A group of downtown homeowners is calling for a separation from the Miami Downtown Development Authority, accusing the agency of wasteful spending and releasing a new online ad to pressure city leaders to put the issue on the ballot.
“We want the divorce (from Miami DDA) and the reason we want the divorce is we have this condo crisis and we’re being double taxed,” said TJ Sabo, one of several critics featured in the campaign.
Homeowners push back on DDA funding
The controversy centers on how the DDA spends its budget, particularly its investments in entertainment and sports partnerships.
Property owners in downtown Miami, Brickell and Edgewater fund 58% of the agency’s budget, on top of the standard taxes paid by other Miami residents.
“Look at what they’re spending money on,” said Kristen Browde, a downtown homeowner. “You’re like excuse me?”
“It’s double taxation,” said Jens Klapatsh, another homeowner.
“It feels like we’re being taken advantage of,” added Laura Okamura.
James Torres, president of a local neighborhood alliance, released the online ad Friday, targeting recent DDA expenses such as giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to FC Barcelona for opening offices downtown and nearly $200,000 to support college football events tied to next year’s national championship in South Florida.
DDA defends budget priorities
Miami DDA board member Gary Ressler, who chairs the agency’s Quality of Life Committee and owns a business downtown, defended the spending.
“Nobody likes to pay taxes,” Ressler said. “But the fact is that the investment is brought back to the streets to the residents in a very efficient way.”
Of the $12 million in the agency’s budget last fiscal year, $7 million went toward quality-of-life initiatives such as public safety, homelessness efforts and keeping downtown clean, according to Ressler.
Ressler also argued that sports investments attract attention and revenue that benefit the community.
“If you think back to when LeBron James came to Miami, he came to downtown Miami,” Ressler said. “But you remember the message was he was going to South Beach. That’s not the message anymore. I think downtown is a more viable, relatable neighborhood that hopefully will succeed greatly in the future.”
But critics like Sabo remain unconvinced.
“When you pay $450,000 to an organization that’s worth over $5 billion dollars or $100,000 to (UFC which is) worth over $11 billion, my gut instinct is it does nothing for them and it was really not part of their decision to choose Miami,” Sabo said.
“It took money out of other people’s lives that were supposed to be improved by this.”
