In a jam-packed session on April 15, the Monroe County Commission explored funding alternatives for the Keys’ health and social service nonprofits and put additional safeguards on future uses of conservation lands.
Nonprofit funding
Under scrutiny from the state Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to reduce taxpayer funding of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), the commission elected to pivot away from the currently-established Human Services Advisory Board (HSAB) for its upcoming budget year, instead sending more funds to the Florida Department of Health and Monroe County Community Services.
Under the previous model, local nonprofits submitted applications to a county committee, which reviewed and recommended funding levels from an overall budget for approval by the BOCC.
But in 2025, citing compliance with DOGE direction to spend money only on core government services, the commission reduced $2.2 million in nonprofit funding from its 2024-25 budget to $1.1 million in 2025-26.
County Administrator Christine Hurley presented the commission with three basic options for the county’s 2026-27 budget: preserve the HSAB model with the 50% budget cut or more; establish a separate Children’s Service Council as a special taxing district as permitted by Florida law, with other organizations still funded by the HSAB; or discontinue the HSAB, instead sending funding to the Department of Health for medical services as well as Community and Social Services for nutrition, utility and transportation programs.
Presenting a staff analysis of each funded nonprofit’s perceived overlap with DOH or community services, Hurley reiterated guidance given by Florida CFO Blaise Ingoglia at February’s Florida Keys Day in Tallahassee.
“He promoted that your department of health is your medical department in each county,” Hurley said. “DOGE and his office recommend that we do not duplicate their services, and that they should manage medical services within the county.”
According to new legislation passed in 2026, she said, local governments will be required to conduct 10% budget reduction analysis each year, along with distinguishing which of their programs are legally obligated.
DOH-Monroe administrator Carla Frye said her department’s intention would not be to dissolve local nonprofits, but absorb some services where possible while contracting with local groups for more advanced services. State-mandated contract monitoring, she said, would also help provide consistent check-ins to ensure public dollars are met with results.
Local nonprofit leaders expressed varying levels of comfort with the DOH/Community Services model, arguing that many came to exist specifically because they offered services not provided by local governments. Most said they already rely on lean budgets with little overhead, providing services at a lower overall cost than if absorbed by county or state departments, and that any further cuts to funding would result in severe pullback in community services.
County funding, they said, has been critical in providing matching requirements for larger grants composing significant portions of their budgets.
“Monroe County has done a beautiful job since HSAB has been in effect to make sure that there are not holes in our safety net,” said Womankind executive director Cali Roberts. “We just need to make sure that if we are restructuring, that we are not building holes back in where health services are not being provided.”
“If you decide to go with (the DOH option), I don’t know how you adjust your millage, but to be even less than what was allocated in the last year, I think it’s going to be a huge, huge burden, not only on your county services to try and support, but to the organizations with whom they may contract,” said current HSAB member Mary Stella.
“If (Ingoglia) is telling us to put the money into the Department of Health, and let the Department of Health then contract out and manage these services, I feel like we need to trust that,” said Mayor Michelle Lincoln. “However, we’re still in charge of the budget. It now is going to allow us to put the money that we want to spend and put it right with the Department of Health, for them to then contract with the agencies. So I think it makes it cleaner.”
While no specific dollar amounts were discussed, the commission gave unanimous direction to move forward with the DOH and Community Services model, adding a Special Needs Services category to fall under Community Services along with transportation, utility and nutrition programs.
“I just want us to leave here knowing that we’re not trying to hurt anybody,” said commissioner Craig Cates. “We’re going to fund them the same amount, basically, but legally fund them (in a way) that Tallahassee is happy with.”
Conservation land changes
Following pushback from residents and environmental conservation organizations, the commission also unanimously elected to tighten the guardrails on an ordinance that would permit conservation land to be repurposed for “public purposes of paramount importance.”
In 2023, the county’s conservation lands ordinance established definitions for conservation land, allowing properties to be “preserved in perpetuity” and prohibiting uses inconsistent with preservation.
But in January 2026, during the local filming of a second season of Apple TV’s “Bad Monkey” series, an emergency ordinance passed by the commission allowed for temporary use of these lands if the use did not damage any native plants or species – and opened the door for future temporary or permanent uses in extreme circumstances, considered on a case-by-case basis.
Revisions considered in the April 15 session incorporated feedback from preservation nonprofit Keys Last Stand, clarifying that permanent uses of conservation land may only be considered and approved by a supermajority of the commission if “no less environmentally damaging alternative exists” and the conservation parcel presents the only viable option for use.
All proposed uses must be requested by a local government entity, must come to a commission meeting for consideration and public comment, and must be a “public necessity” – eliminating a “public interest” option for approval from earlier drafts.
Any damages caused by development must be remedied within one year, and property owners near the site of any proposed use must be notified in advance.
“As written, the policy can be effective for conservation purposes — as long as it is applied and enforced with rigor and consistency,” said Last Stand officials in a social media statement following the meeting. “For example, uses are only allowed if they do not impact native habitat, native plants, or native species. That is a high bar, and we expect it to be treated as one.”
