Key Largo citizens should definitely give incorporation some serious thought.  Monroe County has demonstrated that it is incapable of governing in a fair and competent manner.  Key Largo citizens need to get the very best deal they can.  Incorporation guarantees that a certain amount of their tax dollars remain under their control and in their community.  Key Largo has demonstrated that it can provide competent, cost-effective service when it comes to wastewater and fire service.  The per EDU** cost of the wastewater project is now $10,000 less than the Cudjoe Regional project.  The cost of fire service is two-thirds less than the fire service provided by the county.

So what revenue sources are available?  I went to the Loger database available at the Florida Department of Revenue’s website and I put together this spreadsheet:

RevenueSummary2013

It’s a snap shot of revenues for fiscal year 2013 – the latest available.  Incorporated Key Largo’s revenues would probably be somewhat more than Marathon and Islamorada.  Islamorada’s revenues for 2013 appear to be anomalous.  In prior years they were roughly $20-$25 million.  If Key Largo were to incorporate there are a few possible scenarios.

1. Unincorporated Tavernier joins the remainder of Key Largo as an incorporated entity.  The combined population would be about 14,000.
2. Key Largo and unincorporated Tavernier incorporate separately.  Key Largo’s population would be about 10,000.  Tavernier’s population would be about 4,000.
3. Key Largo incorporates without unincorporated Tavernier.  Unincorporated Tavernier is annexed by the Villlage of Islamorada.  The population of Islamorada would increase to about ten or eleven thousand.

I’ll take a more detailed look at each of the revenue sources in subsequent blog posts.

**An EDU (equivalent dwelling unit) is equal to one single family home in terms of water/wastewater use.