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MARATHON, Fla. — Monroe County School Board members will decide Tuesday whether Superintendent Ed Tierney’s strong first-year review warrants a longer and more lucrative contract as the Florida Keys school district adjusts to the loss of 239 students.

The proposed agreement would increase Tierney’s base salary from $199,500 to $245,000, a $45,500 raise, and extend his contract by one year.

Whether the proposal has support from a majority of the five-member board remains unclear. Board members praised Tierney during his Aug. 25 evaluation, but their comments did not amount to a public commitment to approve the new compensation package.

“I have made it clear that my wife and I love it here,” said Tierney. “And we want to retire in the Florida Keys.”

The timing could draw scrutiny. The district is managing an enrollment decline while continuing collective bargaining with United Teachers of Monroe over employee compensation for the 2026-27 school year.

Tierney’s current three-year contract was approved June 10, 2025. In addition to his $199,500 base salary, it provides $5,000 a year for professional and civic activities, an $850 monthly vehicle allowance and district medical and retirement benefits. His salary and specified cash allowances total about $214,700 annually before benefits.

The proposed $245,000 salary would represent an increase of about 23% over his original base pay.

It would put Tierney at the top of highest paid administrators for similar sized school districts in the Sunshine State. Okaloosa County, which as a larger FTE of 32,999.63, pays its superintendent $200,987 annually.

Tierney, a former deputy superintendent of the Palm Beach County School District, was selected after a five-month search. The board chose him over two local finalists, Deputy Superintendent Amber Archer Acevedo and Coral Shores High School Principal Laura Lietaert.

A little more than a year later, board members gave Tierney high marks.

Board members described his first year as “incredible,” his evaluation as “near perfect” and his performance as “impressive.”

Board Chair John Dick then asked the district’s attorney to prepare a new agreement extending Tierney’s contract and increasing his pay.

The compensation decision comes as enrollment has fallen by 239 students. The decline is smaller than an earlier projection of more than 320 students but still presents a financial challenge.

Monroe County’s 2026-27 Florida Education Finance Program calculation provides an average of $13,671.57 in combined state and local operating funding for each full-time-equivalent student.

Multiplying that average by 239 produces a straight-line gross figure of about $3.27 million. But that is not the district’s actual projected revenue loss.

About 81% of Monroe County’s state and local school funding comes from local property taxes, which do not decline dollar-for-dollar when enrollment falls. The state-funded portion averages $2,637.31 per student, producing a benchmark of about $630,000 for 239 students.

The actual effect will depend on student funding classifications, categorical programs, enrollment survey counts and Florida’s required-local-effort formula.

Immigration, Charter Schools and Other Issues Effect Enrollment

Tierney said that the drop was due to a number of factors including immigration and the repeal of Temporary Protective Status, increasing scholarships for charter and private schools as well as home schooling.

“All of those are playing a role in declining enrollment,” said Tierney. “Plus you have families leaving because they can’t afford to live in the Keys.”

He also said that the number of students leaving was less than the annual projection of approximately 350 students.

“Percentage wise, we are on par with the South Florida school districts that are encountering a lot of the same problems,” he said.

No Issues with ICE/CBP — Yet

Tierney told Above the Fold that although they have been hearing rumors of students and immigration actions, that they have not had any issue on school property.

“Like anybody else attempting to access our schools, they would have to go through a process,” said Tierney. “Out first call would be to local law enforcement to make sure they were legally allowed to access the school. Obviously, if they have a warrant they would be allowed in, but just like anybody else, its is a fairly lengthy process to gain access.

Budget Proposal Sees Lowest Proposed Millage Rate in a Decade

At the same meeting, the board is also considering a proposed $179.9 million budget for 2026-27, an increase of approximately $6.5 million, or 3.8%, from the previous year. Much of the increase is tied to employee salaries and benefits. School safety and security spending exceeds $4 million.

The proposed total school tax rate is 2.817 mills, down 0.13 mills from last year and the district’s lowest rate in more than a decade. Rising property values, however, mean the lower rate is still expected to generate additional tax revenue.

Tierney’s contract proposal follows a year of organizational changes. He eliminated some administrative positions through attrition, transferred other positions from the central office to schools and sent administrators into schools for extended assignments through his “One Team, One Goal — Student Success” initiative.

Amendment 3 Shouldn’t Impact Monroe County Schools, But Probably Will

The looming repeal of property taxes proposed by Governor Ron DeSantis has a carve out for schools, but Tierney said that he is expecting it could have an impact.

“If you don’t pay one way, you will pay in another,” said Tierney. “Some of the municipalities may start charging for traffic control and other services to attempt to offset the costs.”

But, because of the small number of homesteaded properties in Monroe County coupled with rising property values, officials expect the impact to be minimal.

The Report Cards Come Home

The district also maintained an A grade for 2025-26, increasing its state accountability score from 763 to 774 points.

The graduation rate rose from 88% to 93%. College and career acceleration increased from 58% to 64%, while English language arts achievement and learning gains improved from 59% to 61%.

Results varied by school.

Poinciana Elementary and Plantation Key School earned A grades. Coral Shores High School, Key Largo School, Marathon Middle High School and Sugarloaf School each finished at 64%, one percentage point below the state’s new A threshold, and received B grades.

Gerald Adams Elementary and Stanley Switlik Elementary also earned B grades. Horace O’Bryant School and Key West High School received C grades.

During the Aug. 25 presentation, board member Sue Woltanski questioned whether changes in the student population, including the loss of some English language learners, contributed to the districtwide gains.

“I’m really proud of the gains that were made, but we’re going to need to know how much of that is a population change,” Woltanski said.

The board has made its approval of Tierney’s first-year performance clear. Tuesday’s decision is whether that performance warrants a 23% increase in base pay and another year on his contract while enrollment is falling and compensation for teachers and other employees remains under negotiation.

• Watch the Aug. 25 School Board meeting⁠ — the Superintendent evaluation and board discussion are included in the 1-hour, 12-minute recording.

• Read the Aug. 25 meeting agenda and Tierney evaluation record⁠ — Tierney’s evaluation, cumulative score sheet and summative evaluation are listed under Action Item E.1.

• Open the Sept. 8 agenda containing Tierney’s proposed contract⁠ — this is the official district agenda link for Tuesday’s meeting.

The Monroe County School Board will meet Tuesday, Sept. 8, at 5 p.m. at Marathon High School, 350 Sombrero Beach Road in Marathon. The meeting will be broadcast live on the district’s School Board meeting portal.

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Just about the only real sports coverage you will find in Above the Fold concerns the University of Florida, my alma mater — and what a night it was in Gainesville.

Although I am considering adding the Bocce results. That is a serious thing, and when I first started at The Key West Citizen as assistant Sports Editor, if we didn’t have them in the paper, we got phone calls. Lots of them.

The Gators opened the season by dismantling Florida Atlantic 66-21 in Jon Sumrall’s debut, playing with an energy, confidence and entirely different attitude than they displayed during the final years of the Billy Napier era.

Come to think of it, the transformation looked a little like the one on display at the most recent Key West City Commission meeting: new leadership, renewed purpose and the unmistakable sense that keeping your head down and accepting the status quo is no longer the game plan.

My former Florida Today colleague Mike “Binky the Bulldog” Bianchi — now a columnist for the Orlando Sentinel and still one of the best sports columnists in the business — takes it from here.

MARATHON, Fla. — It is hunting season for municipal administrators in the Florida Keys — and taxpayers are picking up the tab.

Days after four Key West city commissioners allowed City Manager Brian Barroso’s contract to continue toward automatic renewal — complete with a 5% raise — the Marathon City Council is preparing to consider an even richer deal for its next permanent city manager.

Marathon council members will vote Tuesday on a proposed contract promoting City Attorney Steve Williams, who has served as interim city manager since March, to the permanent position.

The agreement would pay Williams a base salary of $289,881.40, provide city-funded retirement contributions and health and other insurance benefits, and give him a $650 monthly vehicle allowance. His salary would be reviewed annually and would receive, at minimum, the same cost-of-living adjustments awarded to other city employees.

