Miami-Dade County, Florida

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Miami-Dade County (formerly known as Dade County) is a county located in the southeastern part of the state of Florida. As of the 2000 U.S. census, the population was 2,253,362, making it the most populated county in the state. The 2005 census estimate indicated a population of 2,376,014, making it the eighth most populous county in the nation. Its county seat is Miami, located in the northeastern part.

Miami-Dade County is one of three counties that comprise the South Florida metropolitan area.

History

The second-costliest natural disaster to occur in the United States was the disastrous Hurricane Andrew, which hit this county early Monday morning on August 24, 1992. It struck the central part of the county from due east, south of Miami and very near Homestead, Kendall, and Cutler Ridge (now the Town of Cutler Bay). Damages numbered over 25 billion dollars in the county alone, and recovery has taken years in these areas where the destruction was greatest.

Geography

The bay is divided from the Atlantic Ocean by the many barrier isles along the coast, one of which is where well-known Miami Beach is located, home to South Beach and the Art Deco district. The Florida Keys,which are also barrier islands are only accessible through Miami-Dade County, but which are otherwise part of neighboring Monroe County.

Miami is the only metropolitan area in the United States that borders two national parks. Biscayne National Park is located east of the mainland, in Biscayne Bay, and the western third of Miami-Dade County lies within Everglades National Park.

Adjacent Counties

• Broward County, Florida - north
• Monroe County, Florida - south and west
• Collier County, Florida - northwest

Demographics

In languages, Miami-Dade is unusual among U.S. counties because the mother tongue of the majority of the population is not English. As of the census of 2000, Spanish was the first language of 59.2% of the population, English, 32.1%, Haitian Creole, 4.1%, Portuguese, 1.1%, Russian, 1.0%, Hebrew 0.8%, French, 0.7%, Italian 0.4%, other 0.7%.^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}

There were 776,774 households out of which 33.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.7% were married couples living together, 17.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.4% were non-families. 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.84 and the average family size was 3.35.

The age distribution is 24.8% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.2 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $35,966, and the median income for a family was $40,260. Males had a median income of $30,120 versus $24,686 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,497. About 14.5% of families and 18.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.9% of those under age 18 and 18.9% of those age 65 or over.

Law and government

Federation, not total consolidation

Cities are the "lower tier" of local government, providing police and fire protection, zoning and code enforcement, and other typical city services within their jurisdiction. These services are paid for by city taxes. The County is the "upper tier", and it provides services of a metropolitan nature, such as emergency management, airport and seaport operations, public housing and health care services, transportation, environmental services, solid waste disposal etc. These are funded by county taxes, which are assessed on all incorporated and unincorporated areas.

Of the county's 2.2 million total residents (as of 2000), approximately 52% live in unincorporated areas, the majority of which are heavily urbanized. These residents are part of the Unincorporated Municipal Services Area (UMSA). For these residents, the County fills the role of both lower- and upper-tier government, the County Commission acting as their lower-tier municipal representative body. Residents within UMSA pay an UMSA tax, equivalent to a city tax, which is used to provide County residents with equivalent city services (police, fire, zoning, water and sewer, etc.). Residents of incorporated areas do not pay UMSA tax.

Structure of county government

The Board of County Commissioners is the legislative body, consisting of 13 members elected from single-member districts. Members are elected to serve four-year terms, and elections of members are staggered. The Board chooses a Chairperson, who presides over the Commission, as well as appoints the members of its legislative committees. The Board has a wide array of powers to enact legislation, create departments, and regulate businesses operating within the County. It also has the power to override the Mayor's veto with a two-thirds vote.

The election of Commissioners from single member districts came to be in 1992 after a small but vocal group challenged the at large election system in the courts, arguing that the present system did not allow for the election of African American commissioners, despite the fact that Commissioner Barbara Carey-Shuler had been elected several times. The court, under the ruling of Judge Graham, created the single member district election system. To many in the community, this was the first giant step towards a parochial system of representation, resulting in a general loss of interest on issues of regional importance and focusing instead on neighborhood issues.

Reorganization of constitutional officers

The most visible distinction between Miami-Dade and other Florida counties is the title of its law enforcement agency. It is the only county in Florida that does not have an elected sheriff, or an agency titled "Sheriff's Office." Instead the equivalent agency is known as the Miami-Dade Police Department, and its leader is known as the Metropolitan Sheriff and Director of the Miami-Dade Police Department.

Independent judiciary and school district

In Florida, each county is also a school district. Miami-Dade County Public Schools, is operated by an independently-elected School Board. A professional Superintendent of Schools manages the day-to-day operations of the district, who is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the School Board.

