Government Center building from the Miami Main Library

The government of Miami-Dade County is defined and authorized under the

Constitution of Florida The Constitution of the State of Florida is the document that establishes and describes the powers, duties, structure, and function of the government of the U.S. state of Florida, and establishes the basic law of the state. The current State co ...

Florida law The law of Florida consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, and regulatory law, as well as case law and local law. The '' Florida Statutes'' form the general statutory law of Florida. Sources The Constitution of Florida ...

, and the Home Rule Charter of

Miami-Dade County Miami-Dade County () is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most-populous coun ...

. Since its formation in 1957, the county has had a two-tier system of government. Under this system, Miami-Dade comprises a large unincorporated area and 34 incorporated areas or municipalities. Each

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

has its own government and provides such city-type services as police and zoning protection. In 2018, a state constitutional amendment was passed that made the positions of county tax collector, property appraiser, supervisor of elections, and sheriff independent elected offices.

Overview

Of the county's 2,751,796 total residents (as of 2017), approximately 44% live in unincorporated areas, most 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.

Organization

An executive mayor and the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners (BCC) govern the county. The county's main administrative offices are located in the

Stephen P. Clark Center The Stephen P. Clark Government Center, known also as Government Center, Miami-Dade Center, or County Hall, is a skyscraper in the Government Center district of Downtown Miami, Florida, United States. It is the headquarters building of the Miami- ...

(SPCC) at 111 NW 1st Street in downtown Miami.

Board of County Commissioners

The Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners is the governing body of unincorporated Miami-Dade County and has broad regional powers to establish policies for Miami-Dade County services. The government provides major metropolitan services countywide and city-type services for residents of unincorporated areas. One county commissioner is elected from each of Miami-Dade County's 13 districts to serve a four-year term. Residents choose only from among candidates running in the district in which they live. Commissioners are chosen in non-partisan, single-district elections and can serve two four-year staggered terms, with elections scheduled every two years. The commissioners elect a chairperson, and the chairperson appoints the members, chairperson and vice chairperson of all standing committees.--> In November 2012, the Miami-Dade County Term Limit Amendment was approved, modifying the county charter to establish term limits of two consecutive four-year terms. Miami-Dade County Commission 2018-2020

After the 2024 election, there are seven Democrats and six Republicans, though it is officially nonpartisan.

Elected officers

In addition to the county commission, there are several elected "constitutional officers" that form the Government of Miami-Dade County that are required by the

Florida Constitution The Constitution of the State of Florida is the document that establishes and describes the powers, duties, structure, and function of the government of the U.S. state of Florida, and establishes the basic law of the state. The current Constitu ...

and

and authorized under the charter.

Mayor

The mayor is an independently elected county executive. The incumbent mayor of Miami-Dade County is

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

Daniella Levine Cava Daniella Levine Cava ( ; born September 14, 1955) is an American lawyer, social worker, and politician who has served as the mayor of Miami-Dade County, Florida since 2020. Previously, she was a Miami-Dade County Commissioner from 2014 until her ...

(2020–present).

Sheriff

Florida sheriffs Florida ( ; ) is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the Straits of Florida to the south, and T ...

are vested with wide-ranging constitutional powers as both county officers and a part of the state judicial branch. The incumbent sheriff of Miami-Dade County is Republican

Rosie Cordero-Stutz Rosie Cordero-Stutz (born 1969/1970) is a Dominican American law enforcement officer and politician who has served as the County sheriff (Florida), sheriff of Miami-Dade County since 2025. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republ ...

(2025–present).

State attorney

The

state attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

is a state and county official, serving as both the chief

prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...

of the state circuit court and county court. The incumbent state attorney for Miami-Dade County is Democrat

Katherine Fernandez Rundle Katherine Fernandez Rundle (born March 1, 1950) is the current State Attorney for Miami-Dade County in Florida. Education Rundle received a B.A. and M.A. in Criminology from the University of Miami and an LL.B. from the Faculty of Law, Univers ...

(1993–present).

Clerk of the circuit court

The

clerk of court A court clerk (British English: clerk to the court or clerk of the court ; American English: clerk of the court or clerk of court ) is an officer of the court whose responsibilities include maintaining records of a court and administering oaths ...

is a state and county official, serving as both the

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include Records managem ...

of the state circuit court and county court. The clerk also functions as the ex-officio county

comptroller A comptroller (pronounced either the same as ''controller'' or as ) is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accountancy, accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior- ...

county auditor The term county auditor is applied as a descriptor, and sometimes as a title, for the fiscal officer in county government with oversight responsibility of all financial books and records of all county offices. United States The county auditor posit ...

, county recorder, and clerk to the board of county commissioners. The incumbent Miami-Dade County clerk of court is Republican

Juan Fernandez-Barquin Juan Alfonso Fernandez-Barquin (born March 6, 1983) is an American attorney, politician, and professor who has served as the Miami-Dade County clerk of court, Clerk and Comptroller since 2023. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Rep ...

(2023–present).

