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The Hialeah City Council unanimously approved, this Tuesday, the ordinance that establishes the Senior Homeowner Relief Stimulus Check program, which will issue stimulus checks to low-income senior homeowners, reimbursing the municipal portion of their property taxes directly to their homes.
The measure, driven by Mayor Bryan Calvo, makes Hialeah the first city in Florida to implement this type of direct tax refund. The program allocates 1.2 million dollars from the city's general fund, financed by surpluses from early pension payments, without cuts to municipal services or tax increases for residents or businesses.
To receive the check, residents must meet four requirements: be 65 years of age or older, be homeowners of their primary residence in Hialeah with an active homestead exemption, have the low-income senior homestead exemption from Florida in effect as of January 1, 2025, and have a household annual income not exceeding $37,694.
Those who already have the exemption registered do not need to complete any additional procedures: the check will be automatically sent by mail. According to figures from the Miami Herald, the amount varies based on the assessed value of the property and the municipal taxes paid in 2025, with an estimated average of $539 per household and a cap on the assessed value of $200,000.
This initiative comes at a time of increasing concern among older adults in Florida about the cost of living, and contrasts with the trend observed in other areas of the county. While Hialeah is refunding money to its residents, several cities in Miami-Dade were planning to increase property taxes in 2025.
Mayor Calvo illustrated the mechanism with a concrete example: if a property pays $7,644 in total, the $2,076 that corresponds to the municipal portion of Hialeah is returned in full to the owner. "If you pay more taxes, the check will be for a larger amount. If you pay less taxes, it will be for a smaller amount," explained the official, who since taking office has set an active agenda in Hialeah.
The program had previously been presented to the council. CiberCuba covered the first reading of the senior checks ordinance in February 2026, when the proposal began to take official shape.
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