Monroe County Commissioner Holly Merrill Raschein joined Good Moring Keys on Keys Talk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about what’s been going on in the county.
With the budget process underway, has it been different this year than previous ones?
Raschein said, “I think we’ve seen a switch from having local control and things like that, obviously very important. We like Home Rule down here in the Keys, local governments, whether they’re cities and counties, like to be able to use those essential taxpayer dollars for providing essential services, critical services, functions that we have to provide our community and our visitors. What we’ve seen at the state level, especially, and obviously this has been going on at the federal level and much bigger scale, is a kind of microscopic, deep dive into how cities and counties are spending these property tax dollars. The governor is aiming to, well, I’m sure he wants to eliminate property taxes, but that brings a whole host of challenges with that. So instead, they’re really crisscrossing the state and looking at counties and their spending. How are they spending these taxpayer dollars? The exercise has been extremely enlightening. I want to commend the county team. We have combed through, with a fine toothed comb all the money that we spend on services, and one of those issues, I think that is really rising to the top is the funding that we give to nonprofits. Everyone loves our nonprofits. I sit on the board of many of our nonprofits, but even some of the ones that fall under the Health and Human Services Advisory Board funding pot. With my experience in the legislatures, folks would come to us with appropriations requests, and very important issues and needs down here at the local level, but it was never a guarantee. You could put in a request, you could work it through the process, maybe get it into the budget, and then perhaps the governor would veto it. So government money, those one time kind of pops are a bonus. I always cautioned the executive directors of nonprofits and different organizations that would come meet with me, I’m not going to over promise you here, folks, this is a wonderful project, but again, government money is not a sure thing. It’s not a guarantee. And it’s certainly something that you don’t want a line item there. It’s very much like that at the local level as well, for the HSAB grants. I don’t know when that started, probably 10 years ago. I think folks just kind of got used to it. Then they started budgeting on those and it’s put us, I think, and their organizations in a precarious position, because, again they’re depending on this. It’s been so difficult, but I think we need to really change our behavior, our mindsets, when it comes to government funding and funding for nonprofits is way, way up there on the governor’s administration’s list to eliminate, quite frankly. They don’t want to see property tax dollars going to functions like this. Nonprofits are structured way different than governments. They have access to grants, they have foundations, they have endowments and donors and things like that. So it’s been very difficult, but I think educating the folks out there about really, how building a budget works at the government level is hard, but necessary.”
Is the county seeing resistance from the state for any type of funding towards nonprofits and charities on the county level?
Raschein confirmed, “We are and I think we’re going to continue to see more streamlining, more focus on that direct spending. It’s kind of crushing. We had to lay off our own team members from libraries, across all departments. I don’t think anybody was held harmless and while at the same time fully funding public safety, which is the number one requirement for us to provide, service wise, and it was harsh. So picking between our own family members and funding nonprofits that, again, is not a requirement. It’s fantastic if we’re able to do it, we’re flush with funds and things like that, but trying to keep taxes low, keep the critical services that we provide at a high level, it’s tough decisions.”
Is it because we have less money to work with or because the cutbacks are being mandated?
Raschein said, “I think it’s a combination of both. FEMA, and our reserves are healthy. We try to keep about 10 million in the bank, but we need to begin to build those because of the uncertainty. I love our local newspapers. They’re fantastic. I read them myself. But I think taking a look at the statewide news and what’s going on in other counties, there’s threats of commissioners being removed. I mean, it’s serious, it’s very serious. And we in Monroe County are taking it serious. We want to make sure we have money in the bank. Say, FEMA is going to sort of, pull back some of those resources. Maybe they’re going to go to the state. If they go to the state, I trust the Florida Division of Emergency Management Director, Kevin Guthrie. He knows how to handle hurricanes and getting the resources down to the local governments. But if there’s not, there’s a limited amount, something that we’re not used to, then we’re going to need to act and we want to make sure that we have enough money in the bank that we can put our community back together. Knock on wood. I am knocking on wood. If something happens.”
