Gallup polling reveals that only 28% of Americans trust newspapers, TV, or radio media sites to report news fairly and impartially. This is a down from 72% in the late 1990s.
Many blame the bias of journalists embracing their own political mindset and contorting them to fit the issues of the day.
This enhances their perceived power and political influence.
Advertising dollars have decreased as readership and/or viewership decreases.
The consequence of shrinking revenues, is to reduce news media’s emphasis and investment in investigative journalism.
Why risk loss of additional advertising dollars for fear of offending powerful people?
The end result – among others -is a poorly informed public.
Online media sources have proliferated and have had great success in filling the void.
The Islamorada Community Alliance has sought to bring our residents the truth and the facts.
We endeavor to provide local residents with information about our community that impacts our quality of life, preservation of our native ecosystems, land development, our often bloated budget, critical oversight, and governance in general.
It is all about transparency and having easier access to the facts.
Too often we find the facts are only accessible via a public record request.
1-What are the facts about the Islamorada Post Office?
Shouldn’t there be more transparency when it comes to a Federal service so vitally important to many local residents of Islamorada?
Our local government should be able to get this information and tell us exactly where the closure (if there is going to be one) stands.
It’s not difficult.
2- The $9 million canal restoration/culvert project on Lower Matecumbe.
Struggling for months now, a loud, sloppy work area has been endured by residents.
They have lost their treasured bike path to flooding, staging of equipment, and apparent lack of a coordinated plan.
And now the project has stopped before completion.
What is up? What is the status of payments to the contractor, grants approved? What comes next?
This area is scheduled for bike path improvements and for a new water pipeline.
Timelines? Specifics?
3-Personnel costs
Florida Statute 166.241 states:
“Each municipality shall prepare aquarterly summary of compensation for all employees funded with appropriations from the municipality. The summary must include job titles, names, and salaries for each employee. The summary must be posted on the municipality’s official website.”
In past years, the Islamorada budget process included a detailed list of Village employees by title, base salary along with the total anticipated cost of each employee.
No such list was provided this year. We don’t understand why.
In a Village of 7000 residents, we have 133 employees, with personnel costs of about $15 million per year.
We are told that the salary level of our employees is on average 13% below the level of comparable positions in other communities in the area.
We want to pay people fairly. Show us the studies and comparisons.
I would like to conclude by asking why council members, some of whom have spent considerable time on council and/or been involved in its inner workings, do not keep the Village residents better informed. We would expect the aforementioned issues to be dealt with in a more transparent manner.
It shouldn’t be that hard.
Tom
