Keys Accountability Project

11/13/2025

Can DOGE Stop the County's Mad Dash to $1 Billion?
A Letter to the head of Florida's Department of Government Efficiency
Blaise Ingoglia, Chief Financial Officer, State of Florida

Mr. Ingoglia:

Monroe County government – on track to spend $1 billion annually within a few short years -- is ripe for an in-depth audit of its finances. For a county of 78,000 full-time residents, that spending level is obscene.

Keys Accountability Project believes that $667 million (FY25 budget) and the soon-to-be $1 billion sloshing around county coffers is a flashing neon sign inviting waste, abuse, and fraud.

Annual Spending by Monroe County Commissioners Grows Sharply
Here are issues that concern Keys residents and support increased scrutiny of county finances:

Last year, when the County Administrator (top county employee) was indicted for fraud, his longtime subordinate was hastily installed in the post just 10 days later, with no public input.

The per capita spending by Monroe County is $8,600, state average for counties is $3,500.

The county has spent tens of millions of dollars (with billions more planned) on resiliency/sustainability/climate change/sea level rise hoaxes and schemes.

The Tourist Development Council will spend $60 million this year to bring even more tourists (currently more than 4 million annually) to the Keys. US 1 has been overcapacity for several years and is unsafe for residents.

In 2000, 75 percent of Keys residences were homesteaded. Today it’s less than 25 percent.

In June, the County spent $7.3 million on 12 workforce housing units (1bed/1bath, 600 sq. ft. apartments). It set rent at $1,797 to $3,042/month, based on income, but unaffordable to its target audience – hospitality workers.

The agenda packet (typically 4,000-7,000 pages) for the monthly County Commissioners’ meeting is primarily passed via consent and with no public debate.

The County spent $465 million in FY23, $519 million in FY24, and $667 million in FY25!

Too much money, too much complexity, too much temptation, and too little transparency – that’s Monroe County government today.

Florida Keys residents urge DOGE to audit Monroe County spending.

Sincerely,

Key Accountability Project

Read full story here: https://open.substack.com/pub/keyskap/p/can-doge-stop-the-countys-mad-dash?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Dangerous US 1 Residents Request County OfficialsAttend US 1 Listening Session What: “Listening Session” for County Commissioners to hear residents speak on dangerous US 1 congestion. Speakers will have three minutes each.When: Tuesday, May 20, 2025, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.Where: 53 High Point Roa...

09/08/2025

First Peek at 'Keys 2030'
Big Changes Planned – More Tourists, Fewer Residents

Editor’s Note: The Following is Fiction. No way this could happen in the Keys.

A secret plan — “Keys 2030” — has top officials and developers buzzing. A leaked summary described it as a “blueprint for transforming the Keys into a premier global tourist destination for the uber wealthy.”

The plan cites two prerequisites essential to the success of “Keys 2030.”

1. Quickly expand US 1 into four lanes -- from Tavernier to Key West, and the 19-mile “Stretch” connecting the Keys to the mainland.
2. Eliminate the 35-foot height restriction on residential and commercial structures to permit more efficient use of limited building sites.

“Keys 2030” Features
- With many hotel room rates now exceeding $350 per night during high season, middle class Americans are largely priced out of vacationing in the Keys, other than day trippers. “Keys 2030” solves that dilemma by transitioning to a completely high-end vacation destination for the uber wealthy, for whom room rates are not a primary consideration.
- Most residential neighborhoods will be reconfigured to make room for boutique hotels, high-end condos, and short-term vacation rentals of individual homes. Since less than 25 percent of Keys residential housing is now owner occupied – down from 75 percent in 1999 – “Keys 2030” seeks to profit from that downward trend.
- 1,000-Bed Hospitality Worker Dormitories — Since hospitality workers will be unable to afford to rent in the Keys, worker dormitories will be constructed in Key Largo, Islamorada, Marathon, Stock Island, and Key West.
- 750-Bed Dormitories for Construction Workers — Dormitories for construction workers are necessary for the quick conversion to an all four-lane US 1, and for new hotel construction. These dormitories will be located in Key Largo, Islamorada, Marathon, and Stock Island.
- As the Keys population of school-aged children continues to shrink, vacant schools will be repurposed as worker dormitories.
- Many local businesses, restaurants, and mom and pop motels will be displaced by the transition to a world-class tourist destination that focuses on all-inclusive resorts, featuring on-site restaurants, personal service providers, and gift stores.
- The independent fishing guide network will convert to hotel-employed guides using hotel-owned boats. A corporate approach to world class fishing in the Keys will provide a better, more uniform level of service and safety for visiting anglers.

