The Monroe County Commission’s proposal to switch the Florida Keys to a charter form of government is a pursuit of the type of money needed to repair aging bridges and beaten down roads, along with the daunting task of making sure it all withstands the rising waters.
It could all add up to more than $1 billion by the 2030s, according to county leaders.
They say adding a new tax, only available to charter counties who essentially are run by a county constitution, is a solution to protecting Keys homes and roads by paying the inevitable and exponential price of construction projects.
“Do we want to share the burden of paying for all of that with our 5.1 million tourists or would we really prefer to jack up our property taxes paid by everybody who owns property?” Monroe County Commissioner David Rice told The Keys Weekly on Oct. 31.
Charters can allow a county to have more control over some local issues but the first draft of Monroe’s charter referendum, which is available on the county’s website, includes a section saying that the county wouldn’t interfere with municipalities’ laws. To change that would require a unanimous vote by the county commission to put any changes on a referendum for voters.
“Monroe County has no interest in overseeing the municipalities,” said county spokeswoman Kristen Livengood in a statement. “The draft charter would preserve municipal independence.”
Commissioners say county staff has exhausted the available options for Monroe to plan ahead on road and bridge projects. So they’re putting together a pitch for voters in the Nov. 5 general election to make Monroe a charter-government county.
If that were to pass at the polls, the county would have to come back to voters a second time in order to create what’s called the Charter County and Regional Transportation System Sales Surtax.
The county has scheduled a workshop for Monday, Nov. 6 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the second floor of the Marathon Government Center, 2798 Overseas Highway. People may participate via Zoom and the workshop will be aired online, on cable – channel 76 on Comcast, channel 99 on U-verse and on Hulu, Roku and Apple TV.
This isn’t your last chance to attend a county-led event about the charter. More public hearings will be scheduled in 2024.
County Attorney Bob Shillinger has been on a Keyswide tour, making presentations before elected leaders and community groups.
Since late September, Monroe County’s legal team has made presentations at the Key West City Commission and both the Middle and Upper Keys Republican Clubs.
Similar to the penny tax
County leaders like Rice believe the transportation tax would act much like the one penny infrastructure sales surtax that’s been in the Keys for decades.
In 2022, more than 65 percent of Monroe voters approved extending the one penny tax.
“Experience has shown that roughly two-thirds of sales taxes collected in the Florida Keys are paid by visitors,” Livengood said in a statement. “So the transportation surtax would be expected to shift the majority of the cost of the transportation and transit improvements from local taxpayers to visitors.”
Rice said the two-thirds estimate comes from hard experience in 2020, when the county put roadblocks at the entrances to the Keys in 2020 to keep out visitors due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We shut down tourism for two months and our tax revenues dropped by two-thirds,” Rice said. “That’s about as real life an experiment as you can do to find out.”
Rice said as a property taxpayer he wants the new tax, and the charter form of government that Monroe needs in order to add it. But it’s voters who will decide, he said.
“We have 26 bridges the county is totally responsible for,” Rice said. “They’re not on U.S. 1 but they provide service to residents. We don’t want to lose them.”
As examples, the county points to the No Name Key Bridge, which is almost the same length as Card Sound Road, and links 42 homes to the island chain. It will likely cost more than $20 million to replace.
