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Miami-Dade surtax watchdog urges more transit funding, pitches commuter rail on Brightline corridor
Summary
Javier Bettencourt, executive director of the Citizens Independent Transportation Trust, told the Aventura City Commission on May 6 that Miami‑Dade’s half‑cent sales surtax has generated nearly $5 billion and urged renewed focus on transit — including a federally funded commuter rail that would use the Brightline corridor and serve Aventura.
Javier Bettencourt, executive director of the Citizens Independent Transportation Trust, told the Aventura City Commission on May 6 that Miami‑Dade’s half‑cent sales surtax has generated nearly $5 billion since its inception and now collects roughly $400 million a year, and he urged cities to push for more transit investment in coming federal funding rounds.
Bettencourt said the surtax created the trust, which acts as an oversight body for the funds, and stressed the organization’s role: “We are not the department of transportation and public works,” he said, describing the trust as a watchdog that audits county and municipal uses of the surtax.
The presentation covered…
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