Once payroll taxes, retirement contributions, insurance and the $7,800 annual vehicle allowance are included, Williams’ recurring annual compensation would be worth an estimated $374,000 to $375,000.

That estimate does not include an additional, one-time payment Williams is seeking for simultaneously serving as city attorney and interim city manager. The proposed contract leaves the amount for the council to determine. The agreement states Williams forfeited approximately $84,000 in additional wages while performing both jobs.

For a city with 135 employees in the latest publicly available payroll count, Williams’ proposed package would amount to approximately $2,775 for every employee he oversees.

Marathon covers 8.45 square miles of land and had an estimated population of 10,060 in 2025. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the city has 4,018 households.

Spread across those households, Williams’ estimated all-wrapped compensation would cost approximately $93 per Marathon household annually. His base salary alone works out to slightly more than $72 per household.

Those figures do not represent a separate tax or bill assessed to individual households. They illustrate each household’s proportional share if the compensation cost were distributed evenly across the city.

A New Market In The Keys

The Marathon proposal arrives days after the Key West City Commission voted 4-3 against preserving its ability to modify or end Barroso’s contract before its automatic-renewal deadline.

Vice Mayor Donie Lee and Commissioners Lissette Carey, Aaron Castillo and Mark Rossi voted against the measure. Mayor Sam Kaufman and Commissioners Chris Massicotte and Monica Haskell voted to preserve the city’s contractual rights.

By allowing the renewal process to continue, the four-member majority effectively helped establish a new salary floor for municipal administrators in the Florida Keys: extraordinarily high compensation for running relatively small local governments.

Barroso’s base salary is currently $265,000. Automatic renewal Jan. 7, 2027, would increase it by 5%, or $13,250, to $278,250. His existing all-wrapped compensation is estimated at approximately $339,000 annually.

Barroso oversees 402 employees across Key West’s 5.6-square-mile land footprint. By comparison, Williams would oversee a workforce roughly one-third that size across Marathon’s 8.45 square miles — while collecting a base salary $11,631.40 higher than Barroso will receive after his automatic raise.

The Marathon package would also place Williams’ estimated total compensation approximately $35,000 above Barroso’s current all-wrapped package.

Carey, Lee, Castillo and Rossi essentially helped set the market by protecting a city manager who entered the job with no previous city-management experience but possessed the right local last name.

Before becoming Key West’s chief executive in January 2025, Barroso’s professional background was primarily in banking and finance. His twin brother, Jason Barroso, is Key West’s fire marshal and a fire department division chief. Another brother, Gregory Barroso, serves as an emergency-management division chief.

Carey, Lee, Castillo and then-Mayor Dee Dee Henriquez selected Barroso on the first round of voting in December 2024.

Williams, by contrast, has extensive experience as Marathon’s city attorney and has performed the city manager’s duties since former City Manager George Garrett was fired in February. But he had not previously served as a permanent city manager before taking the interim assignment.

The question for Marathon taxpayers is not whether Williams has institutional knowledge or legal experience. It is whether those qualifications justify a compensation package approaching $375,000 — and contractual protections that could insulate him from the same accountability that ended Garrett’s tenure.

A Four-Vote Shield

Williams’ salary is only one of the proposed agreement’s extraordinary provisions.

The contract would require four of Marathon’s five council members to remove him as city manager. That is a significant departure from the ordinary three-vote majority required for council action.

Garrett was fired on a 3-2 vote. Under Williams’ proposed contract, the same vote would be insufficient to remove him.

If four council members eventually terminated Williams without cause, he would receive 20 weeks of severance pay. At his proposed base salary, that protection alone would be worth approximately $111,493, excluding benefits.

The agreement also gives Williams a fallback unavailable to most municipal administrators: If removed as city manager, he would return to his previous position as city attorney under the terms of his earlier contract.

If the council then removed him as city attorney within one year, the proposed agreement could entitle him to separate 20-week severance packages connected to both positions.

The contract would even treat a substantial change in Marathon’s form of government — including a transition toward a strong-mayor system — as a termination without cause if Williams determined the change significantly altered his authority or responsibilities.

In practical terms, Marathon would not simply be hiring a city manager. It would be establishing an expensive contractual escape maze through which four council members would have to navigate before Williams could be fully separated from city employment.

The Keys Salary Spiral

Key West and Marathon are moving in the same direction.

In Key West, four commissioners allowed an inexperienced city manager’s contract to proceed toward automatic renewal, a $13,250 raise and two more years of contractual protection.

In Marathon, council members are considering a nearly $290,000 base salary, an estimated $375,000 all-wrapped package, guaranteed annual adjustments, a four-vote removal requirement, 20 weeks of severance and a contractual path back to the city attorney’s office.

Together, the two cities are creating a compensation spiral in which one small Florida Keys government is used to justify the next increasingly expensive contract.

That is good news for municipal administrators.

For taxpayers, hunting season is getting expensive.

And they aren’t huntin Wabbits.

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Some well-deserved congratulations are in order for several friends and fellow travelers in Florida journalism following the announcement of the Society of Professional Journalists’ 2026 Sunshine State Awards.

The awards, announced Aug. 29 during a ceremony at ArtServe in Fort Lauderdale, were selected from more than 1,000 entries submitted to what SPJ Florida describes as the state’s largest journalism competition.

A special shoutout goes to early Above the Fold adopter J.C. Bruce and his Tropic Press, which won first place for blog, newsletter and digital-first writing. The award recognized Hermina Hermelinda Obregon — better known as Miss Mingo — for her “Miss Mingo Columns.” She’s a recovering newspaper reporter living in a bungalow off Duval Street in Key West. At least that’s what her official biography.

I identify.

Tropic Press has long been one of Above the Fold’s most highly recommended Substacks, and “Ask Mrs. Mingo” remains one of my favorite standing features anywhere on the interwebs.

Tropic Press: J.C. Bruce

News and views for thoughtful Floridians. And Americans too.

Congratulations are also due to the crew at Florida Politics. Peter Schorsch, Phil Ammann, Drew Wilson and the publication’s staff won first place for best independent news website. Jacob Ogles was named a finalist for blog, newsletter and digital-first writing for “Delegation,” Andrew Meacham was a finalist for obituary reporting, and Mike Wright was recognized as a finalist for small-town and rural reporting. They frequently pick up political and news coverage for the Florida Keys and Key West from Above the Fold.

And another special salute goes to University of Florida classmate Jeffrey Schweers and the Orlando Sentinel editorial board, who won the Barbara A. Petersen Freedom of Information Award for their work, “The state told us to ‘cease and desist,” which helped bring the Sunshine to bare on Gov. Ron DeSantis, his wife, Casey and the MAGA Republican cabal involved in the Hope Florida scandal. Recognition for standing up to government intimidation and defending the public’s right to know is about as meaningful as journalism awards get.

The complete list of winners and finalists is available from SPJ Florida⁠.

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Ben Bradlee, the legendary longtime editor of The Washington Post, put journalism’s obligation plainly:

That is what Above the Fold does.

In an era when misinformation spreads faster than the Vortex on The Key West Gravity Chronicles, Above the Fold exists to look out the window — and then dig through the contracts, emails, budgets, meeting videos and public records necessary to tell you what is actually happening.

Facts do not bend to political pressure. They do not yield to spin. And they do not disappear simply because someone at City Hall wishes they would.

Here in Key West and Monroe County, the stakes are real: budgets, contracts, permits, development, environmental decisions, public spending and backroom deals that shape the islands we love.

Paid subscribers make it possible to follow those stories wherever they lead.

Your subscription helps keep the Starlink humming and the cellphones on. It helps pay for public-records requests, document searches, travel throughout the Keys, reporting equipment, software and the other unglamorous expenses behind truly independent local journalism.

It also gives you full access to:

• Independent watchdog reporting that does not flinch when the pressure mounts.

