Why is it needed?
The park system master planning process completed last year validated that Doral has a proven reputation for providing high-quality parks, amenities, and experiences, however, struggles to meet the demands of a rapidly growing population in a landlocked geography. As noted in both the 2010 and 2017 Doral Parks System Master Plans, the City is perpetually playing “catch up,” resulting in parks which can become over-used, over-programmed, and inflexible.
It is important to note that the City is currently “underparked,” based on state and national benchmarks as well as comparisons to similar cities. While the City’s comprehensive plan establishes a level-of-service goal of 4.5 acres of parkland per 1,000 population, the actual LOS is 2.24 acres per thousand. If no additional parkland is acquired, the LOS will decline to approximately 1.5 acres /1,000 by the year 2020 when the City’s population is estimated to exceed 80,000 residents. When a park systems level of service decreases, so does the city’s quality of life
Multiple Funding Alternatives Considered
The 2017 Parks System Master Plan provided several alternative strategies to funding the proposed improvements. A bond referendum allows for a larger amount of high-priority projects to be completed in a shorter amount of time when compared to the traditional, “pay-as-you-go” strategy, which would take substantially longer to fund the same projects.
The City Council’s decision to proceed with a bond referendum came after much deliberation, considering all of the information gathered during the Parks System Master Plan Update, population growth estimates, and additional feedback from the community. With the recent success of Doral Legacy Park, an ambitious project in its own right, the City Council felt confident the community would support an effort to fund more projects up-front. General funds, partnerships, sponsorship, impact fees and grants all continue to be part of the long-range vision proposed within the master plan, especially for continued operation and maintenance
I already pay Property taxes right? Where does that money go?
It may be surprising to many that the City of Doral actually only receives approximately 10%* of the property tax dollars that you pay; these funds are then used by the City to support multiple departments, including public safety (police), transportation (roads, streets, and trails), infrastructure (public utilities like water and sewer), and parks. The remaining 90% is divided between:
Miami-Dade County
Public School Board
South Florida Water Management District
Children's Trust
Florida Inland Navigation District
Okeechobee Basin
*Figures are based on a sample residential property within the City of Doral; actual percentages per individual residence should be verified using the County's Tax Visualizer via the button below.
The Miami-Dade County Tax Visualizer (click link above) lets you see how the property taxes for your particular address/folio number are distributed graphically in a pie chart view. At this site, you can also see how the City of Doral's millage rate compares to other taxing jurisdictions in Miami-Dade County. To use this calculator, just type in the address of your Doral residence and view a pie charts with the breakdown.