Once we know more about FEMA, will that allow us to go back and relook at budgets, or is it a done deal at that point?
Raschein said, “We’re going to have to pass our budget in September, obviously, because the fiscal year starts October 1, but the FEMA Review Council, that’s people from all over the state. We have three fantastic members of the review council. They are meeting in the end of this month. They will meet again, I believe, in the fall, and then a final report is due to the president in January. So again, at the federal level, things move a little bit slower, but as we’ve seen lately, the pace has quickened, and this is a priority of the administration, to fix, to reform, to replace, we’re not sure, but I think doing this hard work in anticipation of changes is a good idea. We do reserve the right, I guess, to come back and revisit if we need to make tweaks or maybe, God willing, there will be extra funding and we’ll be able to fund those nonprofits. But again, there’s never, never enough money for all the needs, much less the wants.”
Has the issue of the threshold below which FEMA will not pay reimbursement been resolved?
Raschein said, “I don’t think so because we’re still talking about, you’ve got the 100% level up to a certain point. Sometimes it can go up to 90 days, even longer, if the president extends it. But the real level, I think people focus on, is 75%. We want that federal amount to stay there. But then again, 25% of $40 million, that can be something. As we all know, hurricane recovery is extremely expensive. Debris removal, you might need to put some logistics activities in place. It just really, really depends. We are the number one hurricane prone county in the United States, if you ask me, and we need to be on our A game.”
Will the HSAB thresholds still be discussed?
Raschein said, “We will be taking it up in September, because we have two more budget hearings. We had our initial budget hearing, and then we’ve got another one, because we’ve got to spread them out, and then I think the final one will be September 10, in Key Largo.”
There was also discussion about the affordable housing units in Key Largo.
Raschein said, “I added that to the agenda as an add on because, first off when I read it, and we get filled in, but when you actually see it in black and white, it’s released to the public, as you’re getting briefed, you don’t really understand stuff sometimes, and I admit that, and then it pops out, and you’re like, oh gosh, that does not sound right. Obviously we got a ton of feedback from the community and real concerns. So those folks that offer workforce housing and affordable housing rentals were like, oh gosh, and those that rent, what if my rent goes up that much, because I’m able to keep my rent low, and now we see the county is going this high. So I was like, oh gosh, this is not going to go over well. So we wanted to make sure that we educated the community on what guidelines we have to follow. We can’t go above certain AMI. We have the ability to charge the maximum, and I think one of my quotes was, just because we can doesn’t mean we should, and we really want these units to be utilized by these private sector tourism employees, what if they’re a housekeeper? What if they’re a server? You can make decent money, especially as a server or a bartender. But there’s the those employees that really, really are kind of the grease that keep our tourism industry hopping, and they would not be able to afford to live in those apartments that are designed just for them. My ask was, can we reduce it enough to make sure that we cover our cost and still provide something that’s really, really affordable? And insurance, property insurance, was a big deal. But thankfully, our Risk Manager worked hard, dug deep, was very creative, and we were able to get that done. So that made me feel good, and I hope that the public, I hope that our voters, I hope that our residents, understand that we can reverse our actions. We can fix things, not everything. I’m not going there, but some things, reach out to us. You don’t have to bring out the pitchforks and the tar and feathers. Reach out. And Facebook is the devil, but I understand, all the misinformation that can be passed, back and forth between our residents, and it’s not always accurate, and I understand that, and it certainly got our attention. But please feel free. We all have open door policies. Regardless, we were able to take a look at it quickly, make a change, a huge positive change, and hopefully we’ll get those units filled. We’ll get the rest of them built, and everyone can go on with their lives. Don’t believe everything you read on Facebook, please people. We want to stay out of the hole. I mean, here we are providing these homes and we want to make sure that we’re also watching out for our taxpayers. Because again, if there’s expenses, they’ve got to be covered. Who’s going to pay them? The county.”
