Newcomer, perrennial challenge three-term incumbent

By Steve Estes

Monroe County voters head to the polls Tuesday, Aug. 24 to possibly determine who will fill two school board seats and one county judgeship.

They will also be asked to decide whether the school system should transition from its current elected superintendent format to one where the superintendent is selected by the school board.

But they will also be asked to decide which candidates in other races will be selected to represent the major political parties come the general election in November.

Two of the most hotly contested races are those for Monroe County Commissioner, where challengers have filed against each incumbent.

In BOCC District Two, incumbent Republican George Neugent takes on challenger Danny Coll, with the winner to face independent Sloan Bashinsky in November.

In BOCC District Four, incumbent Republican Mario DiGennaro will try and hold off a challenge from former Republican commissioner David Rice. The winner of that contest will face former Marathon councilman Don Vasil and former Islamorada councilman Mike Forster, both running as non-affiliated candidates in November.

Only Republican voters will get the first shot at voting in both the District 2 and District 4 BOCC races. All the other candidates are running with no party affiliation and move automatically to November’s general election.

The following is a synopsis of District Two county commission candidate’s answers to questions posed by News-Barometer. District Four candidates will chime in next week on the same issues.

Q: The county now has five more years before the enforcement of the wastewater mandate for AWT begins. Where do you begin to meet this mandate? From what source(s) do you obtain the money to build the systems? Would you give any thought to creating an independent wastewater district for the expanded Cudjoe Regional service area, similar to Key Largo?

Coll: The first thing I would do is look at smaller, less expensive AWT compliant package plants for lower density areas like the Lower Keys. The savings from this would not eliminate the need for funding, but it would reduce it. I am against raising taxes of any kind.

I hope we get the $200 million the state authorized, but we all know how quickly that can disappear. Other municipalities are using low-interest loans to get the work done. Yes, they will have to pay these loans back but in the meantime they are getting the work done when it is likely to be less expensive and they are buying time for the economic outlook to improve, which might make state or federal funding a reality.

Right now the county has “no identifiable funds for this project,” according to the County Administrator. I must ask the question, Why were Shark Key residents charged lower wastewater fees than other areas and why did the county pay for work done inside a gated community while there are other areas that need to be completed but can’t because of funding?

With regard to taxing districts, that is a new tax and until all other funding sources are exhausted and/or cost reductions put in place, I can’t endorse raising taxes.

Neugent: There are limited sources: For me, an unacceptable Special Assessment for the total cost, about 20+ thousand dollars to each household.

We could, with the State legislation’s blessing propose, through a referendum vote of the residents, a .01 cent infrastructure sales tax, of which tourist pay over 50% and which 100% of the dollars would be directed to wastewater and storm water to make this unfunded mandate affordable. 99-395 ( the legislation) is an unfunded mandate of $1 billion which has been subsidized with less than $80 million from the State and Feds promised 60% – 8% of the total cost.

Many Lower Keys residents incorrectly think the Lower Keys have been left out of the money distribution – that is not accurate. Big Coppitt & Baypoint (both completed) have received funding. We are now faced with the last largest rural area left to do – Cudjoe Regional, a $250 million project . After getting the legislature to extend the deadline by five years, we now have the time to arrange for an outside revenue stream to make Wastewater & Stormwater treatment truly affordable throughout Monroe County.

Bashinsky: I get out my magic wand and cast a spell, presto, problem solved. Or, I say stuff that doesn’t make any sense because I don’t know what else to say. Or, I say we will get funding from Tallahassee and/or Washington, D.C., which I don’t really see happening in this deep-sixed economy. Or, I say we are screwed, there is no way to comply, given the state of the local economy and the County barely being able to make ends meet.

But not to worry, it’s a Mexican standoff. In 2015, the State will set a new, future compliance date, like it did this year when we didn’t come into compliance.

I favor the expanded Cudjoe Regional service area. And probably one on Big Pine serving up to Seven Mile Bridge and down to the top of the Cudjoe service area. Probably need something similar for areas above Marathon, below Key Largo. I feel regional wastewater management is best approach.

Q: Please outline your budget priorities for the coming four years, and outline your position on tax rates.

Neugent: Budgets are driven by many forces and due to Monroe County’s uniqueness – a 120 mile linear county – cost run higher here than any other county in the state. Historically we have had to do things in triplicate to bring services conveniently to the residents: for example, three court systems, five libraries, parks for Key Largo, Islamorada, Marathon, Big Pine Key; fire stations for Key Largo, Islamorada, Marathon, Big Pine Key, Cudjoe, Big Coppitt, Sugarloaf, Stock Island, a situation where in a typical geographically circular county half the infrastructure would suffice in a county of 73,000 people.

When residents ask for a particular level of service – and they have resoundingly – it should be recognized that cost of operation associated with those assets continue in good times and bad. Let’s be fair in our criticism – you can’t ask for these improvements in the good times and not recognize the cost associated with maintaining those assets, even as the economy turns sour, will remain. Another tremendous problem are staggering direct cost to residents from windstorm and flood insurance and waste water, etc. making Monroe County the most expensive county in which to live in the state of Florida.

