Right now, Miami-Dade County is building its 2026–2027 spending plan. Departments are submitting requests, numbers are being adjusted, and priorities are being negotiated behind conference room doors. In Miami-Dade, the public always arrives late to its own budget.
Spend a few minutes trying to follow the county budget online and you quickly realize how difficult it is for an ordinary resident to understand what is actually happening. In the coming months, residents will begin seeing notices for public budget meetings. By then, much of the real work will already be done. That is how the system operates — legally, routinely, and out of public view.
