced, fiscally responsible budget that lives within our means and protects the services you count on every day.”
Miami-Dade County’s 2026-27 fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
