WESTCHESTER A DONOR COMMUNITY! NO INCREASE IN TAXES!

Westchester

The Trail Blazing Historical Town

in Miami-Dade County

- Boundaries of Westchester:

South of SW 8 Street

North of SW 56 Street

West of Palmetto Expressway

East of Florida Turnpike

Not including F.I.U. area

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- Population: 81,145 .. (Census 2021)

-Registered Voters +/- 50,000

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-UMSA current Millage Rate: 1.9283

If Westchester becomes a City the Millage Rate Stays the Same. No Tax Increase

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-2021 Tax Roll: $5,454,066,013. Almost $5.5 Billion Dollars

-Based out of the 2021 Tax Roll, applying the UMSA Millage Rate, Westchester generates $25,319,788.

(This includes Sales Tax for the area, Utility Taxes, Communication Tax, Alcoholic Beverage License, and Business Tax.)

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Questions You May Have  About Incorporation,

-  Will I have a say on whether Westchester is incorporated or not?
YES, the registered voters within the proposed area of incorporation would have to vote to approve the incorporation of any new municipality. Even after the vote approving incorporation, a city charter will be proposed and must be approved by the voters as well in order to complete the process of incorporation.

-  What is the area of incorporation being proposed for Westchester?
The areas are between North to South, SW 8th Street and SW 56th Street, and East to West between the Palmetto Expressway and the Turnpike. FIU is being excluded because it is County Commission District 11.

-  Will my property taxes increase?
NO, due to the amount of taxes collected in the proposed area the same or better services can be provided without raising the property tax rates. Prior to a vote on incorporation, the county staff will provide these exact numbers in regard to taxes, and they will be available to the public. There are other comparable cities (Doral, Miami Lakes) to the one being proposed in Westchester that pay about the same taxes as the unincorporated areas of Miami-Dade County.

-   How will that change services as it concerns Police and Firefighters?
The newly incorporated city will contract with Miami-Dade County for Police and Fire services. The newly incorporated area will be able to choose the Police Major (Chief) for our area as well as the officers that will work here.

-   How will incorporation impact our control over local zoning and development?
Presently zoning and development decisions in our area are made by the county commission of which 12 out of the 13 commissioners DO NOT represent our area (we do not vote for them). If incorporated any zoning changes or new development would have to be approved by the City of Westchester Mayor and Commission/Council which will all be elected by us, giving us more local control over the impacts on our traffic and other quality of life issues.

-   What other reasons are there in favor of incorporation now?
The county informally has expressed its support to incorporate all or most of the county much like Broward County in the near future.  This means that unincorporated areas within the county would have to incorporate or be annexed. Currently, the three cities with any proximity to the area being proposed for incorporation (Sweetwater, West Miami, South Miami) have much higher tax rates than unincorporated Miami-Dade. If they take the commercial areas (which will NOT require voter approval) within our currently proposed area of incorporation, the area left to us if we decide to not incorporate now will not generate sufficient revenue to keep us below current tax rates.

-   What other benefits may we get from incorporation?
The city would receive its portion of the Transportation Tax which would allow the newly incorporated city free trolley transportation throughout the city, which we currently don’t have. This would not be the only benefit since funds that are only available to cities now would be reinvested in Westchester.