Every public official, at some point, needs to learn one very important lesson. DO NOT FEED THE MONEY CREATURE. 
The money creature is really cute when it’s little. It’s so tempting to just give it a little something. But if you feed the money creature, it gets bigger and stronger and hungrier and it keeps coming back. Then it’s not so cute anymore. It gets really angry when you try to stop feeding it. Spineless types get intimidated by that. Eventually, they want to stop feeding the money creature but they are afraid to. So the money creature gets even bigger and even stronger; and then IT HAS BABIES. And those babies are hungry, too. Continue reading
The Money Creature
BOCC on the Record – Carruthers
This is third installment regarding public statements made about the funding disparity by Monroe County commissioners. The first two are here and here. Heather Carruthers is the commissioner most guilty of repeating the argument that Key Largo has benefited to such a great extent from the infrastructure sales tax that the $100 million wastewater funding disparity is justified.
She trotted it out at the budget meeting where Rowell’s Marina was discussed. She mentioned it again in email correspondence in July 2014. The county’s own records demonstrate that this simply is not the case. I first debunked this argument a couple of years ago. KeysNews poked some holes in it in this September 2014 story, and I followed up with a letter to the editor. I’ve debunked it again here on my blog so that the information is easily available to the public. Continue reading
Posted in BOCC, Bubba System, Cudjoe Regional, Incorporation, Key West, Monroe County, Wastewater
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Financial Squeeze – Rates
In reviewing material for the “BOCC on the Record” posts, I came across some discussion of the funding disparity issue at the October 2013 Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) meeting. It’s garbled and distorted, of course. If you’re looking for clarity, you certainly won’t find it at a BOCC meeting. But still, the commissioners who attempted to discuss the issue in a serious way deserve some credit.
Kolhage basically refused to address the issue. When it was raised, he quickly changed the subject back to more spending. Carruthers became confused about the sales tax and the contribution to the county from incorporated areas versus unincorporated areas. Rice raised the issue of parity for the municipalities. A valid point! Murphy did a good job outlining the issue. Neugent brought up the issue of rates. Continue reading
BOCC on the Record – Kolhage
Update: When I first wrote this, I assumed Kolhage was simply trying to divert taxpayer money to the Lower Keys. Now that I’ve had a chance to look into exactly how some of the players are related, I’m afraid there might be more to it than that.
This is a long one, but please stick with me. There’s an election coming up in 2016. This is the voters’ best opportunity to make positive changes. It’s important to know where each county commissioner really stands on the issues. Their votes and public statements tell you more than empty campaign promises ever will. Continue reading
Posted in BOCC, Bubba System, Cudjoe Regional, Key Largo's contribution, Monroe County, Parks, Wastewater
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Stewardship Bill Survives BOCC Meeting Intact
I am happy to report that today’s Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) meeting turned out okay for Key Largo taxpayers when it comes to wastewater. As I mentioned here, I planned to monitor Rep. Raschein’s Stewardship Bill. Raschein added a provision that ensures that the first $100 million will be distributed in accordance with existing interlocal agreements. That means a much needed $26 million for Key Largo. Continue reading
BOCC on the Record – Introduction
Theoretically, the county commissioners are supposed to represent all of Monroe County. Though they are assigned to a specific geographic district, they are elected by voters county-wide. While they certainly need to represent their own districts effectively, they should also be looking out for the interests of all the citizens of Monroe County. It is well-documented fact that they have failed to do that when it comes to the wastewater projects.
The projects have been grossly mismanaged by the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) and county staff. The financial impact of that mismanagement is absorbed by taxpayers county-wide, but especially by those in Key Largo. The Cudjoe Regional project alone is $43 million over the original bid. The BOCC reduced the assessment on that service area by $10 million, which increased the financial need to $53 million. The money to fill that gap will come primarily from the infrastructure sales tax which is collected county-wide – from Ocean Reef to Key West. There are needs throughout the county. How will these needs be met if tax money is squandered so recklessly on one project? Unfortunately, this is an ongoing pattern. Continue reading
A New Discovery!
A week ago, I submitted an email to Governor Scott’s office. Since then I’ve discovered the Office of Open Government. Each request is listed by the name of the requester. If you pay attention to Keys media, you’ll see some familiar names. I clicked on several requests, and many were related to appointments. Not just in the Keys but throughout the state. Continue reading
My Passive-Aggressive Note
If you’ve never seen the website, PassiveAggressiveNotes.com, check it out. It’s pretty funny sometimes. I used it for guidance in writing my email to Rep. Raschein thanking her for her efforts on the Stewardship Bill. Just to be clear, my passive-aggressiveness is not directed at Rep. Raschein. It’s directed at Monroe County.
Rep. Raschein has been nothing but smart, helpful and sincere. She’s filled the leadership void left by the county, whose unscrupulous and irresponsible behavior has made the wastewater projects unnecessarily expensive and difficult for everyone – even themselves. She’s gone above and beyond, and so has her staff. There’s nobody who would have worked harder for the taxpayers. That’s what she never seems to lose sight of – it’s about the taxpayers. Continue reading
Posted in BOCC, Florida Keys Stewardship Act, Monroe County
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Stewardship Bill – Watching Closely
I’ve had a chance to review the agenda for the October 21 Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) meeting. The Stewardship Bill looks good actually. I’m going to follow-up with an email to the BOCC and Rep. Raschein’s office to make sure it stays that way. And I will definitely watch a recording of the meeting to make sure the BOCC doesn’t try to bastardize the thing.
The BOCC is lining up some open-ended spending initiatives – canal restoration, land purchases, climate change mitigation. There’s nothing wrong with any of these in concept, but they are in the study phase. At this point, they are “shiny objects”. The BOCC currently has an extremely messed up wastewater situation to set right. They had a rock-solid wastewater master plan and they still managed to screw up royally. I shudder to think what will happen if they try to wing it on these other projects. Key Largo taxpayers are already paying a heavy price for the county’s mismanagement. So are Cudjoe Regional taxpayers, though not so much in a financial sense. Wastewater needs to be fixed first. Maybe the county will learn something in the process that they can apply to future projects to keep those from spinning out of control. Continue reading
Proceed With Extreme Caution
Key Largo taxpayers: did they fall or were they pushed?
From KeysNet.com: ‘Environment’ removed from Raschein’s land stewardship bill.
The bill formerly known as the Florida Keys Environmental Stewardship Act, will be on the agenda at the next Board of County Commissioners meeting. As with many things that affect Monroe County taxpayers, this bill sounds great in concept. It replaces and expands the Mayfield Grant, which is a tough sell in Tallahassee because it requires the state to borrow. The borrowing issue has been used as a shaky excuse to prohibit using Mayfield money to refinance the sewer projects. This in turn has placed an excessive financial burden on taxpayers in those areas that completed their projects in a timely manner. Ass-backward. But that’s government for ya. Continue reading
The Real Poop 