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1 RESOLUTION NO. __________ _
2 A Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the City of South Miami,
3 Florida in support of lowering energy costs and removing barriers for solar power
4 and support for amendment 4 on the August thirtieth primary ballot.
5 WHEREAS, the City of South Miami (the "City") adopted Resolution No. 24-10-13058 dated
6 January 26,2010 supporting the Green Corridor District legislation, which is a PACE program expressly
7 allowing local governments to finance improvements such as solar panels on properties; and
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9 WHEREAS, as of May 1, 2016, the PACE program has finances over 1,437 projects, which
10 includes several solar power projects, with an estimated cost of $43,730,144 within the Green Corridor;
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13 WHEREAS, unlike conventional power generation, solar po~er generates electricity with zero
14 air emissions and no water use, thereby moving the county, state, and nation to a cleaner and more
15 sustainable energy future; and
16 WHEREAS, Florida has the greatest potential for rooftop solar power of any state in the eastern
17 United States. Yet, with 9 million electric utility customer accounts, Florida has only 8,500 customer-
18 sited solar systems, in contrast with less sunny states such as New Jersey, which has over 40,000
19 customer-sited solar systems, but only half the population of Florida; and
20 WHEREAS, the Florida tangible personal property tax is a tax on non-real estate property and
21 has the effect of increasing the cost of solar power on many solar systems by 2 to 5 cents per kilowatt
22 hour (kWh). Lowering the cost of solar power improves the economic benefit of solar power and can lead
23 to significantly more solar development; and
24 WHEREAS, amendment 4 will appear on the August 30, 2016 primary ballot, which, if
25 approved, would: (1) Exempt the assessed value of a renewable energy source device from ad valorem tax
26 on tangible personal property; and (2) Prohibit a property appraiser from considering the installation of a
27 renewable energy source device in the determination of assessed value of real property for the purpose of
28 ad valorem taxation; and
29 WHEREAS, as such, the City Commission hereby supports Amendment 4 as it would lower the
30 costs and remove barrier of solar power within the State of Florida; and
31 WHEREAS, the City Commission finds that this Resolution is in the best interest and welfare of
32 the residents of the City.
33 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION
34 OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA THAT:
35 Section 1. The above recitals are true and correct and are incorporated herein by this reference.
36 Section 2. The City Commission hereby supports lowering energy costs and removing barriers
37 for solar power and additionally supports Amendment 4 on the August 30, 2016 primary ballot.
38 Section 3. The City Clerk is hereby directed to transmit a copy of this Resolution to the Mayor
39 and Board of County Commissioners of Miami-Dade County, Florida, and all elected municipal officials
40 in Miami-Dade County.
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1 Section 4. This resolution shall become effective immediately upon adoption by vote of the City
2 Commission.
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PASSED AND ADOPTED this __ day of ,2016.
ATTEST: APPROVED:
CITY CLERK
READ AND APPROVED AS TO FORM,
LANGUAGE, LEGALITY AND
EXECUTION THEREOF
CITY ATTORNEY
MAYOR
COMMISSION VOTE:
Mayor Stoddard:
Vice Mayor Welsh:
Commissioner Edmond:
Commissioner Harris:
Commissioner Liebman:
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