What if they held a budget hearing and nobody showed up to complain?

That’s just what happened Sept. 10 when the Sunny Isles Beach City Commission reviewed the proposed $26 million city budget for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1.

Against a backdrop of contentious budget hearings in nearby cities, school districts and Miami-Dade County, Sunny Isles Beach commissioners were in a jovial mood as they whipped through the short agenda in about 35 minutes.

Before an audience consisting mainly of city department heads, City Manager Rick Conner praised the commission for its leadership and commissioners praised the staff for its execution. Mayor Norman Edelcup pointed out that in his six years as mayor, the millage rate has gone down and the city’s spending is almost flat while new parks and programs are being launched.

The new millage rate of 2.65 per $1,000 of assessed value allows the city to maintain its status as the sixth lowest tax rate among the county’s 35 municipalities. While up about 7 percent from last year’s rate, the figure is almost 10 percent below the “rollback rate,” the figure the city could levy to stabilize its revenue without having to declare it a tax increase.

To be sure, Sunny Isles Beach found itself in better shape than many other cities and the county. The county property assessor calculates property values are down 17.6 percent across Miami-Dade. But Sunny Isles Beach’s tax base was bolstered by $946 million in new construction, about 11 percent of the new construction in the whole county. The net effect is that the city’s assessed valuation slipped 2.6 percent to $6.1 billion.

The commission reacted to the gathering economic storm by asking City Manager Rick Conner to reshape the budget process to reflect a cost center approach and look for savings. The result was a $1.7 million reduction in operating costs.

The Building Department was the hardest hit. Staff cuts were imposed to reflect the anticipated effect of decreased permit applications. A reorganization eliminated a director-level position, leaving Paola Villa in charge as building department manager. And code enforcement personnel will take on additional duties, including writing parking tickets.

Elsewhere, senior managers will forego a planned pay raise and a number of service and supply contracts were renegotiated.

A second hearing on the budget is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Sept. 22.