Monroe County Commissioner Holly Merrill Raschein joined Good Morning Keys on Keys Talk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about what’s going on in the county.
The legislative session in Tallahassee will be in January next year and there are already committee meetings occurring.
Raschein said, “You will see that happen in election years, because we have to get our business done so that folks can file for office, re election, whatever, and get out there and get into their communities earlier, campaign and burn up the road. So that’s why you see earlier sessions every other year, because, unfortunately, House members have to run every two years, just like our Congressmen and women. As a former candidate and legislator myself, I can tell you, it is hard, and I for one, and I’m sure a lot of other people would like to see these terms extended every four years. You could keep them eight years, but every four years. Less campaigning, less campaign signs. Everybody knows campaign season can be a little intense, if you will, and it would just, I think, alleviate a lot of angst, but that’s not what we have. So this year will be earlier, committee meetings are going to be kicking off here really soon. I know Representative Mooney has actually been in Tallahassee discussing property tax reform, because that’s a hot button item. So hopefully you’ll see a lot of work get done. You’ll see some fundraising and things like that. People sort of setting the stage for election season 2026. We have the gubernatorial race. We have Attorney General. I believe there’s a US Senate race. We have CFO. I mean, it’s not a presidential year, so you always see the turn out tick down a little bit. But it is a very important year for the state of Florida and states all around the country, because, again, the executive level leadership that we have at the state kind of drives the legislature and obviously also the local government, and that’s where we on the county commission come in.”
Monroe County has sharpened pencils to make sure spending isn’t excessive.
Raschein said, “Speaking of the budget and DOGE and this efficiency exercise, it was a very enlightening process that we had to go to. It was very robust. It was very complicated. It was very emotional, it was tough and it was challenging. But sometimes that’s what we face. And we started very early. We got the messaging from Tallahassee, you guys need to tighten your belt. You need to take a real good look at how you’re spending taxpayer dollars. And these are precious resources. We did that, and it was again, a big task for our team, and it was tough. We had to go through layoffs. There was also that really emotional conversation with our wonderful nonprofits up and down the Keys that provide very, very important services, and we had to make some tough choices. Do we raise taxes, or do we kind of cut those? That’s where you saw those cuts that weren’t super popular, and they were more painful, but I think at the end of the day, again, going through this government efficiency exercise, really put us in a good place, so that when the governor’s team comes down, or the CFO, or whatever, they’re going to see our actions, that we were proactive. We made some hard choices, and we have put our county in an incredibly strong position moving forward into, quite frankly, what is the unknown. Are we going to have property taxes or are we going to raise sales taxes? Are we going to have rebates? Are we going to take care of seniors, veterans? I mean, there’s so much on the table. When you’re talking about massive reforms, Florida’s famous for doing good things, and then going, oh gosh, that was a bridge too far. We need to comb that back, and so I have a feeling that might be the case. But again, it’s very early. Session is early, so we’re going to get, I think, a clue here pretty soon. But again, I think it was very transparent. All five of us had an open door policy. We took a tremendous amount of input from the community, and we were able to pass a balanced budget without without raising taxes.”
Just this week someone asked where property taxes go?
Raschein said, “Let me tell you what they’re doing. Have you ever called 911? Have you ever seen a fire truck fight a fire, or an ambulance respond to an accident, or a sheriff’s deputy, or the SWAT team come out? We have marine patrol that are protecting our natural resources out there? So that is what your tax dollars are going to. That is the number one priority of all governments, federal, state, local. It doesn’t matter. It’s public safety. And we did that. We gave raises to our our firefighters and to our deputies, and to make sure that we have a strong force to to protect our community and to keep us safe. So that is where a giant chunk of those resources go. And then obviously the constitutional officers, that’s the Property Appraiser and state attorney and so on. Then, of course, what’s left over is what we have to spend, the county, our general funds on parks and beaches and new roads, maintenance. So it’s actually a little piece of the giant pie. So we did that, and I could certainly sleep at night. And I hope that folks, if they have questions or are still scratching their head, like, what do they do? Reach out to us and I think we’re in a good position to go forward.”
The Tourist Development Council also has some projects in the works.
Raschein said, “Isn’t that incredible how the process sort of filters down through the different, I guess branches of our organization, of our community, and we all know how important the Tourist Development Council is. I mean, tourism is our number one industry and I love the direction that the TDC is going where we’re incorporating not only important activities or events and experiences for our tourists, but we’re sort of shifting a little bit and making sure that our residents, too are experiencing this beautiful place, all the culture, the natural beauty, the history. I really love what I’m hearing coming out of the TDC. It’s change. It’s different. I’m sure some people are like, I don’t know about that, but I personally think that it’s an incredible move, and I’m super excited. But, the capital projects, everybody loves a good capital project, that could be a new dressing room, or maybe a new AC unit or a roof. There’s all kinds of things out there, improvements, ADA improvements, maybe a new exhibit and a theater, or an exhibit hall. Those are the things that really add all that sparkle and panache, I guess, to our facilities. I know those are precious dollars. I know our nonprofits and our arts world out there always are going after those funds, and it’s a neat process. It’s one that is very transparent. There’s committees and things like that, and and I’m happy to see the awards going out. It’s a tremendous resource, our tourism industry, it is and something we hold close to our heart.”
