There’s another wastewater article in the Key West Citizen, “County to address sewer upgrades“.
Looks like the county will consider serving 99 homes on No Name, Big Torch and Little Torch with central sewer rather than onsite systems as originally planned. Continue reading
I really want to know how exactly the interlocal with the county will benefit the District’s ratepayers so I asked for a financial analysis. See a link to the District’s response below. It’s a really formal, bureaucratic way of saying, “We don’t have one”. Yikes. The county estimates that the deal will save them $5.5 million. Terrific. What about Key Largo?
There’s another article about the Upper Keys animal shelter in the Free Press this morning. It turns out the shelter’s contract is on the BOCC’s May 20th agenda. The article rehashes the differing euthanasia rates among the three animal shelters. The Upper Keys shelter has a rate far higher than the other two shelters, and a funding level that is far lower. I’ve already discussed that here.
A letter written to the county from the shelter mentions that the share of funding for the Upper Keys shelter has decreased from 37% to 24%. But is that what is most important here? There has been very little discussion of why the euthanasia rate is so much higher and what can be done to reduce it. There has been absolutely no discussion of why the funding level for the Upper Keys shelter is so much lower than the other two. What role might that play in the outcome for the animals?
I’ve contacted each of the county commissioners by email to let them know that I am very concerned about this issue. I hope that other animal lovers in the Keys will do the same, especially those in the Upper Keys.
The interlocal agreement between the Key Largo Wastewater Treatment District and Monroe County is on the county’s agenda for May 20. This agreement has the potential to remedy the unfair $26 million funding disparity caused primarily by the county’s inequitable distribution of infrastructure sales tax money. The District approved the agreement on April 21.
So far, I’ve devoted a lot of attention to the wastewater funding issue. However, I recently discovered another funding inequity that affects the Upper Keys community. In March, the Free Press reported that the Upper Keys Animal Shelter had the highest euthanasia rate of the three county-funded animal shelters. Continue reading
The annual State of the County road show is underway. On the positive side, the presentation is visually appealing and well-organized. There are optimistic-sounding phrases like “bold new initiatives” and “long-term financial viability”. It’s a great tool for softening up the taxpayers in preparation for the budget season, which started on April 8. Continue reading
The first two posts were meant to inform Key Largo taxpayers about the grim reality of the wastewater funding situation. In this post, I’ll talk about an interlocal between the District and Monroe County that could allow the funding disparity to be repaired using state money to offset infrastructure sales tax money. It was approved by the District board on April 21. Here’s a link. Continue reading
The $26 million hole that Key Largo taxpayers find themselves in isn’t something that just happened by accident – like a car wreck or a hurricane. The Board of County Commissioners has known about this for years. They had the authority to prevent it and they had the authority to fix it at any point in the process. They simply chose not to. It’s important for Key Largo taxpayers to understand that they will never receive fair treatment in wastewater funding or anything else until they demand it. The folks in the Lower Keys have been treated very, very well financially because they insist on it. (The non-financial aspect of things is another matter.)
If Key Largo taxpayers are going to successfully advocate for themselves, it will be helpful to know some of the county’s standard derailing tactics. Here are just a few I’ve encountered over the years. Continue reading
The most stunning thing about the Keys wastewater projects is the expense. These things cost big money. Altogether, the Keys are going to spend nearly $700 million on sewer projects. About $407 million of that will be spent in the unincorporated area, which includes Key Largo.
You would think that since all citizens in the unincorporated area pay all the same taxes and vote for all the same county commissioners, we’d all be paying the same amount for our sewer systems. Nope. That is not the case. Each household in Key Largo will contribute well over $1,800 more for its system than households in the other unincorporated areas. Continue reading
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A critical look at Florida Keys government.
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