Tubby’s Creek Bridge on Card Sound Road is scheduled for replacement starting Feb. 9, 2026.  Beginning Mar 9, the bridge will remain one lane with alternating traffic for the 18-month duration of the project. Click here for details.

A slow speed/minimum wake area throughout Tavernier Creek was approved by Monroe County, with Holly Raschein dissenting. Tavernier Creek is within the Village and the Village Council requested the change. The creek includes two blind bends and two blind intersections.  The swift currents, limited visibility and increased vessel traffic have created potential safety hazards.  Raschein feels enforcement will be “questionable.”  Brings up an interesting question on effectiveness of enforcement efforts throughout the village.

Vacation Rental Numbers in Islamorada: The limit - 331 licenses are allowed.  In 2025 there were 265 licenses issued by midsummer.  For 2026 - to date just 228 licensed. Are there fewer short-term rentals or more enforcement shortfalls leading to property owners saving the $1325 license fee?

Old church property at 83250 owned by the Village, though not on the market, as far as we know. But the Village received a Letter of IntentJan 16, 2026 from a potential buyer interested in acquiring the property. We understand this potential buyer is not the only interested party.  We had hoped a public meeting would be scheduled to discuss the plans for the future use of several Village properties.  No meeting has been scheduled yet. Government in the Sunshine? We expect transparency.

Cost of Sewer Service and EDUs:  After numerous requests, we finally received the current EDU counts and water consumption reports via public record request. It is no wonder the Wastewater Enterprise fund is not self-sustaining as required.

Hopefully the EDU counts will be appropriately adjusted - and residents, visitors and businesses will do a better job conserving water in the future.

Total FKAA water meter accounts: 4678; Listed as Single Family: 3568

# of properties that used more water than the 157 gal/day/EDU: 1798.  Some used many times their current EDU count would suggest. We noticed that it appears the 157 gal/day standard applied as the basis of an EDU, what the average single family home uses, is significantly higher than the typical water consumption.  Are single family homeowners subsidizing the non-residential properties, resorts and restaurants?

Florida Keys Days: Several members of Council and staff are attending events and meeting with elected officials and various Florida Departments to discuss Village issues.  How does this work with the Sunshine Law? See notice as a public meeting.

• Duration and extreme cold weather: a deadly combination in 2010 caused widespread mortality among native and exotic wildlife: pythons and iguanas were at risk but also manatees, sea turtles, crocodiles, and numerous fish species, according to a U.S. Geological Survey study.

• Crop growers across South Florida are working to protect their plants…. and our fresh food supply!!!

11 Critical Elements: A municipal comprehensive plan is one of the most important documents that governs a municipality and its future. The Islamorada draft plan includes 11 elements including Land Use, Transportation, Housing, etc. with goals and policies associated with each element.  

Suggestion: Each of the 11 elements warrants a separate public workshop and thorough public review.    

The document is 284 pages long and includes approximately 700 suggested policies for the community to adopt… some policies from the current comp plan, approximately 200 new policies. The public review process is critical.

Involve the Public as promised: In the draft, following the 11 elements, is a section: Public Process. We wonder why this isn’t on page 1.  

Committees can help. At the most recent Workforce/Affordable Housing Committee meeting, they discussed possible changes to the Comp Plan.  Why weren’t all Village citizen committees provided the draft of the Comp Plan so they could review the sections related to their committee work?

No loopholes!

See the explanation of the importance of the public in the passage below. The plan must align with the needs and values of our community. Let’s make sure there are no loopholes that provide benefit to some residents, not all, contrary to the public vision.  

The timeline - 12 months from start to approval by the Village Council. We are past the 12 months and appear to be far from the finish line.Click here for the timeline.

Draft Recommendation for Island Silver and Spice property:

“The property represents a prime Village owned parcel for redevelopment into affordable and workforce housing. Policies adopted in the Comprehensive Plan call for the reuse of publicly owned land to advance housing goals, and this site is a clear opportunity to deliver results.”

Draft Recommendation for the Fills:

In future newsletters, watch for other suggested Comp Plan goals and policies. And remember to speak up.  

