My understanding is that the bond validation hearing will take place on December 10, one week from today.

The bond validation hearing is the next step in putting the swap agreement into action.  The swap agreement will allow for the Key Largo Wastewater Treatment District (District) to trade its state money to Monroe County for unrestricted sales tax money.  The District can then use that money to pay down debt and finally provide much needed financial relief to its ratepayers.  Hopefully!

For some reason, the state decided to ban the use of Mayfield money for financial relief even though the original legislation was explicitly written to allow it.  It’s a perverse decision that punishes the entities who complied with the state mandate in a timely manner and rewards those who didn’t (ie. Monroe County).  This, of course, has the county’s finger prints all over it.  It would not be the first time the county tried to divert needed funding away from its own taxpayers in Key Largo.  It certainly will not be the last.

That’s why an abundance of caution is needed.  And that’s why the whole process needs to be watched very closely.  I’ve said it many times:

The only thing the county hates more than doing the right thing is getting publicly called out for doing the wrong thing.

That’s why I blog.  The county sees nothing wrong with reckless spending or gross unfairness.  There’s no internal guide telling them, “that’s not right”.  They do not respond to arguments for fairness, honesty, basic decency or good government.  They are impervious to logic.  So….

…and my morale won’t improve until the county fixes the funding inequity it created.