Michelle Lincoln, Monroe County Commissioner, joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about what’s been going on in the county.
The Florida Association of Counties Innovation Days and policy making meetings are taking place right now in Pensacola.
Lincoln said, “Yesterday was Innovation Day. So all 67 counties participate. We have commissioners from every different county here representing their county. Yesterday, we actually visited the Veterans Memorial Park. We visited a green shore project, which I found very interesting, creating a living shore to help protect their upland from the Bay and the ocean. So great ideas for me to bring home to our county. Then we got to go to the national Flight Academy, which is where all of the Naval Air Force gentlemen and women learn how to how to fly planes. We got to get into the simulator and do a few exercises ourselves. It was a very interesting day because there’s so many similarities between Monroe County and Escambia when it comes to our love of military and our love of our veterans, it was a really good day for me. But now today, we break out into all of our different policy committees for us as all the commissioners, to come up with agreements for what we would all support for this next legislative session that’s going to be coming up in the spring. So for example, the first one we have this morning will be Agricultural and Rural Affairs. Then we have water and environmental sustainability. And of course, our Holly Raschein is the chair of that committee, so I’ll be sitting in and listening to that meeting as well. Then the community and Urban Affairs Committee federal policy. Then we have everything to do with finance, tax and administration. If you recall, last year, that was the committee that supported Monroe County’s request for the Tourist Development Council for that $35 million. So that started for our county a year ago, and we worked it through all of the policy committees with the Florida Association of Counties, got their full support, and then moved that forward on our own, but with the support of the Florida Association of Counties. Then after that, we have Health Safety and Justice, then future technology, and then in the evening with our board of directors meeting, and I am the incoming president. So it is a very busy day.”
The commissioners did approve and finalize the fiscal year 2025 budget. It’s a $715.7 million budget.
Lincoln said, “This provides the level of service that our residents have requested. Our residents have said they want our beaches and our parks to be in great shape with activities for children and adults alike to be able to enjoy the amenities that our county has. Our residents have also stated they want fire and rescue, and they want the level of safety that we provide with our first responders, and all of that is at a cost. Our residents have also stated they want their roads raised that are currently underwater during king tides. Again, that is a huge ticket price. I’m very, very proud of the work that our county has done. Our staff has been amazing. Our financial director really coming up with a budget that allows us to retain the professionals that we need to run our county safely and not be that big of a tax burden, not only for our residents, not only for the 82,000 that live here year round, but then that number doubles for residents that own properties here but don’t live here year round. Then, of course, we have 5 million visitors that are in our county every year that again, we are required to provide a level of service, of health, safety and well being for our tourists and our residents, and so to weave all of that together and not be that expensive for our residents is always a challenge, but we have the lowest millage rate in the State of Florida, and yet we provide such a top level of safety and services for our residents.”
There is a 1% decrease below the fiscal year 2024 rate for the county millage rate.
Lincoln said, “Our new administrator, Christine Hurley, has already made noises to me and my private meetings with her, that she hears the commissioners loud and clearly that we would like to see that budget tighten up even more for the next year.”
Hurley is the new county administrator.
Lincoln said, “When we were looking at this, the thought of going out for a search and or opening it up and bringing in somebody who doesn’t understand the complexities of our county, that we are an area of critical state concern, what does that mean? That we’re also a Habitat Conservation Plan area in Big Pine. What the heck does that mean? That we have to get everything approved by the state of Florida for any planning or building we do that no other county has to do. It’s like, what the heck does that mean? To bring somebody in who doesn’t understand Monroe County would be putting us years behind on where we need to be moving forward with a strategic plan for any additional ROGO units, for what we’re doing with FEMA and the challenges we’ve been having in our unincorporated Monroe County with being able to increase the size of a downstairs enclosure and be able to raise the height of buildings for flood. I mean, it’s just it’s so complex, and Christine Hurley completely understands all of that. I want to make this very clear, she’s not just going to be status quo. We have looked at the report from the grand jury, and we understand we need to change the atmosphere inside with staff, and we are moving forward with the audit that we’re going to be doing to improve the relations in our county family, and to make us even more effective in what we do, day in and day out. So she understands that that is a priority as well.”
The Emergency Operations Center is about to have a ribbon cutting.
Lincoln said, “I’m so excited about this. When you think it was seven years ago, right now that we were healing from Hurricane Irma, and when that hurricane struck, our emergency operations center was located on the second floor of the Marathon government center where we conduct our Board of County Commission meetings, and they flip it and change it into the operation center. Do you realize that we were the only county in the state of Florida that does not have their own freestanding emergency operation center? And here we are where every storm pretty much either starts or ends with us being either in the cone or near the cone. It’s mind boggling. We’re now going to have this beautiful state of the art operational center that not only will hold our emergency operations staff and be able to turn on when we have a state of emergency, but it’s also going to be where the sheriff has his 911 center year round will be there working, and our fire and rescue is moving their headquarters over into that building. So the building itself will be utilized every day, and it will then just be able to turn on the part of it that is for emergency operations when we have an actual emergency. That building it’s 20 feet above flood. It has the capability of running for 72 hours on generators. It can withstand a 220 mile an hour wind, and it can also withstand the heat of a fire, so it is absolutely going to be able to provide a safe place for the people who must remain behind to see us through an emergency and all at zero cost to our taxpayers.”
The commissioners proclaimed September as Hunger Action month, as well as National Senior Center Month.
Lincoln said, “We’re super excited about that, because we have our dedicated space now for JOY, Just Older Youth in the Upper Keys and in Big Pine we have the Big Pine Community Center, located right in the Winn Dixie Plaza. So very excited about the services that we provide to our seniors.”