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Miami Lakes weighs stormwater bond, fee and franchise-fee options to pay for drainage projects
Summary
Town staff briefed the council on a stormwater master-plan update that identified roughly $54.6 million in projects; council directed staff to return with options that include a higher stormwater ERU fee, new bonds and use of FPL franchise-fee revenue, and asked for a slower, lower-cost rollout option.
Miami Lakes officials discussed how to pay for remaining stormwater and drainage projects during the council’s Aug. 19 meeting, focusing on a range of financing paths including a higher monthly stormwater fee, issuance of new bonds and tapping a portion of the Florida Power & Light franchise fee. Public works staff said the last full plan update (2020) identified about $54.6 million in proposed projects; since then the town has spent about $38 million on projects and grants, leaving roughly $16.6 million unfunded.
Public Works Director Omar Santos told the council the town completed field work and has an updated list of projects; an updated engineering report and a rate study are expected with Update 4. Santos said the town’s bonds issued in 2021 and stormwater fees now fund debt service and operations, and the town used $15.5 million of American Rescue Plan Act funds for drainage work.
Santos and finance staff gave three main options to close the funding gap: raise the stormwater fee (the staff example raised the fee from $10.50 to $15.75 per ERU, which staff estimated would generate about $1.1 million annually and support approximately $16 million in bonds), issue new stormwater bonds and dedicate debt service to either an increased ERU charge or other revenue, or rely on state and federal grants and appropriations. Staff also presented a hybrid that combines a 1.5 percentage-point increase in the FPL franchise fee plus a smaller ERU increase; staff estimated that a 1.5% franchise-fee dedication plus an ERU increase of $5.25 could generate about $28 million in bond capacity.
Council members pressed staff on the timeline and effect on households. Vice Mayor Moreira and others said grants alone would take too long to address flooding problems and urged practical, near-term solutions. Council members asked staff to bring back an option that spreads remaining projects over a longer timeline (fewer projects per year) to reduce the need for fee or franchise-fee increases; the council voted to direct staff to prepare a follow-up that includes that option. The council also directed staff to return with clear schedule estimates for outstanding projects so members can compare costs and pace of delivery.
No ordinance or fee increase was adopted on Aug. 19; the council instead approved a staff follow-up and asked for additional scenarios, including a slower cadence that would rely more on grants and stretch project delivery to limit new recurring charges.