• In-depth investigations into City Hall, the Bight, Growth Management, public spending and the decisions affecting life throughout the Florida Keys.

• Breaking news delivered when it happens — often days before the legacy press catches up.

• The Morning Bucci, Dirty Dining reports, public-meeting coverage, accountability journalism and long-form stories unavailable anywhere else in the Keys.

• A modern Fourth Estate built on transparency, civic literacy and the stubborn belief that public officials work for the public.

Until midnight Monday, you can become a paid subscriber for just $6.40 a month or $64 for an entire year — a fraction of the cost of a semi-daily newspaper that may, or may not, arrive on a semi-regular basis.

Already a paid supporter? Consider purchasing gift subscriptions for friends, family members and co-workers.

These islands have always needed truth-tellers, from the wreckers who recorded the first court proceedings to the journalists who hold today’s officials accountable.

Above the Fold stands firmly in that tradition, and can’t do it without your support.

If you believe a better-informed Key West makes for a better-run Key West, join the community making this work possible.

Subscribe today. Keep the Starlink humming. Keep the watchdog barking. Support stubborn facts, the Fourth Estate and Above the Fold.

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KEY WEST, Fla. — Key West resident Marilyn Kellner and Kristin Battista-Frazee of the Justice for Immigrants Coalition in Marathon are organizing a campaign calling on Key West to rescind the Police Department’s 287(g) agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. They are asking residents to contact the mayor, city commissioners and police chief; personalize and send the sample letter below; share the resolution on social media; and attend the Oct. 1 commission meeting.

Their campaign follows a separate appeal from the Interfaith Ministerial Alliance of Key West. In a message to city commissioners, alliance President the Rev. Madeline Baum described growing fear among immigrant families and urged the city to end its participation in federal immigration enforcement. Click here to read the transcript of the Interfaith Ministerial Alliance of Key West’s message to the commission.

The Justice for Immigrants’ Coallition organizers’ complete call to action, proposed resolution, sample letter, supporting information and contact list follow:

Stand Up for Democracy Resolution

A local group of concerned citizens has created the Stand Up for Democracy Resolution to send a strong message that we will not stay silent or tolerate ICE, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Law Enforcement Officers violating our constitutional rights and terrorizing Key West and Florida Keys residents.

We must stand together.

We ask you to take a simple step. Call and/or email your Key West Commissioner, the Mayor, and the Key West Chief of Police and ask them to support and pass a resolution that reflects our community values. It does not matter whether you think your commissioner agrees, nor the mayor and police chief because they will welcome the input. We plan to gather and then attend the next city commission meeting on October 1 to let the commission know we want to end the Key West Police Department’s cooperation with ICE and the 287(g) agreement.

Here’s what you can say in an email or conversation. Feel free to personalize. The text in the box may be cut and pasted.

Key West Police Chief, Mayor, and Commissioners

CITY KEY WEST CONTACTS

Click on links to email or for more info:

Key West Mayor and Commissioner Contacts (group email)

305 809-3844

City Directory

Key West Mayor’s Office

Sam Kaufman, Mayor

District I City City Commissioner Monica Haskell

District II City Commisioner Mark Rossi

District III City Commissioner Donald “Donie” Lee

District IV City Commissioner Lissette Carey

District V City Commisioner Chris Massicotte

District VI City Commissioner Aaron Castillo

Key West Police Department

Chief Sean T. Brandenburg; 305-809-1111

Important Links For You

Please share and spread the word! Short link for this document.

It’s a great time to check your voter registration at the Supervisor of Elections Office or www.iwillvote.com. Remember, if you want to vote by mail in 2026, you must re-register and request your ballot by Oct. 22.

Examples and data to incorporate in your conversations and emails:

• You may think you don’t see ICE in our community but they are everywhere.

• Here’s documented evidence of immigrant abductions and ICE sightings. Latinos unidos en los Cayos de la Florida and 50501 Key Largo Instagram.

• They’ve Done Everything Right And They’re Still Being Detained, Rolling Stone Magazine, featuring Key West Immigrant Support Network.

• Immigration Enforcement Surges In Key West as Haiti’s Crisis Deepens

• Big Day for Border Patrol: At Least Eight Detained in Key West. Video captures forceful takedown outside Tavern ‘n Town; identities and immigration status remain unconfirmed.

• Less than 14% of those arrested by ICE have criminal records

• Keys Company Files Complaint Against Border Patrol Agent

• ICE Arrests Soar as People With No Criminal Record Are Increasingly Targeted; The Miami Herald investigation found that officers are often taking whoever they can — including immigrants with work permits and pending asylum cases, spouses and parents of United States citizens, workers with no criminal records, and, as in the case of the woman in scrubs, U.S. citizens.

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Good morning, Florida Keys! Sunday is the perfect time for a Bucci, a Bloody Mary or a mimosa — so pour a double and dig in.

First, let’s start the week with something fun. A faithful reader sent us this video of a Key West postal worker living their best life. Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds — but there is always time to dance like nobody’s watching:

Key West Sets Special Budget Meeting

The Key West City Commission will hold a special meeting at 5:05 p.m. Thursday at City Hall to consider a proposed $331.4 million budget and a property tax rate of 1.8848 mills for fiscal year 2026-27.

Commissioners will also consider directing the city manager to spend an estimated $46,534.93 on equipment for continuous harbor monitoring and water-quality testing at the “Yellowman” structure in Key West Harbor. The measure would also require funding for the monitoring program in the fiscal 2027 budget.

KEY WEST

Coast Guard Rescues Sea Turtle Near Sunset Key

A U.S. Coast Guard Station Key West crew rescued a distressed sea turtle near Sunset Key on Thursday after receiving a call from the Turtle Hospital in Marathon.

The crew transported the turtle ashore, where hospital staff began evaluating and treating it. Officials had not released the turtle’s species, condition or the suspected cause of its distress as of Friday. Read more.

Jimmy Buffett Day Celebrated in Key West

Mayor Sam Kaufman proclaimed Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, Jimmy Buffett Day in Key West as the island launched a weekend of music, storytelling and festivities celebrating the late singer-songwriter’s life and legacy.

The proclamation coincided with the third annual Just a Few Friends festival, a five-day celebration featuring concerts, tours, parties and other events at locations associated with Buffett’s Key West years.

A Duck, a Naked Landlord and a Loaf of Cuban Bread

Carol Shaughnessy looks back at early-1980s Key West through the story of a ridiculous wooden duck on wheels, a naked Old Town landlord and Cuban bread shipped north in mailing tubes.

The landlord reportedly became the inspiration for “Steve the Naked Landlord,” a character in Larry Shames’ Key West novels. Read more.

MIDDLE KEYS

Final Day to Vote for the Best of Marathon

Voting in the 2026 Best of Marathon competition closes at midnight Sunday. Participants may submit one ballot during the final day of voting.

The winners are scheduled to be recognized Sept. 19. Cast a Best of Marathon ballot.⁠

Marathon Council Meets Tuesday

The Marathon City Council is scheduled to meet at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The meeting comes ahead of the city’s first budget hearing Sept. 16 and final budget hearing Sept. 22.

ISLAMORADA

Islamorada Farmers Market Opens Sunday Morning

The Florida Keys Farmers Market is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday in Islamorada, offering produce, prepared foods, art and locally made products. See the Florida Keys events calendar.⁠

County Commission Heads to Key Largo

The Monroe County Commission and Land Authority will meet at 9 a.m. Wednesday at the Murray Nelson Government Center in Key Largo.

The county’s first public budget hearing will follow at 5:05 p.m. The final hearing is scheduled for Sept. 14 at the Harvey Government Center in Key West.

UPPER KEYS

Islamorada To Remember Victims Of 1935 Labor Day Hurricane

ISLAMORADA, Fla. — The Matecumbe Historical Trust will hold its annual Labor Day Hurricane memorial service at 9 a.m. Monday at the Islamorada Hurricane Monument, Mile Marker 81.5.

