Don't reward county for behaving badly
Compared with the
state's major population centers, the
Florida Keys
are a small blip on
Florida's political radar
screen. Our 54,000 voters are not enough to influence statewide
elections, and our high real-estate values sometimes create the
impression among legislators that we are a county of millionaires —
particularly when it comes to education funding.
Nonetheless, the state
of Florida has long recognized the Keys as a special place. The state
repeatedly has come to the rescue of Monroe County residents when local
politicians have behaved irresponsibly. Such was the case some decades
back when the Keys were designated an Area of Critical State Concern,
and such has been the case in subsequent years when the governor and
state Cabinet have applied leverage to ensure the county complies with
its comprehensive land-use plan.
Today, we again have
politicians behaving badly. A trio of county commissioners, directed by
state Rep. Ken Sorensen, has led a pitched battle to seize control of
hundreds of millions of dollars in wastewater projects, despite a
scathing grand jury report that found the county's oversight of the one
project it has (almost) completed was negligent and incompetent. Jurors
also discovered that the resulting sewer system can handle hundreds
fewer connections than the plans called for — and taxpayers paid for.
Last month, when the
commissioners — Murray Nelson, Sonny McCoy and Mayor Dixie Spehar —
failed to wrest wastewater jurisdiction from the Florida Keys Aqueduct
Authority, they behaved like spoiled children, passing a resolution
refusing any further financial support for sewer projects.
This same cabal
promised the state it would take action to preserve undisturbed native
habitat in the Keys. But then after months of hearings and development
of a "tier system" to identify areas needing protection, these
commissioners made last-minute changes that eliminated protection
altogether for small tracts and buffer areas.
Fortunately, the state
has once again stepped forward to rein in our out-of-control
politicians. We are grateful to Department of Community Affairs
Secretary Thaddeus Cohen for persuading Mayor Spehar to sit down with
FKAA Board Chairwoman Mary Rice to explore ways to get wastewater
projects back in motion. And we're grateful to Gov. Jeb Bush, his policy
coordinator Teresa Tinker and Department of Environmental Protection
Secretary Colleen Castille for taking the time to understand our issues,
and for playing active roles in their resolution.
On Tuesday, our county
officials once again go before the governor and Cabinet in the hope of
incorporating into the land-use plan an agreement hammered out between
the state and county more than a year ago. That plan would, among other
things, increase development allowed in the county, free up previously
withheld building units for affordable housing and start the flow of
millions of state dollars for Keys wastewater projects.
But the county
repeatedly has violated that agreement — by withholding sewer funding
and failing to protect environmentally sensitive land — even before the
agreement has become official. To reward the county with state funds and
building allocations while the county still circumvents its
responsibilities to the state and to its own citizens sends the wrong
message and fails to hold our politicians accountable for their actions.
We urge the state to
delay approval of the deal until October, when county officials return
to Tallahassee for an evaluation of the county's progress in reaching
land-use goals. That would give commissioners time to reinstate
wastewater taxing districts they recently dissolved. It would allow them
the opportunity to show they can be partners in good faith with the
Aqueduct Authority in the construction of wastewater systems. It gives
them a chance to restore the protections to Keys habitat that were
stripped away by commission vote.
Please don't send our
badly behaving commissioners home with a victory and the notion that
their political needs prevail over the public good.
— The Citizen |