Cities, towns, villages, unincorporated communities, and public high schools

Incorporated

Unincorporated areas and census-designated places

• Brownsville(j)
• Coral Terrace(o)
• Country Club(d)
• Country Walk(cc)
• Fairlawn(r)
• Fountainbleau(k)
• Gladeview(i)
• Glenvar Heights(q)
• Golden Glades(c)
• Goulds(hh)
• Homestead Base(ll)
• Ives Estates(a)
• Kendale Lakes(v)
• Kendall(u)
• Kendall West (a census-defined area west of the Florida Turnpike)(w)
• Lakes by the Bay(gg)
• Leisure City(kk)
• Naranja(jj)
• Ojus(b)
• Olympia Heights(m)
• Palm Springs North(e)
• Palmetto Estates(z)
• Pinewood(f)
• Princeton(ii)
• Richmond Heights(aa)
• Richmond West(dd)
• South Miami Heights(ff)
• Sunset(t)
• Tamiami(l)
• The Crossings(y)
• The Hammocks(x)
• Three Lakes(bb)
• University Park(m)
• West Kendall (a neighborhood within the community of Kendall)(u)
• West Little River(h)
• West Perrine(ee)
• Westchester(n)
• Westview(g)
• Westwood Lakes(s)

City districts and neighborhoods (and recently annexed census-designated places)

• Andover in Miami Gardens
• Coconut Grove in Miami
• Bunche Park in Miami Gardens
• Carol City in Miami Gardens
• Cutler in Palmetto Bay
• East Perrine in Palmetto Bay
• Fisher Island in Miami Beach(p)
• Lake Lucerne in Miami Gardens
• Norland in Miami Gardens
• Opa-locka North in Miami Gardens
• Scott Lake in Miami Gardens
• Liberty City in Miami

Public high schools

Transportation

Street grid

Sister Cities

City Hall of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain

External links

Government links

• [Miami-Dade County Government]

County Departments and Agencies

• [Miami-Dade Police Department]
• [Public Health Trust of Miami-Dade County] Jackson Memorial Hospital
• [Miami-Dade Aviation Department] Miami International Airport
• [Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department]

Special districts

• [Miami-Dade County Public Schools (MDCPS)] is the 4th largest school district in the United States. The Miami-Dade School Board is a nine-member publicly elected body responsible for overseeing the administration of the (MDCPS).
• [South Florida Water Management District]

Judicial branch

• [Miami-Dade Clerk of Courts]
• [Miami-Dade Public Defender, 11th Judicial Circuit]
• [Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office, 11th Judicial Circuit]
• [Circuit and County Court, 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida]

Tourism

• [Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau]

State of Florida (Government | History | Floridians)
Capital:	Tallahassee
Largest cities:	Cape Coral | Clearwater | Coral Springs | Fort Lauderdale | Gainesville | Hialeah | Hollywood | Jacksonville | Lakeland | Miami | Miami Gardens | Miramar | North Miami | Orlando | Pembroke Pines | Plantation | Pompano Beach | Port St. Lucie | St. Petersburg | Sunrise | Tallahassee | Tampa | West Palm Beach
Other notable communities:	Altamonte Springs | Apopka | Aventura | Boca Raton  | Bonita Springs | Boynton Beach | Bradenton | Brandon | Coconut Creek | Cooper City | Coral Gables | Davie | Daytona Beach | Deerfield Beach | Delray Beach | Deltona | Dunedin | Fort Myers | Fort Pierce | Greenacres | Hallandale Beach | Homestead | Jupiter | Kissimmee | Lake Mary | Lake Worth | Lakeland | Largo | Lauderdale Lakes | Lauderhill | Margate | Melbourne | Miami Beach | North Lauderdale | North Miami Beach | North Miami | Oakland Park | Ocala | Ocoee | Ormond Beach | Oviedo | Palm Bay | Palm Beach Gardens | Palm Harbor | Panama City | Pensacola | Pinellas Park | Plant City | Plantation | Port Charlotte | Port Orange | Riviera Beach | Royal Palm Beach | St. Augustine | Sanford | Sarasota | Spring Hill | Sunrise | Tamarac | Temple Terrace | Titusville | Vero Beach | Wellington | Weston | Winter Haven | Winter Park | Winter Springs
Regions:	Central Florida | Emerald Coast | First Coast | Florida Panhandle | Florida Keys | Gold Coast | Nature Coast | North Central Florida  | South Florida | Southwest Florida | Space Coast | Sun Coast | Tampa Bay Area | Treasure Coast | Walt Disney World
Counties:	Alachua | Baker | Bay | Bradford | Brevard | Broward | Calhoun | Charlotte | Citrus | Clay | Collier | Columbia |Dade |DeSoto | Dixie | Duval | Escambia | Flagler | Franklin | Gadsden | Gilchrist | Glades | Gulf | Hamilton | Hardee | Hendry | Hernando | Highlands | Hillsborough | Holmes | Indian River | Jackson | Jefferson | Lafayette | Lake | Lee | Leon | Levy | Liberty | Madison | Manatee | Marion | Martin | Miami-Dade | Monroe | Nassau | Okaloosa | Okeechobee | Orange | Osceola | Palm Beach | Pasco | Pinellas | Polk | Putnam | Santa Rosa | Sarasota | Seminole | St. Johns | St. Lucie | Sumter | Suwannee | Taylor | Union | Volusia | Wakulla | Walton | Washington

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