Let us know if you want a peak at the DRAFT of the Comp Plan from Able City East.

Let us know if you want a peak at the DRAFT of the Comp Plan from Able City East.

All Keys Cycles will be at the Florida Bay Forever Rummage Sale and Makers Market on Sunday giving away free bike helmets for kids, adults, and community members.

A fast-paced comedy that brings iconic sketches from Monty Python‛s Flying Circus to the stage by The Key Players! Performances are at the Murray Nelson Cultural Center, MM102. 

This cripples our cadre of informed voters when it comes time for local elections.

Groups like the Chamber of Commerce campaign for their favorite sons and daughters regardless of their managerial experience.

The 2026 legislative session in Tallahassee will clearly have a strong focus on Florida’s affordability.  Our legislators seem to be advocating measures to reduce the cost of living for residents.  Florida opened the 2026 regular legislative session with Republicans emphasizing affordability, taxes and fiscal restraint. Democrats dare not oppose this platform while it is the mantra for the midterm elections.

I would add a more strident position on the out of control insurance costs.

Eliminating property tax (except for schools) is one of the primary focuses for this legislative session. Our lobbyist provided an update during a Legislative Zoom meeting with the Village last Friday, including a property tax, HB 203. You can read details later in this newsletter.

It is a bill intended to give voters a voice. The concept of reducing or eliminating property taxes is controversial, with representatives from local governments claiming it could devastate their current budgets.

Here is a novel idea: Commission Florida DOGE to analyze our budget and heed their recommendations. That would be a budgetary reality check that is 25 years overdue.

The Florida League of Cities contends that it is local government that should control local property tax decisions. 

But think about it: Some local governments in Florida have done a pretty miserable job in controlling their spending.  Isn’t it logical to put Islamorada in that category?

Property taxes statewide have skyrocketed in recent years… 60% increase in 5 years statewide, far more than the consumer price index and the increase in population.

Look at Islamorada numbers. Property taxes have increased 58.2% in the last 5 years, from $11,544,900 in 2020-21 to $18,264,500 in 2025-26 budget. The population of Islamorada has actually decreased slightly in the last 5 years.  Why has the cost of government gone up?

The reason: Poor spending habits and a lack of self-scrutiny?

The total expenditures for all funds in Islamorada approved in the 2025-2026 budget - $65,461,709 – for a town of 7,013 residents!

Slight of hand accounting.

In September 2025, the current council approved a 9.1% increase in property tax this year over last year.  They were able to keep the increase at a mere 9.1% only because they reduced the fund balance in the general fund by $1 million. 

If the other municipalities in Florida are at all like Islamorada, it is logical that the state feels an obligation to step in!

Perhaps it is our fault as residents and taxpayers. We need to monitor our expenditures closer. We need, in layman’s terms, an explanation on obligations and discretionary spending… with an emphasis on transparency.

Don’t have cursory budget meetings just to say you had them. I repeat, explain in layman’s terms.  Take the initiative and propose cuts to programs and positions overcome by events.

At the 1^st budget hearing for our current budget on 9/4/25, the meeting lasted 30 minutes to approve property taxes of $18,264,500 for a Village with a population of 7,013!  And total budget expenditures of $65.5 million.

Just two members of the public spoke. The only discussion by council was about the cost of overtime and extraordinary sewer transmission line repair expenses blamed on the “troubled wastewater system we inherited.”  (We created this mess with poor management over the years).

The 2nd and final budget hearing lasted about 6 minutes, no public comment, no council discussion…. a unanimous approval of $65 million.

Yes, the council may have inherited some trouble. But 14 months ago you ran for council with pledges to fix the problems.

Well? Just more “you need me to fix this mess” rhetoric. Strictly, verbal pablum for the uninformed masses?

Let’s just look at one local spending concern.

Since the budget of 2020-2021 the village has budgeted to fix the wastewater problem that has resulted in major leaks in our pipeline to the Key Largo treatment plant – spewing volumes of raw sewage onto the highway at MM92.  $20 million in grant money each of 5 years that was budgeted and spent… a total of $20 million.  But not for a fix to the pipeline problem at MM92. 