The service will honor the nearly 500 people killed when the Category 5 hurricane struck the Upper Keys on Sept. 2, 1935, with winds estimated at 200 mph and a storm surge reaching 17 feet.

The program will include an invocation, presentation of colors, guest speakers, a history of the hurricane, the laying of a memorial wreath, taps and a benediction. The public is invited. Read more.⁠

Ohio Fugitive Captured In Gulf After Islamorada Chase

ISLAMORADA, Fla. — An Ohio fugitive was arrested Friday after authorities said he fled a traffic stop, drove recklessly through a Publix parking lot, ran through businesses and homes and jumped into the Gulf in an attempt to escape. Monroe County sheriff’s deputies said Brandon Lee May, 28, of East Liberty, Ohio, was driving 63 mph in a 45-mph zone near Mile Marker 83 when a deputy attempted to stop him. Deputies said May abandoned the vehicle, ran through the area and entered the water before he was subdued with a Taser. Two handguns were found inside the vehicle, authorities said. May faces multiple charges, including fleeing and eluding, armed burglary, grand theft, resisting arrest and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He was also wanted in Ohio on warrants related to robbery, battery by strangulation and a probation violation. A passenger, Anthony Shane Morris, 28, of Islamorada, was charged with accessory after the fact. Read more.⁠

Islamorada Budget Hearings Begin Thursday

ISLAMORADA, Fla. — The Islamorada Village Council will hold the first of two required public hearings on its proposed fiscal year 2026-27 budget and property tax rate at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. The second and final hearing is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Sept. 17. The council is expected to adopt the final budget and millage rate at that meeting.

Keys Residents Tour $90 Million Recycling Facility

Florida Keys residents and local officials recently toured WM’s new $90 million recycling facility in Pembroke Pines for a behind-the-scenes look at where the region’s recyclable material goes after collection. The 127,000-square-foot facility serves Monroe, Miami-Dade, Broward and Collier counties and can process about 275,000 tons of recyclable material annually. Its sorting system uses artificial intelligence, scanners and 18 optical sorters to process more than 60 tons per hour. Islamorada Mayor Don Horton was among those participating in the tour.

Good Health Clinic Sets Big Kahuna Celebration

ISLAMORADA, Fla. — Good Health Clinic will hold its 2026 Big Kahuna Reveal and Celebration on Oct. 10 at Founders Park Beach in Islamorada. The “Mo’Rockin’ Moroccan Night for Health” will cap the clinic’s annual Kahuna Challenge and recognize contestants who have spent months raising money and awareness for the nonprofit. The top fundraiser will be crowned the 2026 Big Kahuna. The event will include dinner, an open bar and live entertainment. Access is available through sponsorships ranging from $500 to $10,000. Good Health Clinic provides no-cost medical care to 700 to 1,000 Florida Keys residents each year through its Tavernier and Marathon clinics and a network of more than 100 volunteer medical providers and community partners. Read more.⁠

CITY AND COUNTY NOTICES

Government Offices Close for Labor Day

Key West and Monroe County government offices will be closed Monday in observance of Labor Day.

Residents should check with the appropriate agency for possible changes to sanitation, administrative and other public services.

County Historic Preservation Meeting Canceled

The Monroe County Historic Preservation Commission meeting scheduled for Monday at the Marathon Government Center has been canceled.

Budget Hearings Begin This Week

Monroe County will hold its first public budget hearing at 5:05 p.m. Wednesday at the Murray Nelson Government Center in Key Largo.

Key West’s first budget hearing is scheduled Thurs., Sept. 10. The city’s final hearing is set for Sept. 23.

Pet Vaccine Clinic Scheduled

The Florida Keys SPCA will hold a mobile pet-vaccination clinic from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 16 in Key West.

WEATHER AND WATER

Expect temperatures near 90 degrees, heat-index values in the mid-100s and a chance of showers and thunderstorms. East-to-southeast winds should remain light to gentle.

Bay and Gulfside seas are forecast at 1 foot or less, with seas near 1 foot in Hawk Channel and the Florida Straits. Boaters should remain alert for thunderstorms capable of producing locally higher winds and seas. Check the latest National Weather Service forecast.⁠

That’s the Bucci. Now enjoy what little is left of your weekend!

IN MEMORIAM

The following local notices were published or posted during the past week. Dates listed below are dates of death, which may precede the publication date.

To submit your obituary, click here.

Obituaries for Aug. 28-Sept. 4, 2026.

David Eugene Hervey
David Eugene Hervey, 78, of Marathon, died Aug. 31. The published notice did not include career, family or service information.

Margaret Pauline Hernandez
Margaret Pauline Hernandez, 88, of Key Haven, died Aug. 28. A funeral service was held Sept. 1 at Key West Mortuary.

Aaron Michael Rynn
Aaron Michael Rynn, 29, was born in Key West and died Aug. 28. He is survived by his parents, Don Rynn and Rita Salazar, and siblings Ocean McCook, Summer Rynn and Joslynn Schmermund. A funeral service is scheduled for 11 a.m. Sept. 9 at St. Johns Family Funeral Home in St. Augustine.

Henry Edward Wykowski Jr.
Henry Edward Wykowski Jr., 73, of Key West, died at home surrounded by family. A Chicago native, he earned degrees from Southern Illinois, DePaul and Roosevelt universities and worked as a sommelier, carpenter, network engineer and tour guide. An avid traveler, musician, photographer, bicyclist and kayaker, Wykowski visited more than 400 national parks. He is survived by his wife, Catherine M. Weis, and five siblings. A music-filled celebration will be held later. Memorial contributions may be made to the Bahama Village Music Program.

Joanne Theresa Taylor
Joanne Theresa Taylor, 68, a Key West native, died Aug. 22 in Duncan, Oklahoma. A homemaker, she raised three children and was a grandmother of eight and great-grandmother of one. She is survived by two children, eight grandchildren, one great-grandchild and two brothers. Cremation arrangements were handled in Oklahoma.

Felix Martell-Rumbaut
Felix Martell-Rumbaut, 79, of Key West, died Aug. 21. The published notice did not include career, family or service information.

To submit your obituary, click here.

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KEY WEST, Fla. — Mayor Sam Kaufman has called a special meeting and workshop of the Key West City Commission to consider a new approach to the city’s growing sargassum problem.

The public workshop is scheduled for 3 to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 22, at Key West City Hall, 1300 White St.

Commissioners will discuss developing a comprehensive sargassum management plan and beginning the permitting process for a potential pilot program. The proposed system would use barriers and pumping equipment to collect the seaweed before it accumulates and decomposes along the shoreline.

The collected material would be dewatered and hauled away for disposal or other beneficial use. Similar systems have been developed or deployed in Mexico and other communities affected by heavy sargassum inundation.

Dr. Brian Lapointe, a research professor at Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, is scheduled to join other scientists and experts at the workshop. Presentations will address water quality, hydrogen sulfide produced by decomposing sargassum, environmental impacts, permitting requirements and the city’s existing beach-removal efforts.

“Sargassum is no longer simply a nuisance,” Kaufman said. “It presents serious concerns for our residents, our water quality, our beaches and our fragile marine environment.”

The workshop is intended to identify the regulatory and practical steps necessary to establish a carefully monitored pilot program and measure whether the proposed technology can be used safely and effectively in the Florida Keys.

The meeting will be live streamed on the City website.

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KEY WEST, Fla. — Key West and Monroe County have several options for establishing reliable local funding for public transportation as officials prepare for final budget hearings, said Chris Hamilton, founder of Friends of Car-Free Key West.

Hamilton’s latest Streets for People column examines how dedicated parking revenue, cruise-ship disembarkation fees and tourist-development taxes could help restore service to Stock Island, increase Lower Keys Shuttle frequency and eventually revive the Duval Loop.

He also calls for the city and county to commission an independent study identifying legally viable, recurring funding sources for a transit system that now depends heavily on uncertain state and federal grants.

Check it out; Chris is the smartest guy in the room when it comes to mass and micro transit.