The replacement of the aged water lines throughout the Keys will be headed toward Coral Shores High School in the future.
Raschein said, “I know this is tough, and I always use this opportunity to remind folks that we live on an island. There aren’t that many options to take different routes to school or to work or running errands or whatever. And this is an extremely important infrastructure project that is past due, and I know it’s tough. We all have to make little adjustments, but I think the end result is going to be incredible. We’re installing drinking water pipes. I mean, I like my drinking water. I love my Florida Keys aqueduct drinking water. I think it’s important. We’ve just got to bear down. Remember you’re island people, we’re going to get it done, and it is absolutely necessary. I know the aqueduct and the sheriff are trying to make it as painless as possible.”
The county has even started looking at memberships in certain associations in an effort to save money.
Raschein said, “That’s also another tough decision, because these organizations love to have Monroe County and the Florida Keys as part of their organization. We’re so different. We have unique challenges. We’re so beautiful and environmentally sensitive, and we just have so many things going on and so many neat projects that we’re a real prize. We’re a gem, and I understand that, but when it comes down to priorities and the benefits that we’re receiving, is the juice worth the squeeze? So the South Florida Regional Planning Council, they’ve been around for decades, going on 50 years now, and they served a purpose back in the day and not to say that they don’t serve a purpose now, but I feel like those organizations are starting to, I don’t want to say the importance is diminishing, but I feel that, having been around government as long as I have, and a lot of people are just used to having them. They’re used to that you go to another meeting and hopefully learn something. But we’re seeing a switch, but we will stay. We’re definitely holding those organizations accountable with regard to reimbursements and charges and things like that. Then the other biggie was the was the climate compact. So that’s another huge item that’s on the no, no list for the DOGE effort, and that one hit me a little bit different, because resiliency and all things in that space are pretty important. We’re seeing the need for resiliency projects and I don’t know how we talk about it, or if we change the terminology, but you walk outside, things are changing, and I have a personal connection to a beautiful, fine soul that’s no longer on our planet anymore, the late, great Representative Kristin Jacobs. She helped start that movement. She was one of my best friends in the legislature. She was a conservative Democrat. She knew water, she knew Everglades, she knew agriculture. I mean, she was just a rock star, and I miss her very much. So in her memory, I really felt that we wanted to stay on it. We had Miami Dade County Mayor. We had the Broward County Mayor just kind of reaching out to us, advocating at a very, very high and personal level, and we ultimately accepted their offer of paying a very nominal fee to stay in the compact. We’re not going to be spending a lot on travel and big events. Hopefully, we’ll really talk about those things that are important in moving our community forward, because we have been a trailblazer in resiliency, whether it’s canal restoration and obviously Twin Lakes and things like that. So I take it as a compliment, a testament to our hard work and all the neat things that we have going on down here. I want people to know that we hear their voices. Just because we maybe don’t move in the direction that they think we should, doesn’t mean that it’s not important, that their voices aren’t important, and their thoughts and I really do love getting personal outreach. We had a barrage of form letters sent to us, but when folks take the time and really express their opinions and their desires, it means a lot and the tough decisions, whether we’re talking about emergency management, again, that’s public safety, our firemen and women and our police deputies, and the sheriff’s department and all the other functions that we must, must provide it kind of hurts, right? So, we are a tight family. We are a tight community here, letting some of our own team members go, this has been difficult, and campaigning is hard, but let me tell you, governing is harder, and I think the entire Commission works really hard to be thoughtful, to be deliberative. We all collaborate and we don’t always obviously agree, but I think that our community, I hope they know that they’re in really good hands. All of us love the Florida Keys. Our staff is incredible, and we have to just keep pressing forward. I’m going to take that to the bank. I hope people will take that to heart. And I hope everybody has a beautiful, fantastic weekend.”