Miami Commission Approves Budget Proposal
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Working into the wee hours of Wednesday morning, the Miami city commissioners approved a proposed $558 million budget.
The proposal includes money for 80 new police positions, $1.25 million for anti-poverty programs and tens of millions for the city's reserves, according to CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald.
The new law enforcement positions and increased funds for anti-poverty programs were more than what Mayor Tomas Regalado and City Manager Daniel Alfonso recommended. Regalado said if approved, the budget could set the city up for future years where expenses exceed revenues, according to the Miami Herald.
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Miami's Fraternal Order of Police was not supportive of the new police positions. FOP president Javier Ortiz was skeptical the new positions would be filled and felt the city would be better off improving pay for the officers through ongoing contract talks than trying to spend money on new cops.
The budget proposal was passed by a vote of 4-1, Commissioner Frank Carollo voted against it.
The vote was the first of two, with the final to come during a Sept. 23 budget hearing.
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