Miami-Dade voters narrowly approved a charter amendment giving an independent commission authority to set salaries for the county’s 13-member commission. The measure had roughly 52% support as of 8:45 p.m., with about 90% of precincts reporting, offering commissioners a path to higher pay after decades of failed attempts.
Referendum 1 shifts the pay decision from commissioners to the new salary-setting body, according to the Miami Herald. The county charter sets commissioners’ base salary at $6,000 a year, but supplements bring their annual earnings to about $83,000, the Herald reported in its election-night coverage. A separate Herald report before the vote put cash compensation, including supplements and expense allowances, closer to $82,000; the totals differ because they use different accounting.
The amendment creates a salary-setting process rather than specifying a new salary. It also sets rules for who may serve on the commission and when the body must report its conclusions.
Rules for the salary commission
Miami-Dade County’s proposed charter amendment requires commission members to be county residents and bars current elected officials, county employees, registered lobbyists and immediate family members of sitting commissioners, according to the proposed amendment. The amendment also requires the commission to give the County Commission a written report of its conclusions, including any salary revisions, before the county adopts the budget for the ensuing fiscal year.
Decades of Rejected Raises
The vote ends a long run of defeats for proposed commissioner raises: about a dozen pay-raise charter amendments have failed since the 1960s, according to the Herald. This measure passed by roughly 52% to 48% and was placed on the ballot by a majority of sitting commissioners, rather than through a citizen petition.
For context on how Miami-Dade's current pay compares to what state formulas suggest, a separate Herald report cited a population-based state formula that would put Miami-Dade commissioners in the top tier nationally, with a suggested annual salary of $127,779. A Miami-Dade County Auditor document referencing a 2008 ballot measure cited an earlier statutory formula of roughly $91,995, adjusted annually for county population, though that figure predates the current charter language.
What Else Was on the Ballot
Voters approved four other charter amendments Tuesday, each clearing the required 50% threshold, the Herald reported. Referendum 2 extends the minimum residency requirement for County Commission candidates from six months to a full year before the qualifying deadline. Referendum 3 allows a special election to fill certain vacancies to be scheduled alongside an existing local election when a commissioner resigns to run for another office.
Referenda 4 and 5 revise charter language to reflect Miami-Dade’s form of government. Referendum 5 updates the names of county facilities and allows virtual attendance to count toward a commission meeting quorum if Florida changes state rules that mostly require in-person quorums. The changes come as a 2025 amendment to the Florida Constitution created three new elected Miami-Dade offices: elections supervisor, sheriff and tax collector.
Parks Advertising Measure Falls Short
Referendum 6, which would have eased park-advertising restrictions and directed the resulting revenue to the parks system, failed, with about 40% support and 60% opposition, according to the Herald. The existing rules remain: advertising must relate to sponsorships of park events or facilities.
The Herald's election-night and pre-election coverage of the salary measure was reported by Douglas Hanks, who covers Miami-Dade government for the paper. Hanks has worked at the Herald for more than 20 years and joined the metro desk in 2014.
