Islamorada Village Manager Ron Saunders joined Good Morning Keys on Keys Talk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about what’s going on in the Village.
The Village of Islamorada is preparing for its second and final budget hearing as officials work to balance rising costs with concerns about property taxes and the cost of living in the Florida Keys.
The final budget hearing is scheduled for Monday, September 28, at 5:30 p.m. at the Founders Park Community Center.
“It’s our second and final budget hearing,” Saunders said. “We’re required by state statute to have two public budget hearings.”
The village adopted a preliminary millage rate and budget during its September 10 hearing. Officials have continued reviewing the budget and looking for ways to reduce expenses or increase revenues.
“We’ve got to think a pretty good budget,” Saunders said. “We’re still trying to find a place we can save money, maybe increase revenues. But like others, we’re going through tough times with the costs going up.”
Although rising property values mean the village expects to collect about $2 million more in property taxes than last year, much of that additional revenue is already committed to higher expenses.
“About half that goes just to increases for our firefighters for about over $800,000,” Saunders said. “And we have a contract with the sheriff’s department to do our police services, and that goes about another $200,000. We have Florida Retirement System contribution that’s required, another $300,000.”
Those costs are in addition to increases for insurance, gasoline and other operating expenses.
Saunders said the distinction between the overall budget and the property tax portion is important for residents.
“When I focus on the budget, I always remind people it’s not the budget increase that people are mainly concerned about. It’s the property tax increase,” he said.
According to Saunders, property taxes account for about 20% of the village’s overall budget, with other revenue coming from sources including state grants and gas taxes.
“They like us getting grants, they like as much money from state and federal governments as we can that we’re entitled to, but they’re worried about how much they’re going to pay out of their pocket,” Saunders said.
The village is also looking for ways to reduce costs associated with special events and other projects. Officials are considering sponsorships for some events and have already decided to eliminate a proposed $50,000 conceptual plan for a new public works building.
“We’re trying to be as tight as we can and recognize that people don’t want to pay too much in their property taxes,” Saunders said.
The proposed millage rate currently stands above the rollback rate at 2.7231 mills. Saunders said the rate can still be reduced but cannot be increased at this point in the budget process.
“We’re still looking if we can reduce it any more, depends on what the council wants to do,” he said. “But once again, where some of these costs were locked into, like the fire rescue and the police and the retirement funds, etc., so we can only cut so much and still have a balanced budget.”
Employee compensation is another consideration. Non-fire-rescue employees did not receive a cost-of-living adjustment or pay raise last year, while firefighters received a 10% increase through collective bargaining.
This year’s budget includes a 3% cost-of-living adjustment and a merit increase of up to 3% for non-fire-rescue employees. Fire-rescue employees are guaranteed a 6% increase under their collective bargaining agreement.
“We’ve had some positions open for quite a while,” Saunders said. “We’ve actually had people accept them. And then when they come down and find out how much it costs to rent a place or buy a house, they go, ‘Sorry, even though it looks like pretty good package, we just can’t accept it. We can’t afford to live there.’”
Retaining employees is a challenge throughout the Keys.
“It’s hard to attract and keep employees in the Keys with our high cost of living,” Saunders said. “If we don’t pay an adequate salary and have decent benefits, it’s going to be hard to attract and keep them.”
The village must balance those staffing needs against residents’ concerns about their tax bills.
“That’s a balancing act,” Saunders said. “I think we’ve done a pretty good job of it, but we’re going to continue working at it.”
Transportation is another priority for the village. Saunders confirmed that the Freebee service will continue after the village went through a new contracting process.
The service, which previously was free, now charges riders $2 per trip.
“Freebee is a great service, but if you don’t use it, if you’re a taxpayer, why are you subsidizing other people using a service?” Saunders said. “It’s basically a user fee. If you don’t use it, you don’t pay for it. If you use it, you pay for it.”
Saunders said the village also receives a state Department of Transportation grant that covers roughly half of the remaining cost.
The village is also studying a possible fixed-route trolley or bus system.
