Miami-Dade County is looking for ways to spur the economy, create jobs and invest in our future. Everything we do is about improving the quality of life for our residents. To us, recovery and reinvestment are not just "buzz" words. They are our mantra and our creed as we work to make the best possible use of stimulus dollars, and emerge from this economic downturn better and stronger.
With the help of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, here's some of what we're planning to do:
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Hire 50 new police officers and get additional funding for mortgage-fraud related investigations
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Purchase fire engines and rescue units that run on clean diesel or hybrid technology.
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Serve an additional 300 infant, toddlers and pregnant women through our Head Start/Early Head Start program
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Improve elevators, roofs and windows in existing public housing units
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Renourish beaches
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Provide small businesses stabilization loans
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Enhance training and employment services through South Florida Workforce
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Build bus rapid transit along Kendall Drive
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Add Wi-Fi to Metrorail
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Weatherize homes for low-income residents
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Purchase hybrid garbage trucks
Of course, drawing down federal economic stimulus dollars is just one component of Miami-Dade County's recovery plan. Inventive and cooperative thinking helped us launch a local economic stimulus plan last summer, way before economic stimulus was popular in Washington. More than $330 million dollars of infrastructure work has been expedited, including important road repairs and water and sewer projects. We also continue to prioritize services, eliminate waste and do more with less.
The challenges facing our nation and our County are great, but we will not succumb to adversity. We cannot allow our spirit to be diminished. We must steel ourselves to push forward. We can see this thing through. After all, we are Americans. Failure is not in our DNA. Hopefully, next year at this time, we can all breathe a collective sigh of relief and look forward to more prosperous times.
Sincerely,
Mayor Carlos Alvarez
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