While some hardships will be encountered by residents and local small businesses, those will be offset by a booming tourism industry.

Remember, this is only fiction. Plus, our County Commissioners would never let this happen to the Keys.

Dangerous US 1 Residents Request County OfficialsAttend US 1 Listening Session What: “Listening Session” for County Commissioners to hear residents speak on dangerous US 1 congestion. Speakers will have three minutes each.When: Tuesday, May 20, 2025, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.Where: 53 High Point Roa...

06/16/2025

Accumulated Wisdom Ignored-
Where is the vigorous, strident defense of the Keys against the destructive forces of over tourism and overdevelopment?

We expected County Commissioners to lead this fight, but they were busy.

Their actions, instead, facilitate the demise of the Keys environment, neighborhoods, and culture. County Commissioners cloak their support for big development and big tourism in virtue-signaling concepts — sustainability, resilience, workforce housing.

Listen to the accumulated wisdom of Keys residents that County Commissioners refused to hear.

The “Listening Session” Tapes Part 3, video on substack here: https://open.substack.com/pub/keyskap/p/accumulated-wisdom-ignored?r=55xkyt&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Dangerous US 1 Residents Request County OfficialsAttend US 1 Listening Session What: “Listening Session” for County Commissioners to hear residents speak on dangerous US 1 congestion. Speakers will have three minutes each.When: Tuesday, May 20, 2025, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.Where: 53 High Point Roa...

06/10/2025

Why Do Commissioners Hate Traffic Lights?- 'Listening Session' tapes Part 2 has the answer.

County Commissioners don’t want anything that slows down US 1 traffic, especially traffic lights. Because the Keys is a state-designated Area of Critical Concern, when the average speed on US 1 dips below 45 mph, all major development must be halted.

County Commissioners refused to approve mandated traffic studies from 2019 and 2023 because they showed average traffic speeds below 45 mph. Instead, they reverted to the 2021 study, conducted during the pandemic, which achieved a passing grade only due to significantly reduced tourism and reduced traffic. Thus, major development projects could proceed.

Despite overwhelming opposition for two plus years, county officials just okayed the most reviled development in the history of the Upper Keys --the mega 50,000 square foot Publix/Cemex project at Mile Marker 92. Traffic at that curve already exceeds capacity, and the new mega project is expected to add 5,000 more vehicle trips a day.

County Commissioners used the outdated 2021 pandemic traffic study to meet the traffic requirements needed for the project’s approval.

Always thinking ahead, County Commissioners plan to accommodate growing traffic congestion in the Keys by expanding US 1 to four lanes from Tavernier to Key West.

That’ll fix it!

Hear what Keys residents have to say about all this and more in the”Listening Session” tapes Part 2, video on substack here:
https://open.substack.com/pub/keyskap/p/why-do-commissioners-hate-traffic?r=55xkyt&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false

Coming Soon: “Listening Session” tapes Part 3

'Listening Session' tapes Part 2 has the answer

06/02/2025

Welcome County Commissioners
Locals Spoke, Commissioners Didn't Listen

On May 20, Keys residents held a “Listening Session for County Commissioners” to voice their concerns about the dangers and damages that an overcapacity US 1 is causing. (See video below.)

Not a single County Commissioner attended.

