Levy v. Miami-Dade County
| Decision Date | 27 February 2003 |
| Docket Number | No. 01-101-CIV.,01-101-CIV. |
| Citation | 254 F.Supp.2d 1269 |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of Florida |
| Parties | Morgan I. LEVY, Rolando Oses, Marsha Matson, Shirley Gibson, Robert P. Harrison III, William L. Budd, Mervyn Adirim, Doretha Nichson, and Miles E. Moss, Plaintiffs, v. MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, a political subdivision of the State of Florida, Defendant. |
Eugene E. Stearns, Stearns, Weaver, Miller, Weissler, Alhadeff & Sitterson, Miami, FL, for plaintiffs.
Robert A Duvall, III, Lee Alan Kraftchick, Dade County Attorney's Office, Miami, FL, for defendant.
FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
THIS CAUSE was tried before the Court between October 21-24, 2002.
THE COURT has considered the pertinent portions of the record and is otherwise fully advised in the premises.
Plaintiffs, residents of the unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County, Florida, bring this action under the Equal Protection Clause, alleging that their right to vote is being unlawfully diluted because non-residents of the unincorporated area (i.e., city residents) participate in the election of the Unincorporated Municipal Services Area's ("UMSA") governing body.1 Plaintiffs also contend that the County has violated the Equal Protection Clause by imposing conditions on future incorporations that have not been imposed on existing cities. Finally, Plaintiffs allege that Defendant has violated certain budgeting requirements under state law.
On February 12, 2002, this Court issued an Order Granting in Part and Denying in Part Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment ("Order"). In that Order, the Court limited the issues for trial to the following:2
(1) Whether Plaintiffs could propose a viable, constitutional remedy to their allegation of overinclusion supporting a justiciable claim, and, if so, whether it is rational to allow city residents of the County's municipalities to participate in the election of the governing body of the unincorporated area based on their substantial interest in the first-tier, municipal government provided by the County.
(2) Whether there is a rational basis for the imposition of certain conditions on new cities pursuant to the October 3, 2000 Amendment to the Home Rule Charter.
(3) Whether Defendant has effectuated a "division of county revenues derived from or on behalf of ... [the] unincorporated area." Fla. Stat. § 129.01.
These issues were tried before the Court between October 21-24, 2002. The parties submitted post-trial memoranda on December 4, 2002, and the Court heard closing argument on December 20, 2002. Pursuant to the Court's request, the parties supplemented the record on February 13, 2003, filing a "Joint Response to the Court's Questions" ("Joint Response"). The following findings and conclusions are based on the Court's pretrial rulings, the Parties' stipulations,3 and the evidence submitted at the non-jury trial. For the reasons that follow, the Court finds:
(1) Plaintiffs' challenge to Defendant's voting system is not justiciable. The Plaintiffs have not shown that any judicially available remedy can cure the purported voting defect they identify. In the alternative, Plaintiffs have not shown that Defendant lacks a rational basis for allowing city residents to participate in the election of the unincorporated area's governing body. In fact, city residents have a substantial interest in the affairs of the metropolitan government stemming from their receipt of services from, payment of taxes to, and sharing of County government with, the unincorporated area.4
(2) Plaintiffs have not shown the absence of a rational basis for imposing conditions on future incorporations that have not been imposed on existing cities.
(3) Plaintiffs have not shown that the County's budget system violates Fla. Stat. § 129.01.5
1. Plaintiffs are citizens and residents of Miami-Dade County who reside outside the boundaries of any of the County's existing, formally structured municipalities.6 The area in which Plaintiffs reside is known as the "unincorporated" area. Comb. Stip. H 1.
2. Miami-Dade County is a political subdivision of the State of Florida. Comb. Stip. H 2.
3. The manner in which local government is organized within Miami-Dade County is provided by a special provision of the Florida Constitution, first adopted in 1956 as an amendment to Article VIII, section II of the Florida Constitution of 1885, which permitted the citizens of Dade County to adopt a county charter to prescribe the manner of governance of local affairs. In 1957, the voters of Dade County approved the adoption of the "Dade County Home Rule Charter."7 From that time to the present, Miami-Dade County has been governed pursuant to the Charter. Comb. Stip. H 3.
