Upper Keys Monroe County Commissioner Holly Raschein has asked county staff to starting looking at methods of thinning the herd of the Florida Keys ever-increasing iguana population, at least on
21 hrs ago
The Monroe County Commission and Key West City Commission on Thursday tentatively agreed to raise property taxes for the upcoming fiscal year starting Oct. 1.
The City Commission agreed to raise property taxes by 8% above the rollback rate, which is the same amount of revenue generated this current year, for non-homesteaded properties. Commissioners Sam Kaufman and Billy Wardlow voted against the proposed tax rate.
The city budget includes 4% cost-of-living adjustments and $2 million for employee raises based on a compensation study expected to be received soon, according to Kaufman. The city also added 13 new positions for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1.
The Monroe County Commission and Key West City Commission on Thursday tentatively agreed to raise property taxes for the upcoming fiscal year starting Oct. 1.
The City Commission agreed to raise property taxes by 8% above the rollback rate, which is the same amount of revenue generated this current year, for non-homesteaded properties. Commissioners Sam Kaufman and Billy Wardlow voted against the proposed tax rate.
The city budget includes 4% cost-of-living adjustments and $2 million for employee raises based on a compensation study expected to be received soon, according to Kaufman. The city also added 13 new positions for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1.
The County Commission voted unanimously to raise the property tax by 5.5% above rollback for non-homesteaded properties. The commission set a tentative tax rate that levies about $332 per $100,000 of assessed property value for non-Homesteaded homes.
To alleviate potential flooding from Elsa, water management gets region ready
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Officials prepare to prevent flooding in South Florida when hurricanes loom
HIALEAH, Fla. – As the first named hurricane of the 2021 season and Elsa continued to intensify on approach, the South Florida Water Management District was getting the region ready.
To mitigate against flooding, the district was working to bring the water level down in canals in coordination with local drainage districts.
The work was already underway, explained Randy Smith, given this week’s relentless rainfall.
“So, our flood control system has already been working pretty hard trying to push a lot of the storm water out into the ocean to lower the water in the canals in anticipation of potentially heavy rainfall from Elsa,” Smith said.
At a time when no other Monroe County employees are receiving raises and the county is still struggling financially, County Commissioners Eddie Martinez and Craig Cates are requesting $8,000 raises for each of their administrative assistants.
The commission will vote on the raises when it meets Wednesday, March 17, at 9 a.m. at the Murray E. Nelson Government Building in Key Largo.
The commission will vote on a salary increase of $8,000 per year for Martinezâs administrative assistant, Eurie Sarmiento, and Cateâs assistant, Amanda Leggett, bringing both their annual salaries to $60,000 a year.
If approved, those two assistantsâ salaries would be the same as the salaries for the other three county commissionersâ assistants.