MIAMI (WSVN) – A budget battle is taking place at a Miami-Dade commission meeting over proposed cuts.
Miami-Dade commissioners are meeting Wednesday afternoon as they discuss the updates to the mayor’s proposed budget.
Before the meeting today, we did speak with Daniella Levine Cava, who talked about the programs and services she plans to restore with nearly $66 million that included funds of services for arts, public safety, roads, gas, taxes and transportation.
The mayor’s original spending had stripped most of the county’s funding from nonprofits, artists, senior centers, senior health services, as well as first responders who were at the meeting saying they feel like they have been forgotten.
“The big issue today is, for the first time in 40 years, air rescue, which is the helicopters that provide air ambulance service, fight wildfires, perform a search and rescue missions, and fly regionally with state and federal partners and surrounding counties, that funding is being shifted suddenly and completely into the fire rescue taxing district” said William McAllister, President of Metro-Dade Firefighters.
McAllister worries that the shift in funds is limiting their ability to respond to calls fast enough during emergencies, sometimes at the costs of lives.
“This is causing us not to be able to put new engines and new rescues in the streets. Currently, our response time is over nine minutes to life threatening calls, it’s just too long to wait, people will die,” said McAllister.
However, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava maintains her stance on the budget deeming it fair.
“We’re going to go forward, continuing to find savings this is not just a one time situation, but we are very confident that we have produced a fair and realistic, and compassionate budget,” said Levine Cava.
At this times commissioners are still discussing the proposed budget.
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