This problem at MM92 remains a disaster in waiting.

For this year, the current council approved the expenditure of $4.125 million in Stewardship Grant funding to fix the MM92 pipeline/north Plantation Key pumping problem.  That was September 16, 2025.

Aren’t we now up to $14,125,000 total since 2020, allocated to fix a serious problem. And no progress has been reported yet. 

The council was told that this year’s $4.125 million was being budgeted because the Village is finally ready for the construction phase of the fix. That was September 16 – over 4 months ago.  Still we see no RFP for the upgrade design or for a contractor if we are in fact ready for the construction phase. 

What is the holdup? In 2023 the Village put out an RFQ hoping to find 3-5 qualified wastewater contractors to help our wastewater department with maintenance and repair jobs. Only one contractor submitted a proposal. Will he get the $4 million contract by default? Surely we will put out a very specific RFP for the MM92 problem. 

In addition, the council approved a $111,000 expenditure to hire an accounting firm expected to figure out how to assure that both the Founders Park Marina and the Wastewater Enterprise Funds can be self-supporting as required.

No update  there either. 

In December we hired a rate consultant to determine if our wastewater rates are accurately charging users for the volume of wastewater they produce.

The numbers for wastewater costs are tremendous.  I submit that this problem was created and exaggerated by poor management decisions. The current council needs to fix this asap.

In the military the slogan was. lead, follow or get out of the way!

Take the reigns of our government. We gave them to you, Council members. It is why you were elected 14 months ago. We deserve a report each and every council meeting on all critical areas of concern to residents.

Do we need state help with our budget? Florida DOGE was made for Islamorada.

Do the responsible thing and call them in. How can it hurt? It can’t.

Wastewater is just one Islamorada budget item that makes it logical for the legislature  to step in. Or perhaps there are ways that DOGE can work with Islamorada to create more efficient government processes? That is their mandate.

At the end of the day, Florida voters will vote on the tax reduction issue. We are obligated to prepare our village for what may transpire. It is called “vision”.

Tom Raffanello

Reducing property taxes is a primary issue this session. HJB 203 is getting significant attention. This bill would amend Florida’s Constitution, increasing non-school property tax exemptions by $100,000 annually for the next 10 years. On Jan. 1, 2037, it would fully exempt all homestead properties from non-school property taxes. The measure would prohibit local governments from reducing total funding for first responders below their highest budget level of either Fiscal Years 2025-26 or 2026-27.

The joint resolution requires a three-fifths vote of the membership of both houses of the Legislature for final passage. If approved by the House and the Senate and approved by 60 percent of voters during the 2026 general election, the proposed amendment will take effect on Jan 1, 2027.

Why Eliminate this Revenue Source?

Palm Bay Rep. Monique Miller, the bill’s sponsor, worries that local governments  use property taxes “like ATM machines,” with property taxes up 60% statewide since 2020. Miller hopes by reducing anticipated revenue from homestead properties “over 10 years, we will be giving local governments time to adjust to new revenue levels and empowering them to find responsible solutions.”

The bill reduces a source of local tax revenue but does not prohibit local governments from upping the millage rate to compensate, increasing the tax burden for non-homesteaded properties.

Many small-town politicians have spoken out against the bill, claiming it will cut vital services. 

Has our Village directed our lobbyist to fight this bill? Or could it be a positive here? The point of the tax reduction effort is to push local governments to become more efficient with residents’ tax money and thus to help make Florida more affordable for full time residents.   

Do we even know  the percentage of total property revenue that comes from homestead properties and the annual impact of an increase  in the exemption based on the current millage rate for each jurisdiction?  

The Florida League of Cities: SUPPORTS local authority over equitable property tax decisions that fund essential services like public safety, infrastructure, parks, and programs that define a community. Reducing or eliminating this revenue without a reasonable replacement would destabilize city budgets, threaten city creditworthiness, and undermine local priorities.

What - no ideas on how to reduce local government waste?

Islamorada saw a significant increase in expenses for this budget year: an increase of $4,741,452 in expenses this year compared to the previous year.