Marathon Vice Mayor Robyn Still joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about what’s been going on in the city.
The first public budget hearing and a city council meeting will be held tonight.
Still said, “If anybody is wanting to attend the discussion about the budget, that meeting is starting at 5:05. Our regular city council meeting starts at 5:30. So I want to make sure people are not confused if they want to hear about budget to be there at 5:05. We’ll start then.”
The budget will be a big discussion tonight, but the group will also talk about dissolving the code enforcement board.
Still said, “We talked about at our last city council meeting, it was dissolving the code enforcement board and going to the special magistrate going forward. I think we’ll have our last vote on that this evening. But the budgets probably going to be the bigger issues that we are talking about tonight.”
The millage rate looks like it will be close to rollback.
Still said, “That’s what we’re anticipating, and we look pretty good going into the budget meeting tonight. I do think that we are probably either going to meet rollback or we might be slightly under it. We’ll hear more about that from the finance director this evening. But I’m pretty confident things are looking good and we’ve got a couple of discussions on the budget. But other than that, I think we’re in good shape.”
There are football games coming up for Marathon High School.
Stills aid, “That’s on Thursday. The JV game starts at four o’clock, I believe. After their game there’ll be about a 30 minute break and then varsity will start. Those kids work hard. Our coaches work hard. I’ll be in the concession stand. The mayor will be there, too, with the booster club serving hot dogs and hamburgers. Just come out and see us also but come watch these kids play.”
The Chamber of Commerce will hold a business after hours coming up.
Still said, “We have a business after hours tomorrow evening at Key Colony Inn at 5:30. So if you’re a member, come on out. If you’re interested in being a member of come out. We’d be happy to talk to you about it. It’s a great supportive organization for our business community.”
People can take part in a number of ways to make their voices heard.
Still said, “They can email me, email all council members, our email addresses are on the city website. We encourage people to reach out. If you can’t attend the meeting, you can watch it live or it is recorded and it will be on the city’s website. You can watch it later if you don’t have the chance to watch it live or attend tonight.”
A second budget workshop will be on August 21 at 5:05.
Still said, “That will be the final meeting. I think we’re looking at going into the budget. So I just urge people to pay attention tonight, to watch if you have any comments or questions, reach out to us and we’d be happy to talk to you about it.”
Recruitment is an issue everywhere.
Still said, “I know we have openings. We have struggles, like everybody else does. Cost of living is so high, like we all know. Hopefully, we’re going to get employee pay competitive and maybe that’ll encourage people. The cost living is certainly hurting every organization in the city, even in the Keys. We’re here for you. Reach out to us if you have questions. If you have any comments, if there’s anything you’d like to see, just reach out to us. We have no problem talking to you and we encourage that. I think I speak for my fellow council members we’re here for our residents and we need your help too. If you don’t reach out to us, there’s maybe things we don’t know about that we could help with if we only knew. Just reach out to us.”