Streets for People

We Know How to Fund Transit. Next Week's Budget Meetings Would Be a Good Time to Start.

Streets for People | Friends of Car-Free Key West & Duval Street/Historic Downtown | Chris Hamilton | September 3, 2026 | Official Blog | Short-version crossposted at The Keys Citizen…

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4 days ago · 1 like · Chris Hamilton

KEY WEST, Fla. — The Big Lie has been circulating from the beginning: The College of the Florida Keys walked away from Key West’s water-quality testing program, leaving the City Commission with no choice but to find somebody else.

That is precisely what Commissioners Lissette Carey and Aaron Castillo have done.

The story was false when city officials began circulating it under former Mayor Danise Henriquez. It was false when Carey and Castillo repeated it over and over. It was false again on Thursday as it was uttered in commission chambers during September’s City Commission meeting.

And it will remain false no matter how many times they repeat it — from the dais and beyond.

Because facts are very stubborn things.

Kind of makes you wonder how much Carey’s testimony will or can be trusted when she puts on her canary costume for the State Attorney’s office and starts singing about friends and family at the top of her ummm lungs in the upcoming Bubba Bozo Trio corruption trial.

The documented chronology surrounding water quality testing shows that the College of the Florida Keys initially withdrew from an Interlocal Agreement (ILA) only after four commissioners — Mayor Henriquez, Carey, Castillo and Donie Lee — voted against renewing its agreement during a Jan. 12, 2024 city commission meeting.

Just one problem. The college did not kill the agreement.

Henriquez and the commission eviscerated it. Walsh, et al. sharpened the knives; Carey and Castillo wielded them like meth-addled addicts carving a Thanksgiving turkey.

Their argument follows the familiar MAGA formula: Repeat a convenient lie until repetition is offered as proof.

Let us also dispose of the inevitable distraction.

Carey being of Cuban/Latino descent has nothing to do with this criticism. Castillo being African American has nothing to do with it. Their identities neither excuse their conduct nor explain it.

Their statements, their votes and their refusal to acknowledge the written record tell you all you need to now.

Based on the facts, Carey and Castillo have convincingly made the case that they are the two dumbest members of the dais. If “dumbest” strikes some readers as impolite, substitute “least intellectually capable.”

The distinction is becoming increasingly difficult to detect.

What the record says

In November 2024, the College of the Florida Keys reported 32 cruise-ship-related water-quality violations, including elevated turbidity — the clouding of water by suspended sediment.

On Dec. 7, 2024, Mote Marine Laboratory scientist Emily Hall emailed Henriquez with allegations concerning the college’s data-collection practices.

Five days later, at the Dec. 12, 2024, 9 a.m. commission meeting, Henriquez, Carey, Castillo and Lee voted against renewing the college agreement. The item was later revived and postponed, but the message to the college was unmistakable.

On Dec. 16, 2024, college President Jonathan Gueverra wrote that the existing agreement had expired and that the college was withdrawing from further negotiations.

To his credit, now felony-indicted former City Attorney Ron Ramsingh responded on Dec. 17, 2024, explaining that postponement was different from termination and asking Gueverra to reconsider:

“I would respectfully request that you rescind your December 16, 2024 letter,” wrote Ramsingh.

On Dec. 20, 2024, college Executive Vice President (now interim president) Brittany Snyder reiterated the withdrawal.

But that was not the end.

At the Jan. 7, 2025, commission meeting, city officials reported that discussions with the college were progressing and that a proposed renewal was expected to return on Feb. 4, 2025.

Then came the email that destroys the Carey-Castillo narrative.

On Jan. 29, 2025, Gueverra emailed newly installed (overpaid and still unproven) City Manager Brian Barroso, requested the proposed interlocal agreement and said the college remained committed to the work. He asked whether the city was “ready and willing to continue.”

The ball was in Barroso’s court. And the answer was a resounding “No.”

Barroso Delivered the Desired Outcome

What happened next looks less like neutral contract administration than the management of messaging (propoganda in Herr Goebbels’ book) and moves made to produce a predetermined result.

At the Feb. 4, 2025, commission meeting, Barroso presented the issue as an either/or choice: Renew the college agreement or pursue a request for proposals.

Commissioner Monica Haskell proposed doing both — continuing the college work while seeking additional options. Her amendment failed 5-2. Now-Mayor Sam Kaufman voted with her.

Henriquez, Carey, Castillo, Hoover and Lee towed the pro-cruise ship party line.

The commission then chose the RFP route rather than renewing the college agreement, again by a 5-2 vote.

Commissioner Kaufman offered another off-ramp: Allow the college’s monitoring equipment to remain on city property at no cost. That motion also failed 5-2, with the same bloc voting no.

That was not the college abandoning water testing.

That was City Hall closing one door after another and slamming the college’s toes in each one and shutting them out of the room.

Oddly enough, the outcome aligned neatly with the interests of the cruise ship lobby, including Pier B operator Mark Walsh and attorney Bart Smith, who has represented Walsh for years and is associated with the privately owned Key West Resort Utilities wastewater operation of shallow water injection/manatee fame.

Funny how that work$.

If Barroso was not doing the bidding of cruise-industry interests, he somehow delivered precisely the outcome they wanted, demanded — and paid for — at precisely the time they needed it.

The Chamber joins the campaign

The Key West Chamber of Commerce should not receive a pass.

The chamber has long promoted the economic arguments for expanded cruise traffic and opposed restrictions adopted by Key West voters.

Its political objective is apparent: Remove the obstacles to restoring greater cruise-ship volume, potentially including multiple large ships in port on the same day.

They ran — and lost — a campaign on issue last month. Bigly.

Independent, credible water-quality testing is likely the biggest obstacle of all; unless you count residents.

Looking at the election results, the clique clearly did not.

The chamber’s alignment with Walsh and Ed Swift’s Historic Tours of America makes it complicit, at minimum politically, in the effort to weaken water quality as an issue. Their interests converge around the same result: Discredit the testing, sever the college relationship, control the scope of whatever replacement testing occurs and clear the path for more cruise traffic.

And have MOTE Marine — the hired guns paid for by guess who — do the testing.

That alignment now matters far beyond the college contract.

MOTE receives $1 from every cruise ship passenger that waddles off the boat onto a Conch Train or down Duval Street.

The Outer Mole

In March 2026, Barroso sent an email to the Navy suggesting termination of the city’s longtime lease of the Outer Mole Pier.

On May 5, 2026, the Navy notified the city that it was terminating the lease effective Aug. 3, 2026, using the agreement’s 90-day termination provision.

On May 6, 2026, the Navy issued a Request for Interest seeking ideas for future use of the pier. The notice was described as market research, not a request for proposals or a promise that the Navy would issue a solicitation.

The Navy was still determining the pier’s future as of July 9, 2026, and cruise lines and their cheerleaders (you know the names by now) were already expressing interest in returning.

The jury remains out because the Navy — not City Hall — controls the property and is considering its options.

What is documented is troubling enough: Barroso suggested ending the city’s lease, the Navy ended it, and the federal government immediately began examining alternative operators and uses.

The usual suspects nuzzled into the trough.

But the potential outcome is unmistakable.

A privately controlled Outer Mole cruise operation could create a second private, major cruise berth outside the city’s direct control and reopen the possibility of multiple large cruise ships visiting Key West on the same day.

That makes the campaign against water-quality testing look less like an isolated contract dispute and more like one integral piece of a larger political solution in search of a problem.

If the clique can undermine the testing, it can undermine the environmental argument against additional cruise traffic. If it can portray the college as unreliable, it can dismiss the 32 violations the college reported. And if it can persuade the Navy to place the Outer Mole under private control, the cruise lobby could accomplish through a federal lease what Key West voters rejected at the ballot box — multiple times. By a lot.

Follow the political influence

Walsh is no stranger to Republican power.

In 2021, 11 Walsh-controlled companies had contributed a combined $995,000 to Friends of Ron DeSantis while Tallahassee lawmakers were considering legislation affecting Key West’s voter-approved cruise-ship restrictions.

