Bills are already being filed for the 2026 Legislative Session in Tallahassee, and the Village has yet to discuss legislative priorities and the contract for a lobbyist.

The GrayRobinson contract ends September 30.  This Council requested competitive bidding for a lobbyist at the April, 2025 meeting.  The RFQ was issued and then canceled. The Village has been hiring a lobbyist for $108,000, year after year, waiving competitive bidding.  It looked like it would be different this year.

With or without a lobbyist: Aren’t there concerns that the legislature could address that would be advantageous to Islamorada?

In the past, Islamorada spent $108,000/year for GrayRobinson but never provided a list of priorities.  The funding is in the budget again for 2025-2026 - but no contract yet.

At Sun Community, MM87.5 there are 55 elevated modular homes exempt from paying property tax because of Florida Statutes that treats them as vehicles with a $88/year vehicle registration fee instead of property taxes. Shouldn’t these modular homes selling for $600,000 - $900,000 pay property taxes?

TDC bed tax revenues this current year will total $60 million – required to be used for advertising to bring more tourists to the Keys or for bricks and mortar projects that attract tourists.  Shouldn’t TDC funds help support services required by tourism – affordable housing, road/bike path maintenance, park maintenance, public safety? It would require a change to Florida law. 

SB 180 – a bill passed last year that prohibits local government from passing amendments to Comprehensive Plans and Land Development Regulations that are more restrictive than current regulations.  Right in the middle of our costly Comp Plan review.