Miami‑Dade County parks officials told the Recreation and Tourism Committee on Nov. 10 that recent reductions in non‑ad valorem revenue and other budget shifts have forced capital project delays and staffing changes across the park system.

An administrative official explained that large parks projects are funded by GEO bonds or through future financing mechanisms, primarily the Countywide Infrastructure Improvement Plan (CIIP). Non‑ad valorem revenue must be used to pay debt for some park financing; the official said the county saw an overall reduction of $64.9 million in non‑ad valorem revenue this year due to state actions and other decreases in fees and interest.

Christina White, the county’s parks director, told commissioners the department eliminated 49 full‑time positions and currently has 1,571 full‑time positions. She said the majority of eliminated posts were administrative or communications roles; she described efforts to redeploy 46 of the affected employees to other county positions and to help the remaining employees find interim part‑time work. White said core lifeguard coverage at county pools was preserved and that only a limited number of lifeguard hours at specialized, off‑peak pools were affected. She said three security guard positions were reduced and will be covered with roving security protocols supported by park rangers and other staff.

Committee members asked for more detailed breakdowns of which positions were cut, where employees were reassigned, and the operational impacts at specific parks, including Amelia Earhart Park. One commissioner said more than 30 previously funded SIP/CIIP projects appear to have been defunded; commissioners asked the administration and budget office for a detailed five‑year accounting (2020–2025) of SIP/CIIP funding, amounts funded and unfunded, project lists by commission district, and projections for the next five years. The requester asked that the information be returned by Nov. 21.

Officials cited a reduction of about $73 million from CIIP in the current budget cycle and said $68 million is currently in the 2025–26 budget for the CIIP parks plan. The administration traced the shortfall to state measures affecting non‑ad valorem revenue and to decreased utilities and interest earnings; officials said that reduced revenue forced the county to defer some capital projects that had been planned under future financing assumptions.

Commissioners also praised upcoming programming at Amelia Earhart Park, where a Ripley’s Believe It or Not holiday event will run starting Thursday through early January. Committee members concluded the discussion by asking for a timely written response to the CIIP report request and for follow‑up meetings with the mayor’s office and the parks director.

What was not decided: No ordinance or appropriation related to parks capital funding was adopted during this meeting. Commissioners made a formal request for information and a meeting, but no funding reallocations were approved on Nov. 10.