The Florida Legislature subsequently stripped Key West of much of its home rule authority to regulate cruise operations at the privately controlled Pier B.

The business interests seeking to preserve and expand Key West’s cruise trade are not political strangers wandering helplessly through government. They are monied hyenas with relationships and access in Republican circles extending from Tallahassee to Washington to the Pentagon waiting for the next hunk of carrion to fall.

And thanks to Carey and Castillo, they had a stranglehold on the science.

The Navy’s eventual decision must be judged on its actual record. But Key West residents would be foolish to ignore the possibility of political influence when control of a valuable federal pier and the future of the city’s cruise policy are at stake.

The cleanest defense against that influence is the very thing the cruise lobby appears most eager to weaken or destroy: independent, continuous and scientifically defensible water-quality testing.

The lie’s purpose

The lie that the college walked away serves several purposes.

It absolves Carey and Castillo of complicity. It wasn’t their fault. It was the bad people at the college (watch the video and listen to the Queen of Ummms comments.

It shields Barroso from questions about how he handled the college’s Jan. 29, 2025 offer to continue.

It helps the chamber and cruise-industry interests portray water-quality testing as unreliable, unmanageable or expendable — unless it is performed by the scientists on their payroll.

And it provides political cover while the Navy decides whether the Outer Mole will become another cruise berth — one that could return Key West to multiple large cruise ships a day.

Carey and Castillo can continue repeating The Big Lie. But repetition will not alter the record.

The college withdrew after a hostile regime voted against renewal. The city asked the college to reconsider. Negotiations resumed. The college expressly said it remained committed. Barroso presented an either/or choice. Carey and Castillo voted against every available path that would have preserved the work.

Those are the facts.

The Big Lie may continue to circulate.

But the facts and emails remain.

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“

The motion to reject the ordinance passed 7-0.

The proposal would have repealed Ordinance 22-21, removed the board from the City Code and transferred responsibility for gathering public input to the Parks and Recreation Department — the same department the board was created to advise.

Commissioners instead agreed with Above the Fold’s assessment that the problem was not the existence of the advisory board, but City Hall’s failure to give its members a meaningful role in decisions involving public parks and recreational facilities.

Board members, commissioners said, should be empowered to push back against city staff, advocate for new ideas and ensure residents have a genuine opportunity to shape projects before plans are effectively completed.

Commissioners also acknowledged that they have the authority to replace individual board members and make new appointments after the incoming commission is fully seated and District IV Commissioner Lissette Carey leaves the dais.

The seven-member board consists of one member appointed by the mayor and each city commissioner. Members’ terms run concurrently with those of the elected officials who appoint them.

The board’s responsibilities include advising the commission on park projects and uses, studying the feasibility of proposed improvements, exploring funding sources and helping solicit public participation. It also operates under Florida’s Sunshine Law, requiring its meetings and deliberations to remain open to the public.

The board itself voted May 28 to recommend that it be sunset. City Manager Brian Barroso subsequently sponsored an ordinance that would have abolished it and established an informal process for public input hosted by the Parks and Recreation Department.

The City Commission initially advanced the ordinance to a second reading Aug. 6. Thursday’s unanimous vote stopped it from becoming law.

The decision came as the city faces major questions about the future of Bayview Park and Higgs Beach, including controversial proposed artificial-turf installations, recreational priorities, project costs and the preservation of historically sensitive areas.

Commissioner Lissette Carey, who will be leaving the dais following the Nov. 6 showdown between candidates Sarah Compton and Wayne Garcia, couldn’t wrap her head around the concept that commissioners could remove their appointees and replace them people that wanted to serve on the board and wouldn’t be pushed around by Community Services — the parent department of Parks and Recreation.

In an editorial published before the vote, Above the Fold argued that eliminating the board because city staff had failed to listen to it would remove an important layer of citizen oversight.

The commission ultimately agreed.

Rather than eliminate the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, commissioners chose to preserve it, reconsider its membership and give citizen appointees a stronger voice in decisions affecting some of Key West’s most valuable public spaces.

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KEY WEST, Fla. — Photographer Chris Lauber will open an exhibit of vintage Jimmy Buffett concert photographs this evening at the Pier House Resort & Spa.

The free reception runs from 4:15 to 5 p.m. in the lobby outside the iconic Chart Room Bar. The exhibit will remain on display throughout the Just a Few Friends festival weekend.

Lauber will offer attendees copies of his new 28-page booklet, Thank You Jimmy Buffett, which recounts two weeks in 1978 that he says changed the direction of his life.

Then a 20-year-old Boston College sophomore, Lauber photographed Buffett from the front row before embarking on a five-day hitchhiking journey to see three more concerts. Several images from that adventure will be displayed at the Pier House, and about 20 of Lauber’s photographs appear in the documentary Occupational Hazard: The First Coral Reefers.

The limited-edition booklet serves as a preview of Lauber’s completed memoir, which is targeted for release in the spring.

More information, photographs and books are available on Lauber’s website⁠.

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KEY WEST, Fla. — Brian Barroso is the highest-paid public administrator in the Florida Keys (in terms of base pay) and is compensated at a level on par with senior administrators in some of Florida’s largest cities, despite overseeing a city of 5.6 square miles with 402 employees.

Barroso’s $265,000 base salary works out to about $339,000 in all-wrapped compensation when the city’s cost of benefits and other contract expenses are included. He reached that level after less than two years into his first job as a City Manager after a career spent primarily in banking.

Not bad work if you can get it.

The clearest comparison begins close to home. Barroso’s base salary exceeds those of Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay, County Administrator Christine Hurley and Schools Superintendent Ed Tierney.

Those countywide agencies operate across Monroe County’s 983 square miles of land and a chain of islands extending more than 100 miles. By comparison, Key West’s land area is 5.6 square miles.

Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority Executive Director Greg Veliz earns about $250,000 in base salary while overseeing approximately 319 employees and a water system extending roughly 130 miles through the island chain. Veliz also brought more than two decades of local-government experience to the job.

The local comparison does not establish that every agency chief performs the same work or carries identical legal responsibilities. A Sheriff, County Administrator, Superintendent and utility executive answer to different governing structures and face different operational risks.

It does establish that Barroso’s salary sits at the top of a group whose other members generally oversee larger territories, more employees or both — and entered their jobs with substantially more public-sector experience.

The difference is even clearer when salary is allocated across local tax-paying households. Using the Census Bureau’s 2020-24 estimates of 10,775 Key West households and 34,405 Monroe County households, Barroso’s base salary equals about $24.59 per Key West household, rising to approximately $31.46 per household on an all-wrapped basis.

Ramsay’s compensation equals about $6.36 per county household in base salary and an estimated $8.84 to $10.93 all-wrapped. Hurley’s equals about $5.96 in base salary and $9.59 all-wrapped. Tierney’s equals about $5.80 in base salary and $7.70 all-wrapped. Veliz’s compensation equals approximately $7.27 in base salary and $10.17 all-wrapped per Monroe County household served by the Keys water system.

These are comparative household allocations, not estimates of anyone’s actual tax or utility bill. Naval Air Station Key West is federally funded, so its local household cost is listed as not applicable.

The same pattern appears in a screen of smaller Florida coastal communities confronting many of the pressures Key West faces, including tourism-dependent economies, workforce-housing shortages, hurricanes, flooding, climate change and sea-level rise.

Key West’s $265,000 base salary exceeded the reported City Manager salaries in Marco Island, Fernandina Beach, Stuart, Punta Gorda, New Smyrna Beach, Fort Pierce, Lake Worth Beach, Tarpon Springs, Sebastian, Flagler Beach, Daytona Beach Shores and Gulf Breeze.

Among the screened coastal peers, only Oakland Park at $301,000 and Naples at $294,354 paid higher base salaries.

Using the benefit assumptions available for the peer group, Key West’s approximately $339,000 all-wrapped compensation ranked third, behind Naples at approximately $354,557 and Oakland Park at approximately $349,043.

