If you didn’t attend or watch the budget workshops, let us give a summary of some things you missed!  

Personnel Costs: This coming year - $14,668,000, up $795,000 over last year’s budget; with no raises budgeted for coming year - YET.  Personnel costs are 53% of total projected expenditures.

Employee Benefits: of the total cost for personnel, only 56% is for salaries, 44% is for employee benefits.

Firefighters retirement benefit: taxpayers contribute to retirement funding, 35.19% of firefights/EMS employees salary, as special risk employees ($1,581,000 for coming year) as required by Village participation in the Florida Retirement Service (FRS).

Did you know?

The Village has several Enterprise Funds: Expenses to be covered by users, not property taxes: Marina, Wastewater, Building Department.  All had deficits last year - the Village needs to review fees charged for services provided.

*Building Fund is classified as Special Revenue but is required to be self-supporting

The Village has two grounds maintenance crews: one with Public Works for roadways, etc; one for Founders Park, different departments, different set of mowing equipment.

FDOT is responsible for maintaining U.S. One Right of Way: They pay the Village $65,000 per year to do it for them (same charge for a number of years now). Public Works cost to maintain Right of Way - apparently over $300,000. Council discussed checking with local businesses to see if they can do it for less.

Sheriff, Cost of contract: Islamorada’s current budget for the sheriff, $3,079,678 is $425,000 more than Marathon’s. Marathon is larger than Islamorada.  Same sheriff.

Cost for Sheriff services in coming year: $3,618,490, up almost $540,000 in one year.

Cost for Fire/EMS: Proposed 2025-2026 budget: $8,897,923, up $464,789 in one year.

Marina Rates: Council commented that our rates should not be less than rates at competing marinas.  

Village Marina: transient 40’ boat $220/night; long term $1120/month

Three Waters: transient 40’ boat $240/night; long term $2400/month (Nov - May)

The Fills: The Village no longer has a lease for the Right of Way along the Fills. The weekend Public Works overtime is not in the 2025-2026 budget. The state parks are hoping to have kayak launches, one on the ocean side and one on the bay side for access to Indian Key and Lignumvitae Key.

Promised reduction in tax rate: Taxpayers were assured the tentative tax rate of 3 mills approved last month would be decreased before the final budget is approved in September. At the third budget workshop, Manager Ron Saunders provided an amended budget with the millage rate reduced to 2.65.  However, few operational expenses were reduced - a majority of cuts were to one-time capital projects ($1.5 million) and a $1.2 million reduction in the fund balance.  

Line of Credit:Instead of maintaining a $14 million fund balance budgeted last year, the tentative fund balance is reduced by $2 million to just under $12 million.  A $20 million line of credit is proposed to cover extraordinary costs in case of a natural disaster or other unanticipated emergency.

Possible Future Concerns about reducing fund balance:

• Possibility of a destructive storm with ever changing weather patterns

• Possible change (decrease) in FEMA reimbursements for storm damage

• The state of Florida has contemplated major changes in property taxes - perhaps eliminating them for homesteaded properties, thus dramatically impacting local property tax revenues.

• Downturn in tourist industry creating decrease in numerous revenue sources.