With Some Counties Facing Possible Cost-Cutting in the Coming Years, FIU Study Shows How Rapidly South Florida County Budgets Rose

As Miami-Dade County begins a new fiscal year after a contentious budget negotiation period, a recently released study by Florida International University shows just how much the county government’s budget has grown in recent years and which departments gained the most.

The report, which also includes an analysis of Broward and Palm Beach counties, provides data that may weigh into which areas may be most impacted by expected cost-cutting efforts in the coming years.

The growth of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach county’s budgets from 2020 to 2025 far outpaced the growth of inflation in the region.  While inflation in South Florida during that time was 28.9 percent, Miami-Dade’s operating revenue grew 42.2 percent. During the same time, the operating budget for Broward County rose 37 percent and Palm Beach County’s expanded the most, at 79.1 percent.

“As our local governments debate their budgets for the coming years, with many counties and municipalities facing revenue shortfalls, we thought it was important to analyze how their financial picture has changed during the last few years,” says Howard Frank, Director of the Jorge M. Perez Metropolitan Center and author of umerous papers and studies on local-government budgeting.

Where did all the additional money go?

In Miami-Dade County, which at one point faced a $400 million deficit for 2026, the biggest budgetary dollar increases have gone to Fire & Rescue, Water & Sewer, Transportation & Public Works, and Non-Departmental budgets. The largest percentage increases went to the Miami-Dade Advocacy Trust, Public Housing & Community Development, the Office of the Mayor, and the Board of County Commissioners.

The analysis looked at both the operating budgets, which cover the cost of daily routine government operations, as well as at each county’s capital budget, which pays for special projects.

Further complicating the budgetary issue for counties is an effort in Tallahassee to eliminate or restructure the property taxes that contribute to the operating revenues of many local governments. The FIU study also looked at how much each county relies on property taxes. The analysis showed that during the last five years Palm Beach County has slightly reduced its financial dependence on property taxes, while Miami-Dade County’s reliance on property taxes has slightly increased.

“This research is a preliminary look at the finances and operations of our local governments,” said Dr. Frank. “As we identify sponsors and financial support for our research, we hope to add transparency and increase the public’s understanding of how their local governments are managed.”