Miramar reimposes $135-per-ERU stormwater assessment; $7 million projected for capital and operations

The City Commission of Miramar on Sept. 15 reimposed the stormwater management service assessment at $135 per equivalent residential unit (ERU) for tax year 2025, a rate unchanged from the preliminary resolution approved in July. The assessment is projected to raise about $7 million in fiscal year 2026 and will appear on Broward County property tax bills for collection.

Assistant Public Works Director Christie Gilbert told the commission the city has 60,795 ERUs citywide and that the assessment revenue “exclusively funds stormwater operations, capital projects, any equipment purchased that's necessary for stormwater operations, and debt service.” Gilbert’s presentation highlighted ongoing and planned projects including canal embankment restoration and the multi-phase historic Miramar drainage improvement project (phases 1–4 complete; phase 5 in design and expected to go to construction in 2026).

Why it matters: The assessment provides a dedicated revenue stream for stormwater work — from drainage and canal stabilization to larger drainage-improvement projects — and must be finalized in time for Broward County to include it on November tax bills. Staff said a new rate study is underway and that any changes would be presented to the commission with one-on-one briefings for elected officials.

Public comment and commission action: No members of the public addressed item 4 during the hearing. The commission voted unanimously to approve the final assessment rate and assessment roll; votes recorded Chambers, Scheherzard, Vice Mayor Coburn, Edwards and Mayor Messam as yes.

Implementation notes: Staff said the $135 rate reflects the 2016 rate study’s schedule and that the city will complete a required new stormwater rate study; results and any proposed future rates will be brought to the commission and individual commissioners for review.

Speakers (attributed in this article)

• Christie Gilbert — Assistant Director, Public Works, City of Miramar.

• Commissioner Chambers — Commissioner, City of Miramar.

• Commissioner Scheherzard — Commissioner, City of Miramar.

Authorities

• Resolution 25-186 (preliminary rate resolution referenced in staff materials) — presented July 9, 2025; staff cited it as the preliminary assessment approval that this action finalizes.

Actions

• Action: Reimpose stormwater management service assessment at $135 per ERU for FY2026. Kind: resolution. Motion text: "Approve the resolution reimposing the stormwater management service assessments at $135 per ERU and approve the assessment roll for fiscal year beginning 10/01/2025." Mover/second: not recorded. Vote_record: Commissioner Chambers (yes), Commissioner Scheherzard (yes), Vice Mayor Coburn (yes), Commissioner Edwards (yes), Mayor Messam (yes). Tally: yes 5/no 0/abstain 0. Outcome: approved.

Clarifying details

• Assessment rate: $135 per equivalent residential unit (ERU).

• Number of ERUs: 60,795 (citywide).

• Projected revenue: $7,000,000 for FY2026 (to fund stormwater operations, capital projects, equipment and debt service).

• Related projects: canal embankment restoration; Historic Miramar drainage improvement phases (1–4 complete; phase 5 in design; phase 6 future).

Meeting_context

{"engagement_level":{"speakers_count":3,"duration_minutes":50,"items_count":1},"implementation_risk":"low","history":[{"date":"2016-07-09","note":"Rate study used to structure prior stormwater assessment schedule; city conducting a new rate study for future years."}]}

Proper_names

[{"name":"City of Miramar Public Works Department","type":"agency"},{"name":"Historic Miramar drainage improvement project","type":"project"}]

Searchable_tags

["stormwater","assessment","ERU","Miramar","public works","drainage"]

Provenance

The topic begins when the item heading was read into the record and staff presentation commenced, and ends after the commission recorded the unanimous vote to approve the assessment rate.