20141202 REQUEST TO HOLD SPECIAL COMMISSION MEETING.e►
City of Miami Beach, 1700 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach, Florida 33139, www.miamibeachfl.gov
COMMISSION MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor Philip Levine and Members f the City f►ommission
FROM: Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager
DATE: November 20, 2014
SUBJECT: Request To Hold a Special Meeti 'g of the City Commission
Pursuant to 2.04, of our City Charter, 1 hereby request that a Special Meeting of the City
Commission be called for Tuesday, December 2, 2014 at 5:01 p.m. for the purpose of
holding a Special Budget Hearing to address a Truth-In-Millage (TRIM) compliance finding.
On November 17, 2014, the Florida Department of Revenue (DOR) officially notified the City
of Miami Beach that we are not in compliance with Truth-in-Millage (TRIM) law due to an
error in the Notice of Proposed Tax Increase posted in the Miami Herald on September 25,
2014. Compliance is required in order to be eligible to receive state -shared revenues.
According to DOR to date, we are one of 17 taxing jurisdictions cited this year.
In order to correct the violation, DOR requires the following:
1) The City must re -advertise the Notice of Proposed Tax Increase within 15 calendar
days of receipt of DOR's certified letter
2) A budget hearing similar to the second public hearing held on September 30, 2014,
must be held within 2 to 5 days following publication of the advertisement
3) The City must re -certify compliance with DOR
See related LTC distributed on November 20, 2014, for additional details. Please contact
me should you have any questions.
cJ
MIMI
=IN
MKS
.EM
11119:1001.1 11161111.11010•1111.11111.NINIMINIIIMENS.•
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
NO. LTC# 3 93-020/1/
2WiNiSq U tr
l,lrY
LETTER TO COMMISSION
TO: Mayor Philip Levine and Members o the City !'ommission
FROM: Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager
DATE: November 20, 2014
SUBJECT: TRIM COMPLIANCE FINDING
12
On November 17, 2014, the Florida Department of Revenue (DOR) officially notified the City of
Miami Beach that we are not in compliance with Truth-in-Millage (TRIM) law due to an error in
the Notice of Proposed Tax Increase posted in the Miami Herald on September 25, 2014.
Compliance is required in order to be eligible to receive state -shared revenues. According to
DOR to date, we are one of 17 taxing jurisdictions cited this year.
The advertisement properly notified taxpayers of a proposed tax increase and TRIM notices sent
to each property owner in the city were correct. However, the ad valorem proceeds for the
Center City Redevelopment Area were calculated using less than 95 percent of the gross taxable
value, instead of at 95 percent as required by s. 200.065(2)(a)1.,F.S. The number used was
more conservative than required by statute because it is net of an annual adjustment from
Miami -Dade County made for properties re -valued in a prior year and reflects what the City will
actually receive in revenue.
In order to correct the violation, DOR requires the following:
1) The City must re -advertise the Notice of Proposed Tax Increase within 15 calendar days of
receipt of DOR's certified letter
2) A budget hearing similar to the second public hearing held on September 30, 2014, must be
held within 2 to 5 days following publication of the advertisement
3) The City must re -certify compliance with DOR
To comply with the finding, I will be requesting a special Commission meeting to hold the
required budget hearing on December 2, 2014, to re -adopt the FY 2014/15 budget. I have
reviewed the matter with the City's budget staff and feel that their intent was to be more accurate
than TRIM law currently provides. Unfortunately TRIM law is very specific when it comes to
numbers advertised as part of the annual budget process. Accordingly, I have suspended John
Woodruff, Budget Director, for three days without pay effective tomorrow. The salary savings
from the suspension more than cover the necessary advertising costs. To prevent non-
compliance in the future, budget staff will be sending the budget advertisement to DOR in
advance of publication to ensure compliance with TRIM law.
JLM/JW
DEPARTMENT
OF REVENUE
Executive
Director
Marshall Stranburg
November 14, 2014
Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager
City of Miami Beach
1700 Convention Center Drive
Miami Beach, Florida 32339
Re: Truth in Millage (TRIM) Certification
Dear Mr. Morales:
i
-AGCRIn OF
17 ioj
S�
N��y.
k ECEEURO
The Department of Revenue has reviewed the millage certification documents your taxing
authority submitted under sections 200.065 and 200.068, F.S. The following errors are violations
of the TRIM law. Your taxing authority must correct these errors immediately, or you will be
subject to the loss of revenue sharing and the loss of ad valorem revenues from millage in
excess of the rolled -back rate.
