Author Archives: M_Blank
Emergency Services Surtax – Round Up
I’ve spilled lots of ink on this Emergency Services Surtax (ESS). There’s a good reason for that. The true impact of this proposed tax has been misrepresented to the public. (More monkey math!) People need to know the real deal. … Continue reading
Posted in BOCC, Bubba System, Fire and Ambulance, Monroe County
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Peary Court and Affordable Housing
I’ve got no horse in the Peary Court race – at least not directly. But I have been following the issue and I have written a few posts about it. Key West voters made the right decision here. There were too … Continue reading
Posted in Affordable Housing
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Animal Control – Public Pressure is the Key
It’s nice to know I’m not alone in being disgusted by the high kill rate in the Upper Keys. Maybe if enough people speak up, things will improve. There’s no doubt that in the short-term any solution will have to come … Continue reading
Posted in Animal Shelter
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Florida Keys Stewardship Act – Editorial
Update: The KeyNoter turned out to be right. The Florida Keys Stewardship Act (FKSA) is pretty questionable overall. I ran across this editorial at KeysNet.com: The Keys get $5 million for water and land, but calling that a success is … Continue reading
Posted in BOCC, Florida Keys Stewardship Act, Media
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Animal Control – County Response Part 2
The saga continues! I’ve been attempting to fact check claims made in the 2015 State of the County report regarding the animal shelters. On page 37, the county claims that the Upper Keys animal shelter handled 736 animals, the Middle … Continue reading
Posted in Animal Shelter
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Emergency Services Surtax – Monroe County
At this point in the discussion, it would probably be a good idea to revisit the map of emergency services providers. It helps to keep track of what is going on where. Monroe County serves the unincorporated Lower and Middle … Continue reading
Posted in BOCC, Bubba System, Fire and Ambulance, Taxes
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Emergency Services Surtax – Key Largo
I think I’ve made a very strong case that Carruthers didn’t propose the Emergency Services Surtax (ESS) out of the goodness of her heart. It’s not a “tax shift” that’s meant to benefit locals. Clearly it is designed to help large property … Continue reading
SMART Districts – Following Up
There’s a group exploring the idea of single-member districts. The idea is that each district elects its own county commissioner. Right now, the commissioners are elected by voters county-wide. And that leads to some odd situations. The name of the … Continue reading
Posted in BOCC, Elections, Single-member Districts
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Animal Control – County Responds
Monroe County partially responded to my request for information. Three things seem to be very helpful in eliciting a response. Publish the request on the blog. Use the phrase “please consider this a formal public records request”. Copy the county … Continue reading
Posted in Animal Shelter, Public Records
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Tallahassee Happenings
Update: Stewardship bill goes to Scott. If the $10 million survives, we know that $5 million of that will go to Monroe County for “land purchases”. The other $5 million is for “water quality projects”. The need is still huge … Continue reading
The Real Poop 