4. In 1968, the Florida Constitution was revised substantially. However, section 6(e) of Article VIII carried forward, and specifically validated, the existing Home Rule Charter.8 Additionally, section 6(f) was added bestowing upon the County all of the powers conferred by general law upon municipalities.9 Comb. Stip. 114.
5. Today, Miami-Dade County consists of 32 separate, incorporated municipalities and a large unincorporated area labeled the Unincorporated Municipal Services Area. The former consists of 47.6% of the County's residents, while the latter includes the remaining 52.4%. Comb. Stip. IF 5.
6. The County is governed by a thirteen member Board of County Commissioners ("Commission" or "Board") elected from single member districts. See Meek v. Metropolitan Dade County, 908 F.2d 1540 (11th Cir.1990), reh'g denied, 918 F.2d 184 (1990), cert, denied, 499 U.S. 907, 111 S.Ct. 1108, 113 L.Ed.2d 217 (1991), op. after remand, 985 F.2d 1471. The County Charter formally was amended on September 10, 2002, to reflect the Court's expansion of the Commission from nine to thirteen members. Comb. Stip. II 7.
7. The Commission is the "legislative and governing body of the county and [has] the power to carry on a central metropolitan government." Comb. Stip. 118 .
8. The County is structured as a twotier government. On the first-tier, the County provides local government and services to the UMSA. On the second-tier, the County provides a variety of services on a countywide basis. Comb. Stip. H 9.
9. On the first-tier, utilizing the powers conferred upon it by the County Charter, the County Commission serves as the governing body for municipal decisions affecting only unincorporated area citizens. Among other things, within the unincorporated area, the County Commission regulates development (e.g., adopting zoning codes and a development master plan, authorizing zoning variances, and issuing permits) and adopts and amends ordinances. Comb. Stip. U 10.
10. The County also provides local services to the UMSA, including, among others: development regulation (zoning, code enforcement, and building regulation), local police, fire-rescue, local roads and streets, local park and recreation facilities, garbage and trash collection and public area maintenance. To pay for these municipal services, Miami-Dade County, using the powers granted to it by the Charter (and Florida law), levies taxes solely on the citizens, property, and commercial activities within the unincorporated area. Comb. Stip. Hit 9 & 11.
11. Residents of the incorporated municipalities receive their first-tier, local government and services through their respective municipal governments. Comb. Stip. f 12.
12. On the second tier, countywide services include: the Miami International Airport, Miami-Dade Transit System, Miami-Dade Public Health Trust, correctional facilities, regional parks, maintenance of the Northwest wellfield, and environmental protection. Comb. Stip. 1113.
13. Countywide services are paid for by taxes paid by all County residents. Comb. Stip. H 14.
14. Pursuant to the Florida Constitution, all County residents are entitled to participate in County elections. Comb. Stip. ¶ 15; Fla. Const, art. 8, §§ 6 and 11.
15. The County's 32 municipal governments are of varying geographical magnitude, population, and financial ability. The ability of a municipal government to provide services is affected by a number of factors. Significant among those factors is financial ability. A generally recognized measure of financial ability is the municipality's per capita tax base, which is derived by dividing the total municipal population by the total assessed value of taxable property located within municipal boundaries. The population and per capita tax base of the existing municipalities, as compared to the per capita tax base of the unincorporated area specifically, is as follows:
Total Assessed Per Capita
Value ($1,000s) Population Tax Base City
$15,346,095 364, 001 $ 42, 159 Miami
$ 9,398,715 88, 158 $ 6, 531,014 Miami Beach
$ 6,531,014 42,746 $ 152,787 Coral Gables
$ 5,532,832 230,059 $ 3,914,282 Hialeah
$ 3,914,282 25,903 $ 151, 113 Aventura
$ 2,731,834 10,607 $ 257,550 Key Biscayne
$ 2,072,601 19,064 $ 108,718 Pinecrest
$ 1,819,068 15,534 $ 117,102 Sunny Isles Beach
$ 1,723,698 22,676 $ 76,014 Miami Lakes
$ 1,387,536 59,688 $ 23,246 North Miami
$ 1,210,331 40,929 $ 29,571 North Miami Beach
$ 1,096,293 3,317 $ 330,507 Bal Harbour
$ 814,900 10,716 $ 76,045 South Miami
$ 734,743 1,115 $ 658,962 Medley
$ 690,011 32,300 $ 21,363 Homestead
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