Mote Marine and Crane Point Hammock have a new exhibit.
Raschein said, “We’re going to be cutting the ribbon Monday night, so I have the honor of sitting on their advisory board. We’ve got folks from up and down the Keys that help guide Mote Marine. They do that very, very important work of restoring our poor coral reefs that’s a little bit, well, not little bit, but largely in the dumps right now. They are famous for their coral nursery. They do work on sea grass and crabs, and it’s just amazing what Mote Marine does. I’m excited that they partnered with Crane Point and I haven’t seen it yet, so I’m looking forward to being there on Monday.”
The upgrade to the Marathon airport is amazing.
Raschein said, “It was super fast. I feel like we kicked off that project the beginning of the summer, maybe May, and now it’s October, and it’s done, and we’re talking about a massive, massive upgrade to the Marathon airport. And a lot of people just kind of drive by it when they’re on their way to Key West or going to Marathon. But it is a fine facility. Our brand new Emergency Operations Center sits just to the south of the south end of the runway, and then that’s kind of where you’ve seen the the work is sort of the rest of the property there. We had to take out a couple buildings, I think, to expand the runway, make it longer, make it wider, make it better, stronger, I guess, maybe for some faster planes or bigger planes. Our airport director, Mr. Richard Strickland, he’s an ace at identifying grants, especially federally. They come from the top, FAA, DOT at the federal level. I bet this project was largely grant funded. It’s our runway, it’s our airport. We own two airports, Key West and Marathon. I’m sure we had some costs there, but it was badly needed. Hopefully we’ll get some action at the Marathon airport. A lot of folks don’t know this, and I heard this story that Marathon was really supposed to be the main hub, because folks could fly in there, they could go to Key West, they could go to the Upper Keys, Miami, whatever. But Key West was already really kind of a strong holdout and very historic, oldest city, largest city at one point, I think in Florida, maybe the southeast. So it just never really took off, pun intended, but hopefully we’re going to see some more action at that airport. Marathon is prepared. It’s actually a point of entry, so we can talk about international travel and transit and things like that. So it’ll be cool. It’ll be neat.
Rowell’s Park will also see some developments.
Raschein said, “I think we’re in phase two of the Rowell’s rehabilitation. We’re going to be seeing some more trees there. It’s kind of a passive park. It’s nice. You can take your dog there, kids there, kind of walk around, but there’s not really much structure. There’s not a lot of activities. I know Key Largo Park is super popular. Kids can play soccer. I think we’re going to see some additional activity, opportunities at Rowell’s, maybe even a dog park, if we can, if we can fit that in, budget wise. So we’ll see. But excited about that and that phase has started again.”
Will the federal shutdown affect Monroe County?
Raschein said, “I would take all the top leaders and lock them in a room, no bathroom, no food, no water, until you fix it. But that’s probably not possible. I mean, come on. I understand the divisiveness and the divides and things up there, but you have jobs to do, and that’s one of them, right? The budget is the most important function that a government does, and it’s actually the only thing, other than public safety, which the budget drives that, that’s it. You see that in Tallahassee, that’s the number one thing we’re constitutionally required to do. Then, actually, at the federal level, that’s where we take our lead. That’s the top dog. I think a lot of folks are frustrated. You asked about the effects that we might feel down here locally, not too much. I mean, I haven’t felt very interrupted. There is that sense of uneasiness, you want things to rock and roll. The National Parks can be affected. Obviously, workers being furloughed or working without pay. Obviously, once thing the train gets back on the tracks, those concerns will hopefully be alleviated. Hopefully they’ll show up Monday. I know some congressional folks that have already gone home. We’ll see how that does at the polls. Because people don’t like stagnation. It is frustrating again, when you send somebody somewhere like Washington or Tallahassee, they don’t do their jobs. If people pay attention, they’ll understand that. But unfortunately, the masses don’t, and we would see more change if they did.”
A Turning Point USA chapter is starting in South Florida.
Raschein said, “I encourage folks to get involved. A lot of people love to be Monday morning quarterbacks or stand behind their social media bully pulpits, but there are so many opportunities. Come to meetings, go to outreach groups. You can take the political side and go go there, but there’s a lot going on and if you want to know more, you want to get involved, there are opportunities.”
A tire recycling event will happen tomorrow from 8 a.m to noon. People can safely disposed of up to six old passenger vehicle tires with no rims, up to 40 inches in height at the Key Largo transfer station, Long Key transfer station and the Cudjoe transfer station.
Raschein said, “That is a huge part of trying to mitigate those little cesspools that mosquitoes love to take advantage of in those tires. So that’s a wonderful service that we’re able to to provide. So I hope folks will come out and take advantage of it. I just hope that everybody has a fantastic autumn and fall. I think we can feel a little bit of chill in the air. I think we’re turning the corner. We’re starting to see pumpkins come out, and kids are getting excited about Halloween. I just hope everybody has a wonderful weekend. I know there’s several community events going on, so I just hope folks can take a deep breath kind of let some of the the negative stuff that might be going on around us and up north dissipate and enjoy this beautiful place that we live in.”