Monroe County Commissioners have embraced the county’s wildly ambitious vision statement: “Creating a Better Life Every Day for Everyone in the Florida Keys.” Sounds like a job better suited for God, but commissioners are undeterred.
No wonder county spending is exploding.
Commissioners increased spending by an astounding 44% in the last two years. Yet most Keys citizens haven’t a clue where the money goes.
In 2022, commissioners spent $465 million. In 2023, they spent $519 million. And starting this October, they’ll spend $667 million! They decree how much of your money they want, raise your taxes, then spend it.
The newest boondoggle is the “starter charter” proposal being fast-tracked by commissioners. Its primary purpose is higher taxes for a new Keys-wide bus system. Nobody wants buses or higher taxes.
Commissioners increased the Tourist Development Council’s budget this year by $50 million (totaling $125 million). No one reasonably thinks the Keys or US1 needs more tourists.
Commissioners’ cynically use “sustainability” and “resilience” (who could oppose those concepts?) to silence opposition to certain programs. These terms hide an ocean of questionable spending, particularly those projects favored by “climate prophecizers” 30-50-75 years into the future.
How soon before wind farms off the Keys?
Where will citizens find details of this spending and taxing spree? Commissioners buried them in a mind-numbing 937-page budget document available from the county budget department (305-292-4472). Math fact: Commissioners will spend $71,000 for every page in this year’s budget.
Tell commissioners to roll back the budget to $500 million annually. If they can’t run a tiny county, with just 82,000 residents, on a half-billion dollars a year, they’re not up to the job.
When citizens object to out-of-control spending, responsive commissioners listen and cut. Imperious commissioners don’t listen, they rule.