The comparison becomes even more striking when the lens widens to some of Florida’s largest cities.

Jacksonville Chief Administrative Officer Michael Weinstein earns $271,855, just $6,855 more than Barroso. Jacksonville’s adopted fiscal 2025-26 budget authorizes 8,199 employees across a consolidated city-county government covering 747.3 square miles. That is about 20 times Key West’s workforce and 133 times its land area.

Barroso also earns about $9,065 more than Tampa Chief of Staff John Bennett, whose official fiscal 2025 position schedule lists a salary of $255,934.65. The same city schedule contains 5,078 positions, nearly 13 times the number of employees on Key West’s citywide distribution, across 114 square miles — about 20 times Key West’s land area.

Orlando Chief Administrative Officer F.J. Flynn was paid $320,222 in 2025. Published payroll records list 5,525 Orlando employees, nearly 14 times Key West’s workforce, serving a city covering 110.6 square miles.

Miami City Manager Art Noriega, the clear salary outlier, was reported at approximately $525,000 while overseeing 5,031 employees, according to the City Manager’s Office.

The large-city comparison is not exact because the offices are structured differently. Barroso is Key West’s chief executive under a commission-manager system. Miami also employs a City Manager, while the Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville officials are senior administrators serving beneath Mayors who exercise executive authority. Jacksonville is also a consolidated city-county government.

Those differences in charter authority and responsibility matter, but they do not erase the enormous disparities in workforce and geographic scope.

The salary question is taking on added weight because Barroso is positioned to receive another increase while seeking to reduce the city workforce.

If his contract renews automatically in January, a 5% increase would add $13,250 to his base salary, raising it to $278,250.

At the same time, Barroso is seeking to eliminate 15 city jobs — about 3.7% of the 402-person workforce used for the citywide employee communication — a move that has put him at odds with Commissioners who have said they do not want city employees dismissed.

The City Commission this week failed 3-4 to approve a resolution reserving its right to modify or terminate Barroso’s contract before the renewal window closed.

Commissioners Chris Massicotte and Monica Haskell joined Mayor Sam Kaufman in supporting the resolution. Vice Mayor Donie Lee and Commissioners Aaron Castillo, Lissette Carey and Mark Rossi opposed it.

Numbers do not lie. In this case, they tell the story of why Thursday’s vote mattered.

Several sheep-like Commissioners (Carey, Castillo, Lee and Rossi) allowed themselves to be cowed by a fundamentally flawed legal opinion from part-time City Attorney Mayanne Downs.

Her reading was not supported by the 2004 Fifth District Court of Appeal ruling examined in this publication’s earlier analysis, which distinguished a government’s notice that preserves its contractual options from a final decision to terminate an agreement.

The Fifth District decision directly undercuts Downs’ suggestion that preserving a contractual right necessarily amounts to exercising it.

The people of Key West deserve to get what they pay for. They also deserved an honest opportunity to revisit Barroso’s contract before another two-year term and automatic raise took effect — without a contractual gun being held to their heads.

Salary alone cannot measure a City Manager’s performance, and a small island city can present complexities that raw population and acreage do not capture. Key West manages a globally recognized tourism economy, aging infrastructure, severe housing pressure, hurricane exposure and mounting climate-adaptation costs.

But scale remains relevant when elected officials set executive compensation.

On the numbers, Key West is paying Barroso at a level comparable to senior administrators with decades of municipal experience who are responsible for thousands more employees and, in Jacksonville’s case, hundreds more square miles — while preparing to pay him more to run a workforce that will become smaller because of him.

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KEY WEST, Fla. — Brian Barroso’s reign of error will continue — at least for now.

The Key West City Commission voted 4-3 Thursday against a resolution intended to preserve the city’s right to modify or terminate Barroso’s contract before it automatically renews for another two years.

Mayor Sam Kaufman and Commissioners Chris Massicotte and Monica Haskell voted to reserve the commission’s contractual rights.

The vote followed a legal opinion from contract City Attorney Mayanne Downs that treated the advance notice contemplated by Barroso’s renewal provision as carrying the consequences of terminating his employment agreement.

That interpretation appears inconsistent with a Florida appellate ruling holding that non-renewal and termination without cause are separate contractual events with different consequences.

In Paladyne Corp. v. Weindruch⁠, the 5th District Court of Appeal considered an employment agreement that automatically renewed unless either party provided advance notice of nonrenewal.

A separate provision allowed the employer to terminate the employee without cause and required the payment of severance.

When the employer provided notice that it would not renew the agreement, the employee sued, arguing that the decision was effectively a termination without cause and entitled him to severance. A trial court agreed.

The appellate court reversed.

The court held that nonrenewal and termination were not the same thing and that treating them as identical would render the contract’s separate nonrenewal provision meaningless.

“There would be no point in having a non-renewal provision if the effect of not renewing the contract is identical to the effect of terminating the contract,” the court wrote.

Florida courts are required to interpret contracts in a way that gives meaning to every provision rather than adopting an interpretation that effectively erases one.

That distinction is directly relevant to Barroso’s agreement.

Paragraph 4.A governs the term and automatic renewal of Barroso’s contract. It says the agreement will automatically renew for another two years unless the city or Barroso provides written notice of an intent to modify or terminate it at least 120 days before the existing term expires.

Paragraph 4.C.2 separately governs termination by the city without cause. It requires a specific action item at a duly noticed commission meeting, a majority vote of the full commission (all 7) and the payment of severance.

The resolution rejected Thursday did not fire Barroso, establish a separation date or invoke Paragraph 4.C.2. It was intended to satisfy the advance-notice requirement in Paragraph 4.A and preserve the commission’s ability to decide later whether to modify or terminate the agreement.

The appellate decision does not automatically resolve the meaning of Barroso’s agreement. The wording is not identical, and Paladyne was decided by the 5th District Court of Appeal, while Monroe County is within the 3rd District.

But it is Florida appellate authority directly addressing the distinction between ending an automatically renewing contract through advance notice and terminating an employee under a separate dismissal provision. At a minimum, it undercuts any categorical opinion that providing notice under Paragraph 4.A necessarily constitutes termination under Paragraph 4.C.2.

The commission received Downs’ opinion without a comparable discussion of the appellate ruling or its potential application to Barroso’s contract.

The city faces a Sept. 9 deadline to provide the 120-day notice required under the agreement. Without notice, Barroso’s contract is scheduled to renew automatically Jan. 7, 2027, for another two years.

The renewal would also trigger a 5% raise, increasing Barroso’s $265,000 base salary to $278,250. His total compensation package would be worth approximately $330,000 when benefits are included.

Providing notice would not have immediately fired Barroso or changed his current salary. It would have prevented the contract from renewing automatically and preserved the commission’s ability to negotiate changes or allow the agreement to expire.

Thursday’s vote is unlikely to be the commission’s final word on Barroso.

The District 4 election could change the balance of power on the seven-member dais. If Sarah Compton wins the seat, Barroso could face a four-vote majority willing to seek his removal.

It is unclear where her competitor Wayne Garcia stands on Barroso, his contract and his future.

By then, however, the contractual notice deadline will have passed. A new commission majority may be left with termination for cause as its most viable path forward.

Barroso survived Thursday. But the groundwork is being laid.

If Compton wins District 4, he may quickly become an endangered species.

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KEY WEST, Fla. — Key West will retain contract City Attorney Mayanne Downs while Assistant City Attorney Kendal Harden is out of the office on family leave, providing continuity as the city begins searching for a permanent, full-time attorney.

Commissioner Mark Rossi said he will bring forward a resolution establishing a selection committee to help recruit and evaluate candidates. The city also will draft an advertisement for the position, with the intention of returning the City Attorney’s Office to full-time, in-house leadership.

Downs, an Orlando attorney with the DownsAaron law firm, has served as Key West’s city attorney since Oct. 13, 2025. She is paid $495 an hour, plus expenses, under a month-to-month engagement that either party may terminate with 30 days’ notice.

