Wednesday News Roundup – KeysNews.com

Posted on September 16, 2015 by M_Blank

Michael Reckwerdt, former mayor of Islamorada, will be sentenced on Monday for felony tax fraud.  Well, at least Mr. Reckwerdt had the decency not to rip off his own taxpayers.

There is another very interesting letter from John Prosser on the opinion page, “Questions Without Answers“.  Unfortunately, I can’t link directly to the letter so you have scroll down to it.  Hopefully one of the other papers will run it and I can link directly to it.  Anyhow, it’s about the citizens’ struggles with obtaining accurate, timely water records from the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority (FKAA). Continue reading →

Posted in Cudjoe Regional, FKAA, Public Records, Wastewater | Leave a comment

Monroe County Follows Through!

Posted on September 14, 2015 by M_Blank

In this post, Swap Agreement Follow-up, I linked to an email exchange between me and Bob Shillinger, County Attorney.  The county’s shady history combined with Bob’s evasiveness obviously did not inspire confidence.  However, I was told today that the validation complaint was submitted on September 10!

Again this is only one small step in a very long, uncertain process.   Continue reading →

Posted in BOCC, Bubba System, Key Largo Wastewater Treatment District, Key Largo's contribution, KLWTD, Wastewater | Leave a comment

Connecting the Dots

Posted on September 11, 2015 by M_Blank

It’s not hard to see there’s something very wrong with the wastewater projects in the Florida Keys.  Cudjoe Regional is $43 million over the bid price.  Key Largo taxpayers over-contribute by $26 million compared to the other unincorporated areas.  That’s because they received $100 million less from the county for the same number of EDU’s.  These dollar amounts are huge.  I’ve probably typed them a thousand times, but they still boggle my mind.  Think about how tiny the Keys are – 74,000 people.

The Blue Paper and KeysNet broke the story about the residency and voter registration issues of Robert Dean, chairman of the board of the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority (FKAA).  That inspired me to do a bit of digging of my own. Continue reading →

Posted in BOCC, Bubba System, FKAA, Monroe County | 2 Comments

KeysNet and Blue Paper All Over It

Posted on September 11, 2015 by M_Blank

I submitted a letter to the editor that was published on KeysNet and the Blue Paper.  Of course, I am very happy about that.  I hope the disparity issue will gain some traction.

Even better, they are both looking into suspicions about the residency of another Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority (FKAA) board member – links here and here.  This time its none other than Chairman Robert Dean.  Not only is there a possible residency issue, there’s a potential voter fraud issue.  At this point, it seems apparent that the funding disparity issue, the various Cudjoe Regional issues and the general corruption issues at FKAA are all related.

Good job, Blue Paper and KeysNet (Key Noter).  This taxpayer is very grateful for your continued efforts.  I expect we will all be finding out a lot more in coming months.

Posted in Bubba System, FKAA | 1 Comment

Food For Thought

Posted on September 9, 2015 by M_Blank

I’ve got another idea beginning to germinate.  As I go through this process of examining documents, Monroe County’s pattern of short-changing Key Largo taxpayers on wastewater funding becomes clearer and clearer.  Not only that, I can’t help but view it as a long-standing and deliberate effort.  When I look at the distribution of the gas taxes, it is based on the proportional share of roads and bridges.  When I look at the paving report, it is based on an overall evaluation of the condition of the roads.  There is a rational basis for these things that does not exist with the wastewater projects.  Why?  Why is wastewater different? Continue reading →

Posted in BOCC, Bubba System, Cudjoe Regional, FKAA, Key Largo Wastewater Treatment District, Key Largo's contribution, KLWTD, Monroe County, Wastewater | Leave a comment

Does the County Really Need a Spin Doctor?

Posted on September 8, 2015 by M_Blank

This headline on KeysNet.com caught my eye a few days ago.  I knew I wanted to write about it, but had to let things percolate for a while.

Carruthers wants county government to have public information officer, others balk

The last thing Monroe County needs is a spin doctor.  Their problem is too much spin, not too little.  Besides, spin will only backfire if you put false information out there.  Eventually somebody will figure it out and call you on it.  That’s what is happening to them now whether they realize it or not. Continue reading →

Posted in BOCC, Bubba System, Cudjoe Regional, General Stupidity, Wastewater | 2 Comments

From the Blue Paper: Why Did They Lie?

Posted on September 6, 2015 by M_Blank

Wow.  If you haven’t read this article yet, please do.  It’s a round up of sewer-related shadiness.

Posted in Bubba System, FKAA, Wastewater | Leave a comment

It Might Not Be All That Bad For Marathon

Posted on September 3, 2015 by M_Blank

I was scanning KeysNet.com to see what’s new and I saw this letter about the City of Marathon:  In Marathon, priorities for capital projects are out of whack.  The letter writer is of the opinion that fixing the sewer system should be higher on the priority list than a community pool.  I would certainly agree. Continue reading →

Posted in Marathon, Wastewater | Leave a comment

Monkey Math – Tourist Impact Tax

Posted on September 2, 2015 by M_Blank

blinking monkeyI’m doing a series of posts dissecting reports prepared by Monroe County.  County reports need to be fact-checked.  This is especially important for Key Largo taxpayers who bear a disproportionate financial burden when it comes to the wastewater projects.  This situation has been created by and perpetuated by the county’s extremely unfair funding practices.  I have found that the county’s reports are typically inaccurate and misleading.  Rather than seeking data in order to make good decisions, it appears to be all about justifying poor decisions after-the-fact. Continue reading →

Posted in BOCC, Bubba System, Key Largo's contribution, Monroe County, Taxes | Leave a comment

Monkey Math – County Revenue Sharing

Posted on September 1, 2015 by M_Blank

In my last post, I discussed general fund revenues.  I noticed there were two significant revenue sources missing:  proceeds from state revenue sharing and local option taxes.  In this post, I’ll discuss shared revenue proceeds.  There’s a county shared revenue program and a municipal shared revenue program.  Monroe county received about $2.0 million from this source in FY2013.  Another $1.7 million was split between the municipalities.  It certainly is odd that this source was excluded from the county’s report while minor sources, such as the mobile home license tax were discussed.  Hmmmm. Continue reading →

Posted in BOCC, Bubba System, Incorporation, Key Largo's contribution, Monroe County, Taxes | Leave a comment