Earlier this month, the Village Council passed a resolution to establish a Charter Review Committee. They’ll recommend changes to our 25-year-old Village Charter. 

This review was a campaign promise of Don Horton’s and others, during the campaign in 2024. Now 14 months later, after the important village work was completed, i.e. dealing with several million dollars worth of property purchased with no exit plan; naming streets and parks, we are ready to go.

In addition to the committee itself, the council voted to have the manager provide a meeting facilitator (unnamed) for the review committee and someone at the League of Cities will be used to “tweak” the charter changes.

So now 14 months into the current term the charter review becomes a predicament with a short deadline. The hastily put together committee of seven residents must figure out what is best for the long-term benefit of our community. 

The deadline for submission of recommended changes is May 31st. In this village, it is going to have to move at the speed of sound. A rapid review process follows with readings by council at multiple public meetings. It is then submitted to the Supervisor of Elections, post haste, to get satisfactory recommendations on the November ballot.

This is warp speed for any municipality. Most communities take well over a year to do a thorough charter review.

The importance of the charter, strategic plan and comp plan has been ignored.

None of these critical documents has been energetically pursued.

Two days after the council resolution the council appointed seven residents to serve on the committee:  Ty Harris, Richard Black, Roger Young, Lori LaLonde, Susan Raffanello, Craig McBay, Joe Roth. (Heavy participation by Chamber members)

In my experience, it is always preferred to get the background on those applying for important, potentially game changing decisions. We hope they all are prepared to put in serious effort, not just interested in adding a new entry on their resume.

We find it confusing that the Village has a rather detailed application process for other citizen committees (Boards & Committees Applications | Islamorada, FL).

Astonishingly, for this critical committee, interested residents simply had to send their name to the clerk for consideration – no qualifications needed.  Do “good ol’ boy/girl” politics prevail in our village?

The first Village Charter Review Committee meeting has been scheduled for Monday, Jan 26, 2026 at 5:30 P.M.  A second meeting is scheduled for two days later, Jan 28, same time and place.

During Council discussion, there were numerous comments suggesting that the Council wants to consider amendments the public wants enacted.  The importance of public participation was frequently reiterated.

We urge the public to get fully engaged in the process.

There were 10 residents who submitted their names, but were not selected: John Cioffi, Mark Cockerham, Greg Dully, Elizabeth Jolin, Bernie LaPira, Sue Miller, Jerry O’Cathey, Lesley Rhyne, Marilyn Smith, John Lentini.

We strongly suggest that those who expressed interest and submitted their names should absolutely become involved in the process and contribute their ideas to the committee.

A Charter is often a rather humdrum document with standard language- legal description of the municipality, number of seats on council, terms, and qualifications of the council, their responsibilities, form of government (in our case council-manager.) and then “General Provisions” that can be more village specific.  

Why is this Charter so important? The charter is the town bible and can only be changed by the voters – not staff, and not by the council. The Charter is where we should put the important guidance.Provisions to protect the environment, citizens and their wallets and quality of life go here!

Prior amendments submitted for voter approval:

Height Restriction: Back in 2007 the 35’ height restriction was added to the charter after months and months of campaigning to assure voters understood this amendment would prevent a Miami Beach look along the shores of Islamorada. 

Council pay: The council cannot increase their own pay - their compensation is part of our Charter.  Voters here have rejected pay increases for Council more than once.

Issues expected to be considered by the newly appointed review committee:

• Instead of candidates running for a specific seat, the charter could be amended to declare the top five voter getters the winners

• The two-year terms should not be changed. (it has been rejected by voters previously)

• Elections could be staggered so either 2 or 3 council positions would be decided in an annual election instead of all 5 so we’d never have a council that is all new like what happened in 2020.

• Candidates could run for mayor and emphasize their qualifications. Voters should decide this position.

 

We hope the Charter Review Committee is conscientious, creative and spends time looking at other city charters around South Florida.  We did. We found some interesting provisions that could be considered in Islamorada. 

Here’s a couple:

Key West land acquisition: “Acquisition of real property for public parks, recreation, affordable housing, or civic buildings may be by a vote of a supermajority of the City Commission. Annexation, or acquisition of real property for any other purpose, may only be by a vote of the electors of the City.”

Key Colony Beach Clerk (and many other municipalities): TheClerk is a charter officer along with attorney and manager – “There shall be a City Clerk who shall be appointed by the City Commission. The City Clerk shall perform such duties as are assigned by the City Commission.”

