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RESOLUTION URGING THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE TO PASS LEGISLATION PROVIDING LOCAL GOVERNMENTS WITH GREATER OVERSIGHT AND CONTROL OF COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCIES

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WHEREAS, Part III, Ch. 163 of the Florida Statutes (the �Act�) enables local governments to establish community redevelopment agencies (�CRAs�) in areas determined to be slum and blight upon a �finding of necessity� and a further finding of a need for a CRA to carry out community redevelopment in a specific geographic area; and
WHEREAS, the Act provides for the creation of a redevelopment trust fund (the �Trust Fund�) for each CRA, wherein 50 percent to 95 percent of the tax increment funds (�TIF�), defined generally as incremental increases in tax revenues from taxable real property in the CRA area which is captured after the base tax year, are to be used to fund redevelopment as authorized by an approved Redevelopment Plan; and
WHEREAS, to date, there are twelve (12) active CRAS in Miami-Dade County, of which nine (9) operate within municipalities and three (3) operate within the Unincorporated Municipal Service Area (�UMSA�); and
WHEREAS, upon approval of each UMSA CRA�s redevelopment plan, the Board created a Trust Fund by ordinance for each UMSA CRA, to among other things, annually appropriate an amount equal to 50 percent to 95 percent of the County�s TIF and from which UMSA CRA redevelopment activities may be funded; and
WHEREAS, while the County CRAs provide an effective method of funding the redevelopment of a specific geographic area within the County, they also serve to redirect significant funds from the County that could possibly be used for other County purposes; and
WHEREAS, despite the fact that, once a local government, such as the County, creates a Trust Fund for a CRA, it is required to continue contributing TIF to the Trust Fund for so long as each County CRA has outstanding debt; and
WHEREAS, state law currently provides local governments with very limited oversight or control over CRAs; and
WHEREAS, local governments should have greater control over the activities and life span of CRAs, particularly given that the CRAs exist and operate within their boundaries and a significant portion of local government revenues are used to fund them; and
WHEREAS, without effective control and oversight of CRAs, CRAs run the risk of not only operating inefficiently, but also outliving their usefulness while still receiving scarce public funds,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, that this Board:
Section 1. Urges the Florida Legislature to pass legislation providing local governments with greater oversight and control over CRAs, including, but not limited to, the authority to approve CRA budgets, retain surplus TIF funds at the end of each CRA�s fiscal year and terminate CRAs.
Section 2. Directs the County�s Clerk of the Board to transmit certified copies of this resolution to the Governor, Senate President, House Speaker, the Chair and Members of the Miami-Dade State Legislative Delegation.
Section 3. Directs the County�s state lobbyists to advocate for passage of the legislation identified in Section 1 above, and directs the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs to include this item in the 2011 and 2012 state legislative package.