I am also a parent and an Islamorada resident and taxpayer.

The ICA is very proud of the information that we impart in an effort to inform and educate our friends, the residents of Islamorada.

We make a serious effort to address all issues that impact our residents and the environment here.

I feel strongly that if you care about local matters, you must be prepared to put yourself out there in order to make a positive change.

We feel the Village is, in many ways, on the wrong path.

Our taxes have increased 58% in the last FIVE years; we have not had a Strategic Plan AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, we don’t ask the people what is important to them.

I could go on. 

Village government should reflect the will of the people and protect our special community.  The residents need a louder voice.

It is with the intention of giving residents a clear choice that Sue Miller (seat #3) and myself, Tom Raffanello (seat #4), have filed to run for Village Council.

Our mantra is “common sense” and listen to the will of the residents.

It is the people’s government.

It is time for real change.

Our community deserves elected officials who earn the public’s trust.  Through weekly newsletters, we have researched the issues, in order to identify the problems and present solutions.  Our goal has always been to make Islamorada better.

 

The definition of insanity is to keep rotating the same people and expect a different result. 

I ask you to do your due diligence and become familiar with all of the candidates and their positions.

Email us to hear our ideas. Tell us yours.  

And don’t just listen to hollow promises.

Tom Raffanello: tom4thekeys@gmail.com

Sue Miller: smillerinkeys@gmail.com

We intend to speak to all groups and solicit your issues, ideas, and goals.

You likely already know just where we stand - protecting our environment and community character, demanding transparency and accountability, and making residents our number one priority.  

Please get involved.  An empty council meeting room is not okay!

Tom

2027 - proposed, yet to be finalized

Through the Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE, last year, Florida worked diligently to identify and report on excessive spending at the municipal level.  The intent - to make government more efficient, cut waste, and ensure public funds are used conscientiously. Last week we had 3 public budget workshops scheduled. The end result - the 3rd workshop was canceled with minimal notice, the council directed the staff to prepare a budget for the September Public Hearings at 10% over the rollback - providing 10% more property tax revenue than Islamorada received for the current year.   More taxpayer involvement is needed.  The tax increases over the last few years do not seem to reflect the fact affordability has been listed as a main priority for the local government.

Final Islamorada Budget Hearings: Sep 10 and Sep 17 at 5:30 PM. Voice your thoughts!

Draft 2026 County Traffic Study ready for approval by County Commission.  When the overall grade falls below a level “C” there are development activities that must mitigate before permits can be issued. The overall grade improved countywide in 2026 compared to 2025. Do you think traffic has improved?

Level of service (LOS) for all Islamorada segments except Upper Matecumbe, improved in 2026 over 2025:

Segment Lower Matecumbe The Fills Upper Matecumbe Windley Key Plantation Key 2025 to 2026 D    to   C B     to   A D     to   D D     to   C C     to   A

Baseball - work should begin soon to upgrade the Founder’s Park baseball field: artificial turf, bullpens, dugouts, fences in time for the team to play ball in Feb 2027. Bleachers? Disappointing that the bleachers are not part of phase 1. We were told the existing bleachers passed inspection. We asked for the inspection report via a public record request.

The report - 7 pages with close-up photos about deficiencies noted for Coral Shores bleachers at the school’s football field, softball and tennis facilities. Click here for report.   One aerial photo, no close-up. “The baseball bleachers at Founders Park were in good condition with no apparent structural deficiencies”.  What - it is ok to have no steps and railings? What about ADA?

Artist Millard Wells: Millard served as president of the Upper Keys Rotary, and was member and supporter of many local organizations. An early supporter of the Florida Keys Fishing Guides Assoc., he designed the group's logo.

The photo of Millard, above, with art used in the Miami Herald December 25, 1977. Wright Langley Collection, Monroe County Library.

I believe that when people become involved in government, the government tends to truly do a better job of representing the people.

Reconciling differing interests, priorities, and perspectives, in order to gain broad support, is the cornerstone of the democratic process and, I assume, the goal of Village government.

Working together avoids prolonged gridlock and creates public trust.

We don’t see this happening in Islamorada as much as it should. We feel that compromise is the key to repairing the damage that has been created.

At last week’s special call council meeting to finally approve an agreement with the school board for the use of the Founders Park baseball field by Coral Shores High School athletics, the council seemed to be exhausted by the process and some admitted to not being familiar with the finalized details of a 40-year contract.

The “Ostrich Effect” was evident – the council avoiding the small details to protect themselves from controversy.

After all, as one member of the School Board noted “How can you say no to an 8-year-old in a baseball cap?”

It may be tough, but the point is, you may be leaving that child with financial obligations he/she will deal with as a parent or grandparent 30 years hence.

The coaches and school personnel have been working on the baseball field improvements for seven years. Five of the years were outside public view.

Patrick LaFere, Executive Director of Operations and Planning; Operations and Planning, took the microphone at a Council meeting two years ago and announced that the School Board was authorizing $5 million for improvements to the Founders Park baseball field. And thus the public was officially advised.

LaFere assured that Islamorada would have final say on the improvements (video available).

School board and Islamorada officials believed that baseball experts should be the ones in charge of the design.

We believed that seeking fan input would have enhanced whatever product was produced.

All minor and major league teams canvass fans consistently. Fans sometimes have good ideas based on their perspective.