The Monroe County Attorney advised them that “…the announced format is a recipe for a potential sunshine law violation should more than one of you attend and speak on matters that are reasonably foreseeable to come before you for a vote. …To make matters worse, the 3-minute speaking time limit being placed on each of you has the potential to take this session out of the realm of a “public meeting”, which a clever prosecutor or civil plaintiff could use as further evidence of a sunshine violation.”

No one could quite figure out what he meant.

But in the spirit of accommodation, organizers revised the format and asked County Commissioners to only “listen and not speak.” They still refused to attend, claiming “conflicts.”

If Commissioners had bothered to show up, they would have heard their constituents express alarm about traffic safety and the declining quality of life in the Keys wrought by overdevelopment and overtourism.

Listen to your neighbors’ concerns, here and in future posts: https://open.substack.com/pub/keyskap/p/welcome-county-commissioners?r=55xkyt&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false

Dangerous US 1 Residents Request County OfficialsAttend US 1 Listening Session What: “Listening Session” for County Commissioners to hear residents speak on dangerous US 1 congestion. Speakers will have three minutes each.When: Tuesday, May 20, 2025, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.Where: 53 High Point Roa...

05/28/2025

Sweet Deal-Manipulated US 1 Studies Bring More Development, More Congestion.

Monroe County Commissioners are required to conduct a US 1 Road Study every other year, at taxpayer expense. If the average speed to get from Mile Marker 112 to Key West is 45 MPH, that is awarded an acceptable C grade (on an A-F scale). If the grade falls below a C, no new development (other than single family homes) is permitted.

Numerous studies have been conducted over the years that show US 1 is overcapacity:

· 2019 Study awarded a D for entire length of US 1. But County Commissioners did not approve, and instead, used the 2017 Study. Thus, more development.

· 2021 Study awarded an acceptable C grade – because nationwide Covid lockdown significantly reduced tourism -- and was approved County Commissioners. Thus, more development.

· 2023 Study awarded a D. Commissioners did not approve the study, and instead, used the 2021 Covid Study. Thus, more development (Cemex/Publix).

The Tavernier Cemex/Publix mega development approval was based, in part, on the 2021 Covid Road Study, and developer still fell short meeting traffic standards by 16 vehicle trips. Commissioners let developers pay a mitigation fee $177,000 ($11,080 per trip) to get the project approved. If the more recent 2023 Road Study was used, the developer would have had to pay mitigation for 1,738 trips, totalling $19 million! Sweet deal.

US 1 To Expand to 4 Lanes

In February, the Monroe County Commission approved adding more lanes to US 1, including bridges, from Key Largo to Key West. Numerous studies show that expanding lanes does not provide a long-term solution to traffic congestion but attracts more drivers.

Expanding US 1 to four lanes would:

· Eliminate the Right of Way currently used by many businesses for parking. This would be particularly devastating to small businesses in Islamorada.

· Increase the danger for pedestrians crossing four lanes instead of two.

· Reduce hurricane evacuation times, thus allow more development.

· Increase further traffic disruptions for the next several years on US 1 as it expands to four lanes.

· During the lengthy construction period, County Commissioners suggest using the Old Highway for two northbound lanes of US 1.

Read full story here: https://open.substack.com/pub/keyskap/p/sweet-deal?r=55xkyt&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false

05/23/2025

Res Ipsa Loquitur**The Thing Speaks for Itself-
View full story here: https://open.substack.com/pub/keyskap/p/res-ipsa-loquitur?r=55xkyt&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false

05/21/2025

No Show, No Surprise- County Commissioners were busy elsewhere. Tuesday night, Keys residents held their US 1 Listening Session for County Commissioners, without County Commissioners.

Residents told their personal stories about the problems and dangers of US 1 — businesses closing, homeowners selling and moving out of the Keys, students missing school, neighborhoods destroyed by short-term rentals, environmental degredation, manipulated traffic studies, shocking numbers of pedestrian deaths, unwanted major developments, etc.

Earlier Tuesday afternoon, County Commissioners were all smiles as they celebrated a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Key West. Did worries about traffic congestion on US 1 prevent them from driving up to Islamorada later to hear their constituents?

