Reso 2006-891 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Government Miami-Dade County is comprised of unincorporated areas, as well as thirty-one municipalities, the largest of which is the city of Miami. Miami-Dade County is governed under a modified two-tier metropolitan government. The purpose of this type government was to establish one governing body for the county, and to establish one supply of services such as fire, police, etc. for the county. The upper tier is the County, which provides broad "regional" or county functions, such as metropolitan planning, welfare, health and transit services. The thirty-one municipalities represent the lower tier of government, providing a varying array of services within their jurisdictional boundaries. The County also maintains lower tier functions, such as the provision of municipal-type services, including police and fire, to the unincorporated areas and certain municipalities on a negotiated basis. The County operates under the Commission-Manager form of government. Legislative and policy- making authority is vested in the elected thirteen-member Board of County Commissioners; the Commission appointed County Manager is the chief administrator. Miami - Dade County has operated under the metropolitan form of government since 1957, when the Home Rule Charter was passed by the local electorate. Prior to Home Rule, the County had to rely on the State Legislature for the enactment of its laws. County government had not been able to respond to the tremendous demand for municipal services in this rapidly urbanizing area, which is larger than the State of Rhode Island or Delaware. The need to combine services duplicated by the County and numerous cities was also clearly evident. The Charter permitted the limited County government to reorganize into a general purpose "municipal- type" government capable of performing the full range of public functions into an area wide operation. Real Estate As of the second quarter of2003, the Miami-Dade County Office Market contained approximately 34.55 million square feet of office space. Approximately 34.3% of this space is located in the Miami central business district and adjacent Brickell A venue and 21.5% in the rapidly growing Airport West area. There was a decrease in the occupancy rate of office buildings in Miami-Dade County from 92% in 1981 to 77.6% in 1991. Since 1992, there was an increase in occupancy from 81.4% to 88.9% in the fourth quarter of 1999. From the fourth quarter of 1999 to the fourth quarter of 200 I, the occupancy rate remained relatively stable at around 88%. The overall County wide occupancy rate as of the second quarter of 2003 has declined to 83.52%. Many new Class A buildings were completed on Brickell A venue, in Coral Gables and on Miami Beach which caused an increase in vacancy rates for 2003. QUINLIVAN APPRAISAL 15