Two days were all it took for the Islamorada Village Council to work through a tentative spending plan, with $23.7 million for day-to-day operations and $25.1 million for enterprise functions, and propose a 2.7231 millage rate.
On the average Islamorada home valued at $1.2 million that receives a $50,000 homestead exemption, the homeowner would pay $3,251.80 in property taxes the coming fiscal year. That’s an increase of $87.27 from last year.
Nonhomesteaded property owners, like secondary homes and businesses, would pay $90.96 more than they did last year.
Property tax dollars levied by the village would pay the day-to-day expenses of the village, everything from public safety to public works, parks and recreation, IT and other departments. Fire rescue expenses for the 2026-27 fiscal year are projected to be $8.5 million, while local law enforcement costs to the village would total $3.6 million. Together, costs for public safety in Islamorada totals a little more than $12.1 million for the upcoming fiscal year.
As part of the spending plan, village council members agreed to provide all employees but local unionized firefighters with a 3% cost of living adjustment and a raise up to 3% for exceptional performance. Firefighters receive their raises through a collective bargaining agreement.
“I think I heard it said several times that if we compare Islamorada salaries to other municipalities and the county, as a whole, our salaries are lower,” Mayor Don Horton said during the Aug. 4 budget workshop. “And let’s face it, in some way we compete for that employee pool with other municipalities, the (Florida Keys Electric) Co-op and aqueduct and large municipal functions.”
Council members also kept the percentage the village kicks in for the benefits package of current employees. The village’s benefits plan includes health, dental, vision and life insurance. In the past, the village paid up to 97.3% for an employee’s benefits package; that was done by a previous village manager without council consent.
Last year, the village council agreed to foot 80%, with employees the other 20%. The council agreed during budget discussions to leave the village and employee benefits contributions at the current 80-20, but any new hires after Oct. 1 would foot 40%. The village would pay the other 60%.
Village personnel will decrease from the previous year with elimination of a benefits and payroll position and an administrative assistant position in public safety moved to part-time. Village parks and recreation is seeking to hire an additional full-time lifeguard instead of part-time in order to adequately staff the pool. Recently, the parks and recreation department announced temporary changes to pool hours on Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays due to an ongoing lifeguard shortage. The pool lost lifeguards who returned to college, said Maria Bagiotti, parks and recreation director.
“Part-time help is great but they’re not available when we need them,” she said. “By hiring a full-time employee, it allows us to use that employee at different hours of the day.”
With a proposed budget set, the council will hold public hearings on Sept. 10 and Sept. 17 at 5:30 p.m. at the Founders Park Community Center.
