It’s been nearly 23 years since Miami-Dade County commissioners first approved the creation of an advisory committee to explore the feasibility of forming a municipality in North Central Dade.
In its early stages, a moratorium on incorporation proposals stalled the North Central Dade Municipal Advisory Committee’s (MAC) work. Once that moratorium was lifted in 2012, the committee was free to meet once more. Since then, the committee’s lifeline has been extended three times.
That is, until last week, which marked the MAC’s fourth renewal.'
"Multiple communities, groups and leaders within the North Central Dade area have reached out to my office, vocalizing their desire to continue to study the viability of incorporation,” said Miami-Dade County District 2 Commissioner Marleine Bastien, who sponsored the item extending the MAC’s lifeline by two years. “Continuing the North Central Municipal Advisory Committee gives them the opportunity to ensure their voices are heard."
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Back in 2021, the North Central Dade MAC was in the process of meeting with several departments in county government, including parks and recreation, fire and law enforcement, to assess the costs associated with creating a self-governing municipality and getting a question on the ballot, explained Liberty City resident and MAC member Valencia Gunder.
“We just have not moved forward,” said Gunder, who said the committee has not met in more than a year. “And I honestly think it’s because of the committee’s capacity and time, and also, you know, it’s a very heavy lift.”
Still, Gunder said, continued extensions are a way of “giving the community a chance to get it together.”
“It’s not hard to maintain, and I feel like that’s why the county is continuously extending it, because people need to make up their mind. We need to understand the process… I would want it to extend until we find the right group of people to make it happen."
“[The county] keeping it in place is just giving us a chance to be self-determined as a community in the future. It gives us the right to make the decision for our community as the people that live here. And we know that it’s going to take time, but we deserve to have time,” said Gunder.
Assessing the benefits
Meanwhile, Brownsville, an unincorporated neighborhood within Dade County, is at its own crossroads, looking to get in on the MAC’s pending studies. Community leaders, such as Kenneth Kilpatrick, who leads the Brownsville Civic Neighborhood Association, and Yvette McLeod, the association’s second vice president, are weighing the potential benefits and risks of joining forces with surrounding neighborhoods to form that new municipality.
For them, the possibility of incorporation offers a path toward greater autonomy, allowing residents to gain control over local governance, direct their tax dollars, and better address community needs.
Kilpatrick emphasized establishing local authority to protect Brownsville’s interests:
“Becoming a municipality gives residents the power to direct their tax dollars and protect themselves from unwanted annexation.”
Just last year, the city of Hialeah floated the idea of annexing Brownsville, but stark opposition quickly caused the city to abandon the proposal.
In Kilpatrick’s view, incorporation would enable Brownsville to access services that better align with its unique needs, reducing dependency on county-controlled resources.
For McLeod, incorporation is about empowering residents and giving them a stronger voice in governance.
“I’d rather we become our own entity than be forced under someone else’s,” she says, pointing out that forming a municipality would allow Brownsville to chart its own course and make decisions best suited to its people. As a homeowner, she recognizes the value of autonomy, noting that “having a voice matters.”
Historically, Brownsville has faced challenges with limited access to resources. Currently, as an unincorporated area, its tax revenue is pooled with other neighborhoods across North Central Dade, leading to a lack of dedicated investment. Residents feel that incorporation could address this.
“If you’re within a city, your elected officials come from your neighborhood, and the tax dollars you pay can go directly to improving your streets, infrastructure, and community services,” Kilpatrick explained. Services like police, fire, and sanitation would be more tailored and responsive to local needs if managed by a municipality, he added.
Beyond practical concerns, there is a broader aspiration for cultural preservation.
“Brownsville has a rich history, and we want to preserve it,” said Kilpatrick, highlighting the community’s desire to maintain its identity.
Incorporation offers a way to prevent outside entities from defining the neighborhood’s future and could help prevent gentrification, a growing concern in South Florida communities. By controlling its own zoning and development regulations, Brownsville would have more leverage in protecting both its culture and its residents from displacement.
Keeping an open mind
However, the decision to incorporate isn’t simple. The feasibility study conducted by the MAC will play a critical role in determining whether forming a municipality is financially viable and sustainable.
Kilpatrick emphasizes that the MAC process is only meant to study the possibility of creating a municipality, urging residents to approach it with an open mind.
“If the feasibility doesn’t add up, we don’t want to incorporate only to find that it places an economic burden on residents,” he said.
Kilpatrick said he is hoping that members of homeowners associations from Brownsville up to Opa-locka’s city limit will be willing to participate in the MAC’s work now that its lifeline has been extended once more. And throughout that process, the question remains clear:
“What would it take if we had all of Brownsville, Gladeview, West Little River, North Shore — you know, what happens if you get all of these communities together and form a municipality? Would you have enough of a tax base to create a municipality without gentrifying your own neighborhood?” Kilpatrick said.
McLeod also underscored the importance of informed decision-making. She believes that a transparent and comprehensive process will allow residents to fully understand the implications of incorporation.
“We want to sit down and have a comprehensive discussion on incorporation, on the feasibility of becoming a municipality,” she says.
The work begins
Looking ahead, the MAC will continue to hold public hearings and invite input from residents and local homeowner associations. A public hearing scheduled for early next year is expected to draw substantial community participation.
Kilpatrick encourages residents to come forward, explaining that their involvement is essential for shaping the greater community’s future.
“Incorporation gives us a voice, and when we come together as one, our community becomes stronger,” said McLeod.
This story was produced by The Miami Times, one of the oldest Black-owned newspapers in the country, as part of a content sharing partnership with the WLRN newsroom. Read more at miamitimesonline.com.