Public defender

The

public defender A public defender is a lawyer appointed to represent people who otherwise cannot reasonably afford to hire a lawyer to defend themselves in a trial. Several countries provide people with public defenders, including the UK, Belgium, Hungary and Si ...

is a state and county official, representing county residents in both the state circuit court and county court. The incumbent public defender of Miami-Dade County is Democrat Carlos J. Martinez (2009–present).

Property appraiser

The incumbent property appraiser of Miami-Dade County is Republican Tomás Regalado (2025–present).

Supervisor of elections

The incumbent Miami-Dade County supervisor of elections is Republican

Alina Garcia Alina Garcia is a Cuban American businesswoman, civil servant, and politician serving as the first Miami-Dade County supervisor of elections since 2025. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served as a member of the Florida House of ...

(2025–present).

Tax collector

The

tax collector A tax collector (also called a taxman) is a person who collects unpaid taxes from other people or corporations on behalf of a government. The term could also be applied to those who audit tax returns or work for a revenue agency. Tax collec ...

is charged with collecting county and state taxes in addition to its role as head of the county DMV. The incumbent tax collector of Miami-Dade County is Republican Dariel Fernandez (2025–present).

Departments

Miami-Dade Transit Miami-Dade Transit (MDT) is the primary public transit authority of Miami, Florida and the greater Miami-Dade County area. It is the largest transit system in Florida and the 15th-largest transit system in the United States. As of , the system ...

oversees the largest transit system in Florida, operating the

Metrorail METRORail is the light rail system in Houston, Texas (United States). In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . METRORail ranks as the second most-traveled light rail system in the Southern United States and the List ...

Metromover Metromover is a fare-free automated people mover system operated by Miami-Dade Transit in Miami, Florida, United States. Metromover serves the Downtown Miami, Brickell, Park West and Arts & Entertainment District neighborhoods. Metromover con ...

, and

Metrobus Metrobus may refer to: Transport services Bus Rapid Transit *MetroBus (Bristol), a bus rapid transit system in Bristol, England, United Kingdom *Metrobus (Buenos Aires), a bus rapid transit system in Buenos Aires, Argentina *Metrobus (Istanbul), a ...

. * The Miami-Dade County Department of Animal Services * The Miami-Dade County Department of Audit and Management Services * The

Miami-Dade Aviation Department The Miami-Dade Aviation Department (MDAD) is an agency of the Miami-Dade County government that manages airports. As of 2021, Ralph Cutié is the director of the agency. The Arts and Cultural Affairs division was created, and is managed by, Yolanda ...

(

Miami International Airport Miami International Airport , also known as MIA and historically as Wilcox Field, is the primary international airport serving Miami and its Miami metropolitan area, surrounding metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of Florida. It hosts over 1, ...

) * The Miami-Dade County Communications Department * The Miami-Dade County Department of Community Action and Human Services * The Miami-Dade County Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation * The Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs * The Miami-Dade County Department of Elections * The Miami-Dade County Department of Finance * The

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department The Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department (MDFR) provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the unincorporated parts of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County, Florida, along with 30 municipalities located within the county. ...

(MDFR) * The Miami-Dade County Department of Human Resources * The Miami-Dade County Department of Information Technology * The Miami-Dade County Department of Internal Services * The Miami-Dade County Department of Juvenile Services * The

Miami-Dade Public Library System The Miami-Dade Public Library System (MDPLS) is a system of libraries in Miami-Dade County, Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of ...

* The Miami-Dade County Department of Management and Budget * The Miami-Dade County Department of Medical Examiner * The Miami-Dade County Department of Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department. Miami-Dade County Parks is the third largest county park system in the United States, consisting of 270 parks and 13,573 acres of land. * The

Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office (MDSO), formerly known as the Dade County Sheriff's Office (1836–1957), Dade County Public Safety Department (1957–1981), Metro-Dade Police Department (1981–1997), and Miami-Dade Police Department (1997� ...

(MDSO) * The Miami-Dade County Department of Public Housing and Community Development (PHCD) * The Miami-Dade County Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources * The

PortMiami The Port of Miami, styled as PortMiami and formally known as the Dante B. Fascell Port of Miami, is a major seaport located in Biscayne Bay at the mouth of the Miami River in Miami, Florida. It is the largest passenger port in the world and one ...

* The Miami-Dade County Department of Solid Waste Management * The Miami-Dade County Department of Transportation and Public Works (DTPW) * The Miami-Dade County Department of Vizcaya Trust (

Vizcaya Museum and Gardens The Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, previously known as Villa Vizcaya, is the former villa and estate of businessman James Deering, of the Deering McCormick- International Harvester fortune, on Biscayne Bay in the present-day Coconut Grove neighbo ...

) * The Miami-Dade County Department of Water and Sewer * Jackson Health System (Public Health Trust of Miami-Dade County)

References

External links

Miami-Dade County Government, Official WebsiteMiami-Dade County Office of the MayorMiami-Dade Board of County CommissionersMiami-Dade County Attorney's OfficeMiami-Dade County Clerk of the Courts OfficeMiami-Dade County Office of the Property AppraiserMiami-Dade County Office of the Inspector GeneralMiami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust
{{Florida County government in Florida Government of Miami-Dade County, Florida