With a new commission we have scaled back dramatically over the last three years; going from nine divisions to four, downsizing the workforce by more than 14% while putting in place future cost saving policies. We have not given employees raises in the last three years. We have in the last three years corrected eight years of financial damage done by the previous administrator and his supporters. Corrective action has replenished an $11 million reserve fund. Businesses are hurting, unemployment is up, however, we are doing better than most. I would predict that taxes over the next four years will remain flat. As Mayor last year, with the help of this commission, a mindset of prudence has replaced the foolishness of the past.

Bashinsky: If we don’t have the money to pay for it, get rid of or don’t buy it.

In this deep-sixed economy . . .

No tax rate increases.

No special treatment of county employees who belong to labor unions.

Recently, I attended a Comprehensive Plan change meeting at the Marathon Government Center put on by the outside company the County hired to help us do our new and state-required Comp Plan. The outside firm’s fee, $1,000,000, they told me at the very first meeting. They didn’t seem thrilled that I had asked, and I had to tug a little get the sum out of them. I learned from Keys people that the County could have done all of this in-house, using county staff. Rebecca Jetton was there from the Department of Community Affairs. She confirmed the County could have done it in-house. I was thinking throughout the meeting that I had read in the Key West Citizen of the County wanting to give small raises to County employees, for the first time in three years, but where was the money to come from?

I thought about that $1,000,000 fee and how it could have been used to pay the raises. I thought about the amount of time County staff had spent on the application to develop Wisteria Island, without even knowing if Key West was going to come on board. I thought County staff should have told the Wisteria applicant to get Key West on board before County staff got involved, since the whole deal depended on Key West coming on board. I thought of County staff working on the new Comp plan instead of on Wisteria. I thought of the Wisteria application being tabled or pulled, because of Key West not coming on board, because of county commissioners not coming on board. I sort of wanted to scream.

Coll: My priority is to eliminate wasteful spending and encourage better management of the county’s funds. Currently the reserves are growing at a rapid pace, but because they’re reserves they can’t generate a decent rate of return. I know that a few years ago the reserves were dangerously low but that is not an excuse to hoard cash now.

One example of better fiscal management would be to pay off some, not all, of the airport bonds. This would immediately save on interest expense.

At the same time we’re seriously underfunding roads and bridges in this county. These types of ups and downs in the budget, whether dictated by the economy or not, must be balanced with better management of funds. Tax rates will come down if the county stops spending wastefully.

Taxpayers understand good budgetary management and will be understanding about their tax rates if they believe the county commission is looking out for their dollars. Everyone is hot about taxes right now because they’re sick of wasteful spending, of seeing dollars go to lawsuit settlements and legal fees from poor decision making, and spending on pet projects.

Q: What secondary economic engine would you attempt to implement as a fall back if tourism suffers a major setback?

Bashinsky: Public hangings and tar-and-featherings of wayward government officials and staff at well-advertised government meetings, charge for admission; nuke BP and Washington D.C. with vessels from the Conch Republic Navy and Air Force, sell the documentary made during this crusade to Hollywood; syndicate televised county commission meetings after I’m elected, to compete with Jay Leno and his ilk; make the Keys into the American New Age Mecca for the ever-lost enormous Fuckawai Wannabe Indian tribe, because of the earth-energy vortex that runs the entire Keys (think Stonehenge, Andes, Himalaya, Sedona), after we Semtex (a brand of plastic explosive) of all of the zillion vampire energy churches to get rid of the negative Puritan vibes; make road-kill Key deer and iguana, and boat-killed manatee and dolphin surprise daily specials in Keys restaurants; legalize marijuana farming throughout the Keys; make every beach in the Keys clothing optional; allow tent camping all along US 1, charge overnight fee, use portable toilets for you know what .

There is no backup industry for the Keys, if we lose tourism . . . I’ll get back to you if something else interesting comes to me.

Coll: The best way to ensure economic prosperity is to have a diverse business community. No entity, county or otherwise, should depend solely on one economic sector, or even two for that matter.

In order to ensure businesses can thrive in the Keys and grow our economic base, we have to make them welcome and allow those already here to expand, grow or improve. I’m not saying we should let developers pave over the Keys, but no one can say this county is friendly to business.

If the county continually drives out responsible business, the kinds of business that fit our environment here in the Keys, we will be stuck with tourism as our main economic engine.

Neugent: We’ve got 4 identified economic engines that drive our economy – they are all inextricably connected: Tourism , Real Estate, Marine Industry, and Fishing (both Commercial & Charter) and beyond that it’s anybody’s guess.

I just can’t fathom that we will become anything but what we are today – only better.

Q: The US Fish and Wildlife Service and Federal Emergency Management Agency are poised to come to agreement on the flood-insurance injunction to protect environmentally sensitive areas. What ideas do you have for shifting development away from habitat and into scarified areas?

Coll: The main issue with habitat is to identify it correctly. You can’t just say this area is habitat and that one isn’t. This is the type of thing the county gets itself into trouble with all the time. The way habitat was established by the US Fish and Wildlife Service was completely haphazard and included properties in platted subdivisions.