Resident and business owner comments will be posted here soon.

Read the full story here: https://open.substack.com/pub/keyskap/p/no-show-no-surprise?r=55xkyt&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false

05/19/2025

'Listening Session on US 1 Dangers' Adds Groundbreaking Ceremony- No stone left unturned to incentivize Commissioners' attendance.

Community organizations sponsoring the May 20 “Listening Session on US 1 Dangers” have now added a groundbreaking ceremony to the event to encourage County Commissioners to attend.

“The only thing County Commissioners like better than cutting ribbons is a groundbreaking ceremony, especially with shiny, silver shovels,” said a former elected official. “Throw in a personalized hard hat, and no way they miss the event!”

Commissioners were invited weeks ago to hear constituents speak on the dangerous congestion on US 1. Parents, students, homeowners, small business owners are expected to attend and present their personal stories about US 1 problems.

To allay fears raised by the Monroe County Attorney about possible Sunshine Act violations, organizers changed the event format so that County Commissioners are asked only to listen to their constituents and will not speak at the event.

The “Listening Session for County Commissioners on US 1 Dangers” is set for Tuesday, May 20, 6 pm to 8 pm at, 53 High Point Road (the old County Courthouse), Tavernier. Attendees will have three minutes each to speak.

The event is presented by Islamorada Community Alliance, Keys Accountability Project, and the Tavernier Community Association.

Photos of County Commissioners at Groundbreaking Events:

Read full story here: https://keyskap.substack.com/p/listening-session-on-us-1-dangers-2af?r=55xkyt

05/16/2025

‘Listening Session’ on US 1 Dangers Adds Ribbon Cutting Ceremony- As an added enticement to get County Commissioners to attend the US 1 Listening Session, organizers created a “Ribbon Cutting Ceremony.”

Monroe County Commissioners have offered numerous excuses why they cannot attend the May 20 “Listening Sesson” on the dangers of congestion on US 1. They said they were too busy with more important events and cited fears of Sunshine Act violations, which, according to several attorneys, were unfounded.

“In order to persuade County Commissioners to attend the Listening Session, we have re-advertised the event as a ‘ribbon cutting ceremony,’ complete with photo ops,” said Tom Raffanello, Islamorada Community Alliance president. “This should dispel their reluctance to listen to Keys residents in real time.”

“We’ve addressed their Sunshine Act concerns,” said Patrick Foley, Keys Accountability Project president. “The only question now: How many County Commissioners will have the courage to show up and listen?”

“Residents want to be heard, not managed!” said ICA’s Raffanello.

The Listening Session will be held on May 20, 2025, from 6 pm to 8 pm, at 53 High Point Road (old Courthouse), Tavernier. Residents will be allotted three minutes each to speak about the ongoing safety and business problems on US 1. For more information, go to keyskap.org.

Photos of County Commissioners at Ribbon Cutting Ceremonies

Read full story here: https://open.substack.com/pub/keyskap/p/listening-session-on-us-1-dangers?r=55xkyt&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false

05/13/2025

An Invitation, Attorney Advises 'Do Not Attend,' a Revised Invitation- County Attorney says Sunshine Act prevents Monroe County Commissioners from attending a "Listening Session" to hear constituent concerns about dangerous conditions on US 1.

Here is story in three parts about Monroe County government’s response to dangerous conditions on US 1.

It’s well worth a read, especially if one believes that US 1 is overcapacity and dangerous for residents, school children, visitors, and small businesses (seven people have been killed on US 1 in the last two months including pedestians, visitors, and a high school student).

Three community organizations — Islamorada Community Alliance, Keys Accountability Project, and Tavernier Community Association — have organized a “Listening Session for County Commissioners” regarding US 1, on May 20 in Tavernier.

Here is the:

#1 Invitation

#2 Response from County Commissioners and County Attorney

#3 A Revised Invitation

Coming Soon: Commissioner Responses to Revised Invitation

Read full story here: https://open.substack.com/pub/keyskap/p/an-invitation-attorney-advises-do?r=55xkyt&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false