Miami Residents Approve $400M In GO Bonds To Deal With Rising Sea, Infrastructure Fixes

With Hurricane Irma still fresh in their minds, Miami residents on Tuesday voted yes on a big funding measure to protect their city from climate change.

The major port city is set to spend nearly half a billion dollars on projects like storm-drain upgrades, flood pumps, and seawalls, as well as affordable housing and new roads, all measures aimed at bracing for the effects of climate change.

The $400 million approved in the ballot measure in Tuesday’s election comes via a “Miami Forever” general obligation bond, which allows the city government to spend money that it borrows on the municipal bond market, leveraged against property taxes. It’s a last-minute win for outgoing Mayor Tomás Regalado, a Republican who defied many in his party in championing the effort.

That includes Gov. Rick Scott, a climate change skeptic who said after Irma hit in early September: “Clearly our environment changes all the time, and whether that’s cycles we’re going through or whether that’s man-made, I wouldn’t be able to tell you.” “I know we have flood-mitigation issues,” Scott added.

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https://news.vice.com/story/miami-voters-just-sent-their-climate-change-denying-governor-a-message