We must have very clear and measurable criteria.

Neugent: Smart Growth is a best practice philosophy of directing development into already developed areas and away from environmentally sensitive undeveloped areas; ROGO and the Tier System do exactly that. Thirty years ago the State designated Monroe County as an Area of Critical State Concern due to its environmental value to the eco-system. We are also governed by Guiding Principles of Development of which hurricane evacuation is a key safety element.

Smart Growth is supported by the State of Florida’s residents because there is a recognition that our environment – throughout the State – is our economy.

Through programs such as Florida Forever and our own Land Authority we have been able to pay-as-we-protect in adhering to that Smart Growth Policy.

Bashinsky: Publicly hang all developers, and lobbyists, lawyers, journalists and elected officials who support them.

Do all possible to defeat the development of Wisteria Island, which is the bellwether test for shifting development away from habitat and into scarified areas. If we allow Wisteria to be developed, the precedent will be used for similar development applications of remote areas, such as No Name Key, Big Torch Key, etc.

Q: Please explain your views on compliance driven code enforcement versus the coercive method we now have.

Neugent: Every elected official takes an oath, makes a promise, to defend the constitution and uphold the laws of the State Florida. It is sad testimony that all don’t recognize the damage one does to our government’s reputation when they succumb to temptation of selfish interest and hidden agendas. Codes of Monroe County are there for a reason and should be respected and enforced or changed.

I need not go any further than the downstairs enclosure debacle as an example of irresponsible oversight to compliance which jeopardizes others flood insurance.

For 12 years and longer we’ve worked on straightening up a mess left by unenforced codes. While certainly Compliance is what we want, in the case of recalcitrant violators, fines will be levied.

Bashinsky: Sue FEMA and the County in Federal Court; ask the Court to get FEMA off the County’s back, so the County can get code enforcement off of the backs of 7,000 or so owners of homes with so-called illegal downstairs enclosures. Require Code Enforcement to first issue written warnings and explanation of cure and time for cure, before issuing code violation citations. Shoot all code enforcement officers who behave like Nazis, or who allow themselves to be used by relatives, friends, government staff or officials to persecute their enemies.

Coll: Once again this comes down to the attitude of the county. We should be helping and assisting our residents, both new and those already here, deal with the intricacies of our code system instead of smacking them down with citations at the first mistake. This drives good people away from the Keys, thereby reducing population and hurting the business community we so desperately need to thrive.

Q: Do you believe Amendment 4 would be good for Monroe County and why or why not?

Bashinsky: Yep. I have supported Amendment 4 since learning in 2006 of its migration toward the ballot. It will put voters in charge of all local Comprehensive Plan changes and will throttle development attempts such as Wisteria Island. Yes, Amendment 4 will have unintended consequences. Yes, if the State of Florida and Florida’s county and city governments had behaved with respect toward Mother Nature, we would not need Amendment 4, with its side effects.

Yes, we know the State of Florida and its county and city governments don’t view Mother Nature correctly.

Yes, we do not understand we are a virus Mother Nature puts up with — so far.

Yes, Amendment 4 will be a step toward making us a more useful virus for Mother Nature. Yes, if DCA is disbanded next year due to lack of funding, as we are hearing might happen, Amendent 4 will be the only way we the people can veto runaway development-oriented elected officials. Yes, we need Amendment 4.

Coll: Amendment 4 is not perfect but I believe it is the way to rid ourselves of the DCA once and for all. The issues that many other municipalities face from Amendment 4 do not all apply to us here because of our size. That said, the cost issue is valid and needs to be managed well.

I don’t like everything about Amendment 4, but I believe we must get bureaucrats out of the decision making process here in the Keys.

Neugent: With safeguards that Monroe County has in place to protect against unwanted and unwarranted sprawl producing development, Amendment 4 could very well unnecessarily hamper projects that go through tremendous review because we are an Area of Critical State Concern.

As a member of the Florida Association of counties, I can tell you from having sat through many meetings while listening to commissioners from other counties throughout the state, the people are fed up with developers who are not paying for or mitigating the negative impacts of their development; for example, developers of large commercial and residential projects are not paying for the schools and roads that their development creates a need for – it’s left to the taxpayer.

Q: Would you be in favor of term limits on locally elected officials and why or why not?

Coll: I have always been in favor of term limits and I still am. I myself pledge to serve no more than two terms. I believe when you get elected you jump right in, work hard to accomplish your goals, and then go back to your business or whatever you do.

Politics should not be a career.

Bashinsky: Yes, one term, perhaps for six years. Stop elected officials from running for reelection while in office. Focus them on serving the office and their constituents. I have proposed this several times before.

Neugent: It presently is the electorate’s responsibility to determine who should serve and for how long – should that change? There is a movement afoot in Tallahassee to extrend or remove term limits which they set only a few years ago because many believe it has contributed to the problems we are experiencing in the legislature.

With term limits come a loss of valuable institutional knowledge and a complete dependence upon staff for decision making. I can tell you the learning curve for a commissioner is long – preparation for the job is a necessity. Too many elected representatives fail to notice when it’s time to move on.