City Council - Regular Meeting

Presidente de Hialeah, a lo largo de los últimos meses, nuestra ciudad ha trabajado diligentemente para crear nuestro próximo presupuesto para el año fiscal 2027. Muchas gracias a nuestro equipo y a todos nuestros directores de departamento que nos han ayudado a poder tener un presupuesto que no solamente It is smaller than last year, but it is providing, more importantly, additional services to our community and investing in the spaces and parks of our city that need it so much due to a lack of maintenance over the years. I want to take this opportunity to talk to you a little about what are the projects that are being approved in this budget. To remind you, the budget was approved in the first reading a few weeks ago, thanks to our advisors, and it will go to the second and last reading on September 22. This is the year of parks in the city of Hialeah. We are investing $18 million to better invest in our city. We start with the Victor Wilde Park, which is starting with a complete renovation of recreational areas, including the Banquet Hall. We also move on to the Goodlett Park, which will receive a new field to play football and other sports in a new area that will be artificial land, which helps us when there is rain. or other storms, to be able to continue playing in those beautiful terrains. The investment continues in the Kotzen Park, which will receive new lighting for its grounds and also a recreational area that will be completely renovated. And for residents who live near the Sparks Park, good news, that park will also be completely rehabilitated, the recreational areas including all the green areas will be completely redesigned And for lovers of reading, good news, the Hialeah Library is going to have a complete renovation. It has been more than 60 years since the money has been put into that library so that it really looks for its best potential. And that project is going to start in a few months and it is estimated to be completed throughout the next year. And we continue with our pools. When I entered as mayor of the seven pools that Hialeah had, four of them were permanently closed and of the three pools that were open, they were not with the necessary maintenance to really support our residents using those activities. Therefore, we are dedicating millions of dollars to be able to improve those pools and reopen them with the goal that all our pools are open next year. And we emphasize that a few weeks ago we signed a historic agreement with our officers in the police department. This budget gives them those improvements in the salary and also includes 5 new positions of officers, 12 new motorcycles for that department so that our officers can keep our city safe. We are also investing millions of dollars in what is the infrastructure of our city and this is very important especially for our small businesses. ¿Qué pasa? Cuando vas a abrir un negocio pequeño, las tuberías tienen que estar a par y estamos invirtiendo más de 10 millones de dólares en mejorar esa infraestructura que está debajo de la tierra. Continuamos la inversión en los metros digitales. Esperamos que el próximo año puedan comenzar las instalaciones a masa, donde miles de nuestros residentes van a tener estas nuevas tecnologías en sus casas. And for our firefighters, we are this year buying a new ambulance and also a new fire truck that will help our fire department continue to provide a high quality service. But the most important of all, Este es un presupuesto que es fiscalmente responsable y no le pide ni un centavo más a nuestros residentes. No se están subiendo los impuestos. Al contrario, seguimos con nuestro programa de reembolso para las personas mayores de 65 años, programa cuyo ha beneficiado a más de 6,500 familias en nuestra comunidad. And also, as you have already heard, the reduction for water and sewerage for the vast majority of residents to 25% and people over 65 years of age receive a 50% reduction in their water bills. Trash rates are not rising, no rate is rising in our city. On the contrary, a tax-responsible budget, but really investing where the money has to be spent. y eso es para los servicios que nuestros residentes merecen. Muchas gracias a todos nuestros residentes por su confianza, su paciencia a lo largo de este año y esperamos que el próximo año vaya a ser el mejor año en la historia de Hialeah.