“We’re looking at some type of trolley system or bus where we can have multiple passengers on a fixed route,” Saunders said. “We want to try to keep cars off the highway. We’ve got some ideas that we’re working on, but we always want to do what we can to assist the traffic flow through Islamorada.”
Sargassum is another issue receiving attention in Islamorada.
Saunders said residents began approaching him several months ago about the smell and other problems associated with large amounts of sargassum washing ashore.
“I had residents complain to me about the smell and about what to do about it,” Saunders said.
He contacted Dr. Brian LaPointe, whom Saunders said he has known for many years and worked with on water-quality issues.
Saunders said the village has since been working with Monroe County and others to explore ways to address the problem and identify potential funding.
“I said it’s one thing to do; it’s another thing to pay for it,” Saunders said. “If I were paying $500 or $600 a night for a hotel room and woke up in the morning and smelled that sargassum, I might not be coming back.”
The village is scheduled to hear a presentation from a company working to establish a facility in Islamorada to process sargassum during the October 6 council meeting.
Saunders said, “It’s not a Key West issue, it’s not an Islamorada issue, it’s a Keys-wide issue.”
One potential approach would involve collecting sargassum offshore before it reaches the beach, although Saunders said the timing and location of collection are important because of concerns about marine life.
There are also potential commercial uses for collected sargassum, including fertilizer and other products.
Saunders said he believes the village needs to act before next year’s sargassum season.
“I’ve never seen sargassum as bad as it’s been the last couple years,” Saunders said. “Everybody I talk to says it’s not getting any better; it’s going to get worse. And we better get ahead of the game here because once again, it’s impacting residents, it’s impacting tourists, it’s impacting the environment.”
Islamorada’s comprehensive plan is also being updated, with another public presentation scheduled for September 30 at 5:30 p.m. at Founders Park.
Saunders said public participation has been a major part of the process.
“I think it’s important for the public to have input,” he said. “Since I’ve been manager, I’ve created several citizens task force.”
The village faces significant restrictions on new development and does not have the same growth patterns seen in other parts of South Florida.
“What we do have are people buying existing houses and tearing them down and building nicer houses,” he said. “You’re not really growing, you’re just changing.”
Saunders also expressed concern about growth in South Dade County and its potential effects on the Keys, particularly transportation and water supplies.
“We get all of our fresh water, not from Monroe County. We get from Dade County and well fields,” Saunders said. “What happens when Dade County says, ‘you know what? We have too many people want water here in Dade, Monroe. We’re not going to send it down to you anymore?’ That’s a concern too.”
The village is also moving forward with improvements to the baseball field at Founders Park. The Coral Shores High School baseball team has used the field for more than 20 years, but the grass field has become expensive and difficult to maintain.
The school district requested that the field be converted to artificial turf.
After public meetings and discussions involving the village, school district and residents, Saunders said an agreement was reached to move forward with a smaller project focused on replacing the field, fences and dugouts.
“We do have an agreement in place,” Saunders said. “They have submitted a design plan, drainage plan, etc. Our building department’s been working with the school district, and they are making progress.”
Saunders said groundbreaking could take place soon, with the goal of having the new field ready when baseball season begins in January.
“We think we can meet it,” he said. “That field will be in place. The new field will be in place by the time baseball season starts in January.”
Additional improvements, including a concession stand and restrooms, have not been ruled out but would be considered as a separate phase.
Saunders also encouraged residents to stay informed about village government through its website and weekly newsletter.
“I think communication and transparency are really big goals of mine as manager,” Saunders said.
The village also has introduced a “Fix It Ticket” system that allows residents to report issues such as potholes or problems with road repairs.
“I think that’s important too,” Saunders said. “They don’t have to suffer in silence. They can say, ‘Hey, there’s a problem.’ We take a look at it, and we try to take care of it.”
The second and final budget hearing will take place September 28 at 5:30 p.m. at the Founders Park Community Center. The next regular Village Council meeting is scheduled for October 6.
For more information, click here: https://www.islamorada.fl.us/