Since 2016, hundreds of thousands of state {dollars} from the Florida Keys Stewardship Act have funded essential water high quality enchancment acts all through the fragile island chain.
However as one other $20 million is on the best way from Florida’s 2025-26 state finances, Keys governments aren’t aligned on how you can cut up it up.
In early years of the Stewardship Act, out there funds had been divided and distributed based mostly on an interlocal settlement (ILA) amongst Keys governments, permitting every celebration entry to higher proportions of funds at totally different instances based mostly on the progress of their particular person wastewater tasks.
From 2016 to 2024, funded initiatives ranged from canal backfilling and muck elimination to upgrades of wastewater pumps and filters, stormwater injection wells, rehab of sewer raise stations and extra.
However two years in the past, as the unique settlement expired, state officers directed Keys governments to use for out there funding by means of a portal managed by the Florida Division of Environmental Safety (DEP), permitting for particular person analysis of the deserves of every challenge.
That portal will proceed for the $20 million in 2025-26 funds. However a brand new settlement proposed and authorized in current months by the cities of Marathon and Key Colony Seaside, the Village of Islamorada, the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority and the Key Largo Wastewater Remedy District proposes a distinct plan for the funding over the following 5 years – a dead-even cut up of 12.5% every among the many signees, unincorporated Monroe County and the Metropolis of Key West.
Town of Layton, disregarded of the appropriations language for the 2025-26 funds, was additionally included within the draft settlement with an equal share.
“Every of the signatories to the ILA and this letter have a number of hundreds of thousands of water high quality enchancment tasks. Every of us realizes that even a constant annual $20 million in Stewardship funds gained’t cowl the prices of all our tasks,” states a letter despatched to the county and Key West by Key Colony Seaside Metropolis Administrator John Bartus on July 23, together with the proposed settlement. “A good and equitable distribution permits us all to return collectively and efficiently foyer the Legislature to proceed this quantity of funding.”
However the county and Key West, the biggest governments within the Keys, say they’re not on board with a good cut up.
In June, the six signees met to assessment a brand new settlement drafted by Marathon Metropolis Supervisor George Garrett, believing {that a} new ILA signed by all events earlier than June 30 would supplant the DEP portal course of for the 2025-26 funds. Officers from the county and Key West didn’t participate within the assembly, with Monroe County Administrator Christine Hurley asking as an alternative to delay the gathering till after the county’s finances course of was completed in July.
Additionally in June, Hurley informed the Weekly, a telephone name with DEP deputy secretary Adam Blalock indicated the portal could be opened once more for the 2025-26 funds within the absence of an authorized ILA by June 30 – a dialog she relayed to Garrett as the brand new ILA was being reviewed in June.
With the state finances set to start on July 1, Hurley stated, approving a brand new settlement was an pointless rush – particularly because the governing boards of some signees didn’t approve the brand new draft till their July conferences.
On June 29, an e mail despatched by Hurley to all eight proposed stakeholders outlined two new propositions to distribute the funding, based mostly on both every jurisdiction’s inhabitants or the price of tasks wanted by every metropolis, supplied in conferences for the federally-backed Florida Keys Water High quality Enchancment Program (FKWQIP).
The population-based plan would see Key West and unincorporated Monroe obtain $6.4 million every, based mostly on populations of 27,040 and 38,702, respectively. Awards for the opposite six entities would vary from $2.4 million for Marathon – a inhabitants of 9,926 – all the way down to $192,260 for Key Colony Seaside and $48,124 for Layton.
Splits within the need-based mannequin could be even higher, with the county to obtain $11.5 million and Key West at $4.6 million – whereas Key Colony and Layton would obtain $119,760 and $34,217, respectively.
“Whereas Monroe clearly prefers the choice based mostly on want, we’re keen to help … a distribution based mostly on inhabitants as proven in Choice 1,” Hurley wrote within the June 29 e mail.
Key West Metropolis Supervisor Brian Barroso agreed, replying that the Southernmost Metropolis would “stay according to a ‘justifiable share’ distribution and can’t help the present ‘equal’ allocation at the moment.”
In an e mail change between Bartus and Hurley, extensively distributed to media shops by Bartus, Hurley argued {that a} $2.5 million allocation annually would exceed the prices of tasks anticipated by smaller cities akin to Layton and Key Colony Seaside. Bartus disputed this declare, stating that figures used for challenge prices in Key Colony had been merely a one-year request determine.
“Participation within the ILA ensures that all of us come to the desk, focus on our wants, and work collectively,” Bartus wrote. “Each celebration to the ILA has its personal greatest technique for figuring out our wants, and never considered one of us wants an ‘oversight’ or ‘coordinating’ company.”
Talking with the Weekly on July 28, Garrett stated Marathon nonetheless believes the ILA is “the best way to go,” however that he believed there was “room to speak” in regards to the actual division of funds. Town now plans to make use of the DEP portal for this yr’s requests, he stated.
“The entire premise is that we’ve all the time executed greatest after we work collectively to get appropriations,” he stated. “The ILA units a normal during which none of us are arguing with one another, as a result of we all the time know, if there may be an appropriation, what share we’re going to get.”
“All of us have far more than what the equal share could be in tasks,” Bartus stated through telephone. “Since in Key Colony, we didn’t get minimize into these huge pots of cash years in the past underneath FKWQIP, we’re due a little bit of an equal share. (The brand new ILA) is an effective way to have a pleasant collaborative method to this cash yearly.”
Hurley informed the Weekly that “at this level, none of us will lose with the portal.”
“If we’re profitable to get the $20 million, then we are able to all apply for our particular person tasks, and (the state) will choose them based mostly on the challenge deserves,” she stated.