FINDINGS OF FACT
The ad valorem proceeds in the Budget Summary advertisement were calculated
using Tess than 95 percent of the gross taxable value, as s. 200.065(2)(a)1., F.S.,
requires. The ad valorem proceeds were understated by approximately $1,129,987
(see attached copy for correct calculations).
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
Section 200.065(2)(a)1., F.S., requires each taxing authority, in calculating the millage, to
use not less than 95 percent of taxable value the property appraiser certified. This is 95
percent of the gross taxable value appearing on line 4 of Form DR -420. The taxing
authority must apply the millage to at least 95 percent of the taxable value, and the
tentative advertised budget must be at least 95 percent of actual proceeds. Your use of
less than 95 percent of the gross taxable value constitutes non-compliance with s.
200.065(2)(a)1. and (3)(I), F.S., as well as Rule 12D-17.005 (2)(c)3., F.A.C..
Child Support Enforcement —Ann Coffin, Director o General Tax Administration _ Marla Johnson, Director
Property Tax Oversight — Howard Moyes, Interim Director o Information Services — Damu Kuttikrishnan, Director
www,myflorida.com/dor
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0100
Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager
City of Miami Beach
Page Two
OPPORTUNITY TO REMEDY
The law gives you the opportunity to correct these violations by advertising the Notice of
Proposed Tax Increase advertisements and holding your hearings again, and re -certifying
compliance under section 200.065(13), F.S.
Within 15 days of receipt of this notice, you will need to advertise your:
Q Notice of Proposed Tax Increase with applicable violation clause and
O Budget Summary advertisements.
Section 200.065(13)(b) and (c), F.S., establishes the requirements of this letter.
Section 200.065(12), F.S., requires you to hold a new millage and budget hearing
two to five days following publication of the advertisement.
After you have advertised the notices again and held the new final hearing, please forward to
this office copies of the advertisements (full page from newspaper) with proofs of publication; a
copy of the resolution/ordinance adopting the millage; a copy of the resolution/ordinance
adopting the budget; and your Form DR -487, Certification of Compliance.
By copy of this notice, we are notifying and directing the tax collector to withhold ad valorem tax
revenue collected in excess of the rolled -back rate until the taxing authority has met the
requirements of law.
By copy of this notice, we are notifying the Refunds and Revenue Distribution Process of the
General Tax Administration Program to proceed consistently with sections 200.065(13)(a),
218.23(1), and 218.63(2), F.S., and Rule Chapter 12-10, F.A.C., to withhold revenue sharing
funds until the taxing authority corrects its noncompliance or, if not corrected, for the 12 months
following the department's determination of noncompliance. If the taxing authority does not
correct its noncompliance, the department will deposit these withheld funds into the General
Revenue Fund.
If you fail to correct these violations in the manner section 200.065(13), F.S., describes and to
re -certify compliance to the department after re -advertising and re -holding the hearings, you will
forfeit your state revenue sharing funds and ad valorem proceeds in excess of the rolled -back
rate. If you re -certify compliance and the department determines your re -certification is not in
compliance with section 200.065, F.S., the same consequences will occur.
Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager
City of Miami Beach
Page Three
This determination applies only to the TRIM certification requirements and we will send a
determination regarding the maximum millage levy requirements of section 200.065(5), F.S., in a
separate notice.
If you believe the certification you submitted does not support the department's determination,
please consider the following notice.
NOTICE OF RIGHTS
The determination in this matter is not subject to review under Chapter 120, F.S. Under section
200.065, F.S., mediation is not available in any administrative dispute of the type of agency
action this notice announces.
You may also have the right to adjudicate this matter before a circuit court under Chapter 86,
Florida Statutes, and applicable Florida law.
You have the right to seek judicial review of this order under section 120.68, F.S. As Rule 9.110,
Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure, prescribes, to seek a judicial review you must file a Notice
of Appeal with the department's clerk in the Office of General Counsel, Post Office Box 6668,
Tallahassee, Florida 32314-6668. You must also file a copy of the Notice of Appeal and the
applicable filing fees with the appropriate District Court of Appeal. You must file this Notice of
Appeal within 30 days from the date of this order.
Sincerely,
Ho, a = v -s, Interim Director
Property Tax Oversight Program
HM/mrb # 23.21
Attachments
cc: Honorable Marcus Saiz de la Mora
Miami -Dade County Tax Collector
Mr. Dave Ansley, Process Manager
Refunds and Revenue Distribution