Case in point- The old bleachers in use since the field was first used by the school 25 years ago are terrible – and perhaps a bit dangerous. The bleachers are not part of phase 1 now approved.

The current eventual design ignores the premier fan seating - prize seats are always behind home plate in most every baseball field in the country – except for the design the experts created for Founders Park. Behind home plate is the designed location of  the snack bar!  

Best seat location in the house. I do not know a fan who would contemplate eliminating seating behind home plate to create a two story refreshment stand.

Perhaps fan participation in field design would have preserved these valued seats.

You bet it would.

The lack of operating agreements and design negotiations is what has made the project a lengthy one.

Not public participation.

All of these concerns should have been delineated in the product produced during the first 5 years of design work. Unfortunately, that is not how the timeline is being sold to the public.

I am disappointed that, what should have been so easy and logical turned into a local war over artificial turf vs green grass, excessive taxpayer costs, and excluding public involvement. It took a room full of those kids in baseball caps to save the day?

Now on to the critical issues impacting our community.

In the future, the Islamorada Community Alliance hopes all residents will understand the issues that impact our island.

We attempt to share differing ideas that will help improve our community. Not just baseball, but the critical concerns about traffic, the environment, affordable housing and the budget.

We hope the elected officials pay more attention to details when they know we are monitoring activities. And when residents pay attention and show up.

Tom

The 3 pm scheduled start time seems to discourage those residents who work for a living. And why 3 days in a row - all the same identical agenda!

Excessive local budgets are a growing concern across the U.S., driven by massive increases in spending, wasteful expenditures, and revenue shortfalls that push property taxes and other local taxes higher. Over the last year, the Florida Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has traveled across the state to seek out waste, fraud, and abuse and identify opportunities for improvement. Most government agencies that did not receive a visit from DOGE, tried diligently to reduce costs fearing a future visit. School board budget: Perhaps most notable, locally, was the Monroe County School Board.  They approved a tentative budget last week BELOW the rollback rate - so they will receive less property tax revenue in the coming year than they received this current year. Great job Monroe County Schools! Monroe County faced criticism when they approved a tentative budget 7.7% above rollback, promising more cuts would be considered. Village tentative budget: By contract the Village approved a tentative millage rate of 2.8 mills, more than a 13% increase over the current year!  And remember the increase in the previous 5 years was 58%.   In four scenarios suggested by staff in the general fund budget agenda this week, the “best” the staff suggested was 7.7% increase over the current year.  None even came close to rollback which would have been a zero increase in property tax. All four scenarios showed identical expenditures - varying only based on the property tax millage rate revenue. Under the new Senate Bill 4‑F, signed by Governor Ron DeSantis on June 24, 2026, Florida law would set strict approval thresholds for local governments that want to raise property tax millage rates above the “rolled‑back rate” - if approved by voters in November. Millage rates up to 110% of the rolled‑back rate: Require a two‑thirds vote of the governing body (e.g., city council, county commission) Millage rates above 110% of the rolled‑back rate: Require unanimous approval of the governing body. Maybe things will be different next year. Staggering Numbers: The budget comparison from current year to next for all departments - not just general fund - is projecting a staggering increase from $49 Million to $57.5 Million - 17% increase in just one year. The Capital Improvement fund shows the Village has planned $8,676,794 of improvements for the fire department, Village Hall, Public Works, Parks, and more.  Lots of grant funding is needed - so the council doubled the amount they will pay a grant contractor to help our staff grant writer, though many of the grants have already been approved to fund much of the work contemplated. And there is Wastewater. The capital improvements of $12,205,000 including what is hopefully a real fix for the repeated rupturing of the raw sewage pipeline at MM92 that has been ongoing for more than 5 years at an estimated $8 million for the coming year.   Lack of Public Involvement: The Council appears anxious to minimize public involvement. No committee to review?  Very little time provided for the public to review extremely complex figures, uploading the 93-page budget document for the public just a few days before the first workshop.   The very format of the budget agenda is extremely difficult to understand.  The bulk of the agenda, the general fund, $24 million, is in Tab 3, 18 items.  Will there be just one 3-minute opportunity for the public to discuss millions of dollars in taxpayer general fund expenses?  Will the public even show up? For the next year the Council will be asked to pass resolutions to approve many of the expenditures in this proposed budget.  If the budget as presented this week is approved, we will hear repetitively in future approval requests - it is in the budget the council approved.  Every line of the budget is important to assure wise local spending.

Sewers and our Coral Reef: Check out an interesting story by Craig Pittman. It is largely about shallow injection wells.  We don’t worry about that as we ship our raw sewage to Key Largo - and their deep injection wells after treatment.   But we worry about the raw sewage that never even makes it to the treatment plant when the pipeline breaks.  Hope those days will soon be over - though at a huge cost!

Do you have a library card? A Monroe County Library card gives you access to thousands of eBooks and eAudiobooks, at no cost. You can browse the selection of more than 5,000 magazines. For more information — including how you can pre-register for a Monroe County Public Library card online, Click here.

Yoga with Kittens! A magical combo. The kittens soothing presence, playful interruptions, and peaceful purring can be truly joyful. Join in for a beginner-friendly experience surrounded by adorable, adoptable kittens.   A fundraiser to benefit Casting for Cats and the Upper Keys Humane Society!  If you fall in love with a kitten, you can make it all yours - all adoption fees are waived.     August 15, 2026 11 AM at the Islander Resort.  Click here to register!