all day Monday, August 17th, Tuesday, August 18th, and Wednesday, August 19th due to renovation final touches and scoreboard installation.

A TRIM notice is Florida’s “Truth in Millage” notice of proposed property taxes, mailed each August.  It will show your property’s current taxable value, proposed tax rates and budget hearing dates.

TRIM notices will reflect a 3 mills rate for the Village (over 20% increase in tax revenue for the coming year). However, the council directed the staff to prepare a budget for the Sep 10 first budget hearing at a lower rate (still a 10% increase over the current year). The current value of your property will be a significant factor in how much your taxes will increase this year.  Homesteaded properties are limited to a 3% increase in taxable value annually.   The highlighted line below is based on the millage rate the council directed staff to provide for the 1st budget hearing, keeping the increase just minimally under 10%.

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

Wed, Aug 19, at approx 11:30 AM, the County Commission will be considering a request from 21 Keys organizations, including the Islamorada Community Alliance, asking the County to hire an independent consultant to conduct a 20-year Infrastructure Capacity Study for the Florida Keys.

The meeting will be held in Key West but will be accessible remotely.  Click here. The request is seeking to determine whether there will be sufficient water, wastewater, electric power, and road capacity to handle additional growth in resident and visitor populations in coming years.   Interested residents are encouraged to call in during public comment.

Florida Bay Forever provided a fascinating Shark Depredation Program last week.What is that? When sharks consume hooked fish  before the angler can get the catch to the boat or when sharks go after exhausted fish that are released after a catch.

Three scientists from FIU and the University of Miami explained their ongoing research: Dr. Yannis Papastamatiou, Hannah Aycock, and Aracelis Jimenez. They are  geared at finding a solution to a prevalent problem fishermen face in the Keys by determining science-based mitigation recommendations. They hope local guides and captains can help with surveys and data. Click here to provide data.

Brett Waldman donated two original photos that were auctioned with proceeds to Florida Bay Forever.   Sue Miller won the 50-50 raffle and donated her winnings back to the organization.

did you miss this great Casting for Cats event arranged by Sharon?  Watch for more Kitty Yoga coming soon!

Click here for a look at last Saturday’s entertainment. Sharon Mahoney is an amazing member of our community. Nonstop energy.

Next up for the felines: Do you have a special cat photo - remember to enter the 2027 “Catlendar” contest to see your cat as a monthly feline model in 2027!

Library members borrowed more digital items in July than in any previous month — almost 14,000 e-books, audiobooks and digital magazines.

The library’s digital collection, accessed with the Libby app, includes more than 23,000 e-book titles, more than 11,000 audiobooks, and more than 6,000 magazine titles. The magazines are always available, without holds or waiting, and include back issues.

The library system is projecting a 12% growth in use of digital resources in the year ending Sept. 30, and a 14.6% increase in the number of people using the digital library.

The library recently raised the number of digital titles that patrons can check out at a time to eight. The number of titles patrons can have on hold was raised to 20.

For more information about using Libby, Kanopy, and other online resources, go to keyslibraries.org/24-7-resources. For a step-by-step guide to getting and using the Libby app, go to keyslibraries.org/post/libby-welcome.

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?