Cutler Bay (Incorporated in 2005) Citizens Bill of Rights: “This government has been created to protect the governed, not the governing. In order to provide the public with full and accurate information, to promote efficient administration management, to make government more accountable, and to ensure to all persons fair and equitable treatment, the following rights are guaranteed.”  (14 rights of citizens spelled out )

Cutler Bay Council vacancy: “If six months or more remain in the unexpired term, a special election to fill that vacancy shall be held no later than 90 days following the occurrence of the vacancy.”

Cutler Bay Disclosure of Campaign contributions by vendors: “Any vendor who directly or through a member of the person's immediate family or through a political action committee or through any other person makes a campaign contribution to a candidate who is elected mayor, vice-mayor or council member, shall be required to disclose said contribution and if said Vendor fails to disclose he/she/it shall be barred from selling any product or service to the town for a period of two years following the swearing in of the subject.”

  

We encourage the committee members to do the hard work and remember their obligation to the residents and environment.

We will re-visit this process as it goes forward.

Participate!!

Tom Raffanello

Click here to read the Charter.

Click here Good luck Buddy - now mayor of Marineland - the tiniest municipality in the state of Florida - 9 residents.

The regular session runs 60 days from Jan 13 till Mar 13.   Affordability seems to be the critical issue that faces the 2026 Legislature, based on headlines in newspapers all around the state of Florida.

Property Tax Reduction: One of the key topics will be Gov. Ron DeSantis’ push to cut or eliminate homestead property taxes. House Joint Resolution 203 passed the State Affairs Committee Jan 15, with a vote of 16-6, just two days into the session. The bill, if passed, aims to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot in November asking Florida voters to approve increasing homestead exemptions by $100,000 annually for ten years, excluding the taxes for schools. A 60% approval by voters is needed to amend the Florida Constitution.   In Islamorada property tax revenue in the current budget is estimated to bring in $18,264,500, almost 76% of the total general fund revenue.  However, only a relatively small portion of that $18.26 million comes from homesteaded properties.   Based on the current millage rate, an increased deduction of $100,000/year would result in a reduction of $787 in taxes each year for a homesteaded property owner until by the end of 10 years most all homesteaded properties will pay no property taxes except for schools. The gradual implementation over 10 years is intended to give local government time to find ways to reduce costs to compensate for the reduction in revenue.   Village Lobbyists: GrayRobinson has joined up with Kate DeLoach of Southern Group to provide Islamorada with a local lobbyist.  Every Friday afternoon at 4 PM during the Legislative Session, the Village will have a zoom update with our lobbyists.  You can listen in on Friday.  Click here   Summary list of County Legislative Priorities: Click Here Florida League of Cities 2026 Legislative Platform: Click Here No list of 2026 legislative priorities was located on the Village website.

According to the results of its latest poll, Florida Atlantic University’s Business and Economic Polling Initiative, just under 50% of Floridians are "seriously considering" moving due to the rising cost of living. Housing affordability is the major concernwith 80% of respondents.

And there is probably no place in Florida worse than the Florida Keys for housing for working families and people on fixed income, as we transition from a great place to raise kids to a great place for wealthy homeowners looking for luxury vacation homes, and for vacationing families to rent homes once occupied by full time residents.

Have we become a tax shelter for the wealthy? According to the Property Appraiser’s website, 55 properties in Islamorada have been sold in the last 12 months for $2 million or more; 30 over $3 million.

While many longtime residents may be moving from the Keys, Islamorada continues to gain new residents and wealth at a remarkable pace.

Will we always have available workers? Is this a sustainable trend?

Last Stand is an organization that promotes quality of life in the Keys by opposing overdevelopment that stresses the environment, impacts residents’ daily lives, and strains the critical infrastructure upon which we all rely.

Our own Councilman, Steve Friedman, will be a featured speaker at their annual meeting Feb 3. A great Keys wide organization - Click here to join.

Freebee service came to Islamorada via the 2018-2019 budget approval of $80,000, with no competitive bidding.. and the service has continually expanded along with the cost and the grant funding without competitive bidding.

The Council voted this month to approve the 3rd (and final) round of funding for the current FDOT grant. This grant has been paying 50% ($276,700) of the $553,400 annual Freebee cost, while Islamorada taxpayers foot the rest of the bill. The service is available to riders free of charge. In November 2024, the council decided to “implement a charge to riders in the near term.” A minimal $2 charge per ride as proposed has not happened.  

Several years ago, an RFP was issued. A selection committee ranked Circuit Transit Inc ahead of Freebee.  However, Interim Manager, Kimberly Matthews, on loan from  Monroe County, declared the selection process fatally flawed, without explanation, minutes before the Council meeting at which the selection of Circuit was expected. She promised the RFP would be reissued immediately.  It never was.

