Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Advocates Cheer 'Significant Wins' For Resilience Efforts In Miami-Dade's New Budget

Downtown Miami
Peter Andrew Bosch
/
Miami Herald
Downtown Miami

Miami-Dade commissioners last week approved a budget that many community groups say is a good step for making the county more resilient against climate change and other quality-of-life challenges.

One of the founding members of the Miami Climate Alliance says he's happy that Miami-Dade's 2018-2019 budget reflects input from community groups working on climate justice issues.

The Miami Climate Alliance is an umbrella organization ofmore than 50 non-profits and community groups. Members focus on a range of issues including hurricane preparedness, sea-level rise and access to transportation.

Read more: From Traffic To Sea-Level Rise, South Florida Has Many 'Resilience' Issues. Here's What That Means.

David McDougal, who led the alliance's advocacy on the county budget, says he's happy that commissioners funded new positions in the Office of Resilience and set aside money to study access to social services.

"This time we actually felt like there were significant wins," he said.

Another victory, McDougal said, is that commissioners raised the county’s unusually low water bill rates. Miami-Dade needs to upgrade its stormwater system to harden it against sea-level rise and keep sewage from flowing into the ocean. That will likely cost at least $11 billion dollars over the next decade.

To help cover the expense, Miami-Dade residents will now pay $2.80 more each month on their water bills.

Copyright 2018 WLRN 91.3 FM

Kate Stein can't quite explain what attracts her to South Florida. It's more than just the warm weather (although this Wisconsin native and Northwestern University graduate definitely appreciates the South Florida sunshine). It has a lot to do with being able to travel from the Everglades to Little Havana to Brickell without turning off 8th Street. It's also related to Stein's fantastic coworkers, whom she first got to know during a winter 2016 internship.Officially, Stein is WLRN's environment, data and transportation journalist. Privately, she uses her job as an excuse to rove around South Florida searching for stories à la Carl Hiaasen and Edna Buchanan. Regardless, Stein speaks Spanish and is always thrilled to run, explore and read.