Public Safety Committee members say committee budget cut to $2,200 after council vote

The Miami Lakes Public Safety Committee on a special call meeting reported that the council approved a reduced allotment of $2,200 for the committee's 2025-26 budget, down from the committee's requested $6,000.

Committee chair Carlos Bres said the cut came after multiple motions before the town council. "Our budget next year is slashed," Bres said during the committee's discussion. The chair told committee members the council initially considered keeping committees flat at $4,800, then the council's mayor (identified in the meeting as Mayor Gallegos) moved to reduce the amount to $1,200. A later motion by council member Steven Herzberg to add $1,000 to that figure left the committee with $2,200.

The committee's discussion explained why the reduction matters: members said the lower allocation will constrain routine event supplies, recognition awards, and small community outreach purchases the committee funds each year. Committee members described the drop as a roughly 55% cut from the amount the committee requested or expected after prior budget deliberations.

Members traced the council debate to specific votes and interventions. Committee members said a strike call to return the committee to its prior level was led by council member Alejandro Sanchez and seconded by Brian Moreira and that several council members, including Ray Garcia, voted on that procedural motion and it failed. The committee discussed having multiple council members move and second motions during the council meeting and noted the final figure was set by the council's vote.

Committee members and staff described immediate options: (1) intensified sponsorship and fundraising for the committee's planned car show and events, (2) direct outreach to individual council members, and (3) shifting or deferring discretionary spending into the next fiscal year where possible. Chair Bres said he has already emailed council members and urged committee members to lobby their sponsors and council contacts.

In the meeting the committee also reviewed the existing fiscal-year packet for small corrections (one cited correction: a plaque cost in the minutes that should read $164.80), and members reiterated that they had previously voted as a committee on a reclassification and the proposed internal budget before submitting it to council.

The committee did not record any formal motion reversing the council's action during the special call. Members were told the council votes stand, and the committee instead focused on operational responses (fundraising, sponsor outreach, and deferring noncritical purchases).

Looking ahead, committee members said they intend to press for sponsorships tied to upcoming events and to adjust event plans to fit the $2,200 allocation unless council action changes the funding before the new fiscal year.