 

And still 8 years since the initial Freebee approval in 2018, Vice Mayor Sharon Mahoney has once more asked when the rideshare service will be put out for competitive bid. Nothing yet. Eight years and several million dollars in payments to Freebee with no competitive bidding. No rider fee. An important rideshare service for  those who use it… with many questions left unanswered.

There will be a Rummage Sale and Maker's Market on Sunday February 8th at the Green Turtle Hammock Nature Preserve. 81224 Overseas Highway, Islamorada. 10am to 2pm. Family friendly, food truck, snow cones, raffles and kid-friendly activities!  Explore this hidden local gem, walk the trails, and help keep gently used items out of the landfill. Also support local creators!!

Loving all the new trees along the highway from MM75 - MM81.  Thank you FDOT!

I was recently advised that the Village of Islamorada owns 128 properties in the Keys!

We own 105 within village limits (why do we keep property outside the Village?)

Congratulations taxpayers - you are amongst the largest land barons in Monroe County!  Total value estimate - a several hundred million dollars!

 

A PLAN?

Is there a plan for these valuable pieces of property? I have to ask - who manages our holdings? What is our long/short term plan?

 

Take a look at some of our Village owned properties:

 

Island Silver and Spice: The Village bought the property in the heart of the business district, for $2,750,000 in 12/2021. We then demolished the retail store (assessed at almost $1 million).  That was four years ago. What is the plan for that property?

Is it for sale or rent?

 

The old Island Community Church:

Purchased 8/12/24 for $3,995,000 and then leased it back to the church for 1 year, at no charge. Church services continued for the next six months, every Sunday.

We are told that engineers have safety issues with the building. I have also been told that one of the ideas for purchasing the church was to have a Village library. Libraries are a County function, not a municipal function. Buying a library site was not well thought out.

So here we are. A 4-million-dollar building, that may need repairs and has no functional use. How in the name of Ponce De Leon did this happen? Did we know it needed major repairs before we bought it?

Is anybody home? The $3,995,000 purchase of the 16,618 sq ft church structure -  sitting vacant, waiting for a plan.

Machado Property: four single family lots on the highway at MM88.5, purchased 6/16/2021, for a combined total of $1.8 million, and expected to be used for affordable housing. No decision as to whether the housing will be Village owned, leased, or sold.

That encompasses three different Village Councils that have not made a decision on this potential affordable housing. During the campaign for office last year every sitting councilperson had affordable housing as their first priority. And a year has passed.

Somebody remind them. Can you say strategic plan?

 

Green Turtle Hammock: The Village acquired the property with the Rosenthal bay front home/pool, historic Russell Cottage, and a smaller office/storage building. The money came from a conservation grant of $4.7 million in 2006. The pool was demolished in 2011. Demolitions of the residence followed in 2020. Now the council has approved demolishing the smaller building, most recently used as a classroom. Through long term neglect it is now, infested with mold and has become unsafe. 

Only the historic Russell Cottage, will remain. Along with the $1.8 million open air pavilion.

 

An avoidable shame? Did any of the demolitions occur due to improper long term maintenance? Who is responsible for these buildings and their care?

  

Founders Park: The treasured centerpiece of our community!  Unfortunately, we still tolerate the unsightly Public Works equipment scattered around. The Village has listed an offsite public works facility as #1 priority for over ten years – I believe it is in our LAST strategic plan in 2017. Look it up.

 

Affordable Housing properties: The Village has acquired properties for affordable housing and provided long term leases to Habitat for Humanity and Gorman and Company, a builder based in Wisconsin.

The homes are deed restricted and required to be rented/sold to qualified tenants. 

Annual audits were to be conducted to assure the occupants still qualify as to income. To my knowledge this hasn’t been done in a decade. These homes are for affordable housing, not long-term rent control.

Get to work!

 

The aforementioned properties are just a snapshot of our holdings. Shouldn’t Property Management for 128 properties owned by the residents be a top Village priority? They belong to us.

The Village needs to do a better analysis and have an end game for future property acquisition. The public comment and eventually a vote of no less than 4 council persons should be the rule for property acquisition. Three votes on Council should not rule on issues that cost over $1 million.

 

 If the Village wants to buy or sell million-dollar properties, a public presentation with explanations as to why it is a benefit and what our plan is to dispose of the property if it should be required.

 

Residents want to know who manages our multimillion dollar real estate portfolio. The village needs to explain, in great detail, these multimillion-dollar real estate transactions. Now and in the future. IT'S OUR MONEY!

Tom Raffanello