She will fill-in for Harden to provide continuity.

The agreement is capped at 18 months and would expire no later than April 13, 2027, unless ended sooner.

Downs was hired as a temporary solution after a city-appointed screening committee failed to identify a candidate it could recommend for the permanent position. Her continued service during Harden’s absence will allow the city’s legal operations to continue while commissioners organize a new search.

The forthcoming resolution is expected to establish the selection committee’s composition and responsibilities. The recruitment advertisement will outline the qualifications, duties and compensation for the permanent city attorney.

The city attorney is one of Key West’s charter officers and reports directly to the City Commission.

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KEY WEST, Fla. — The Key West City Commission voted 5-2 Thursday to postpone a proposed $188,130 agreement with Bender & Associates Architects and seek more public input before advancing a sweeping master plan for Higgs Beach.

Mayor Sam Kaufman, Vice Mayor Donie Lee and commissioners Aaron Castillo, Mark Rossi and Chris Massicotte voted for the postponement. Commissioners Monica Haskell and Lissette Carey cast the only dissenting votes.

They will revisit the item at the October meeting.

It marked the first time in more than a year that Kaufman, previously the District 2 commissioner and frequently the lone dissenter against the former commission majority, was on the winning side of a split vote.

The delay came amid questions raised by recent reporting from Above the Fold and a national investigation by Oliver Wu published this week in Rolling Stone examining the more than 100 unmarked African graves believed to be beneath and around portions of the park.

BACKGROUND

Despite being described as a consulting contract, Item 14 on Thursday’s agenda would have approved a task order under the city’s existing general architectural services contract with Bender. It also would have authorized necessary budget adjustments and allowed the city manager to execute the documents with the consent of the city attorney.

The task order would have paid Bender and its consultants to transform a city-provided concept into a schematic master plan and shepherd it through the Development Review Committee, Tree Commission, Planning Board, Historic Architectural Review Commission and, eventually, the City Commission.

The concept includes 16 standard pickleball courts and a tournament court, a covered hockey rink, an artificial-turf multipurpose field, a pump track, a rebuilt playground and an artificial-turf dog park. It also calls for support buildings, landscaping, parking changes and other improvements.

But commissioners were being asked to authorize the planning work without a construction estimate for the overall project, a published recreation-demand study or a clear record showing how public input produced the proposed collection of amenities.

“I can’t vote for this at this time,” said Vice Mayor Donie Lee. “And I am also not in favor of AstroTurf. I think we need to postpone this and get more public input. I think we need to have a meeting(s) at Higgs Beach on a weekend like we used to.”

District V Commissioner Chris Massicotte — who agreed to spearhead public meetings over the next two month’s agreed.

“I was on the fence with this but I can’t support this as is,” said Massicotte. “And I am also against the turf for the dog park. I know there are special types designed for this, but when I lived in Washington D.C. there was a dog park with turf and it was disgusting. I believe it should be as natural as it can be for Key West.”

The reporting also found no recommendation on the plan from the city’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Board — which is slated for dissolution later in the day.

Additional concerns involved the proposed artificial-turf dog park, including surface temperatures, sanitation, drainage and the presence of graves within the project area. Planning documents acknowledged that improvements within the dog park would have to remain above the existing grade because of the graves.

Those concerns received national attention when Rolling Stone published Wu’s investigation into the African Cemetery at Higgs Beach.

Wu examined the decadeslong effort to identify and properly memorialize Africans who died in Key West in 1860 after being rescued from three illegal American slave ships. More than 1,400 Africans were brought to the island, where hundreds died from disease and the effects of their imprisonment.

Ground-penetrating radar has identified more than 100 probable graves near Higgs Beach and along Atlantic Boulevard. Only a small portion of the cemetery is formally marked and memorialized.

The report sharpened questions about whether Key West should move forward with an ambitious recreation plan before establishing the full boundaries and historical significance of the burial ground.

The Bender proposal also contained an apparent inconsistency in its fee calculations. Individual consultant charges and listed 10% coordination markups appeared to total $202,092, while the proposed task order and payment schedule totaled $188,130 — a difference of $13,962.

The scope did not include construction documents or construction administration. It also excluded or limited several potential permitting, survey and regulatory expenses, meaning the $188,130 represented only an early planning cost rather than the cost of designing or building the proposed improvements.

No comprehensive estimate has been released showing what the entire Higgs Beach concept would cost to construct, operate or maintain.

The city also faces significant existing needs at the park, including a deteriorating seawall estimated at approximately $3.7 million and the long-neglected Astro City playground. Those projects could compete for funding with the amenities included in the proposed master plan.

BACKGROUND

Thursday’s postponement does not kill the project or terminate Bender’s existing architectural relationship with the city. It delays approval of this particular Higgs Beach task order and directs the process back toward additional public involvement before the city commits to a formal design.

The vote also represented an early and unmistakable shift in power at City Hall.

Kaufman spent much of the previous commission term unsuccessfully challenging decisions made by the former majority. On Thursday, joined by two newly seated commissioners and two returning members, he assembled the five votes needed to stop the Higgs Beach plan from moving forward as presented.

For the moment, the future of one of Key West’s most important—and historically sensitive—public spaces will not be decided solely by a staff drawing and a consultant’s task order. The public will get another chance to weigh in.

KEY WEST, Fla. — The Key West City Commission voted unanimously Thursday to provide $25,000 in public-art funding for an installation celebrating the island’s LGBTQ+ history and culture, advancing the project just months before a new Florida law prohibits local governments from funding or promoting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

The 7-0 vote recommends that the city’s Art in Public Places Board contribute up to $25,000 toward the Key West Business Guild project at 801 Duval St. The artwork must comply with applicable law and pass through the city’s normal approval process, including review by the Historic Architectural Review Commission, before it can be built.

The resolution was sponsored by newly elected Mayor Sam Kaufman.

The project was considered through two related items on Thursday’s agenda. Item 2 authorized the funding recommendation, while Item 42 opened a broader commission discussion about murals, painted benches and other beautification efforts in the 700 and 800 blocks of Duval Street.

The precise design remains subject to HARC approval. The commission’s vote provides the financial backing but does not constitute final approval of the artwork itself.

The resolution also draws a firm line at the end of the year. After the artwork is donated, the city will not provide funding for its maintenance, repair or upkeep beginning Jan. 1, 2027 — the same day Florida’s new anti-DEI law takes effect.

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 1134 in April. The law prohibits counties and municipalities from directly or indirectly funding, promoting or taking official action related to DEI. It specifically bars local governments from allowing public money to be used by employees, contractors, vendors, volunteers or agents to promote DEI initiatives.

The statute defines DEI broadly to include government-supported programming or activities designed or implemented with reference to race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity or sexual orientation. It allows residents to sue local governments over alleged violations and says municipal officials who violate the law commit misfeasance or malfeasance in office.

Recipients of municipal contracts or grants also will be required to certify that they will not use local-government money for prohibited DEI materials or activities.

The law contains exemptions for compliance with state and federal civil-rights laws, designated holidays and observances, certain monuments and memorials, and content-neutral event permits. It does not, however, provide an explicit exemption for locally funded artwork celebrating LGBTQ+ history.

That leaves Key West and the Business Guild with a narrow window to secure the funding, obtain HARC approval and complete the installation before the prohibition takes effect.

The commission’s resolution attempts to address that exposure by requiring compliance with all applicable law and ending any city responsibility for the project’s upkeep on Jan. 1.

The city’s official agenda⁠ describes the installation as public art celebrating Key West’s LGBTQ+ history and culture. The text of Senate Bill 1134⁠ establishes its effective date as Jan. 1, 2027.

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MONROE COUNTY, Fla. — The Florida Department of Transportation’s decision to ban automated license plate readers from state rights of way could have an outsized effect in Monroe County, where U.S…

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Grab a bucci — and we are almost close enough to the weekend for a Mimosa, Bloody Mary or Irish coffee… but not quite yet! Good morning, Florida Keys!. Here’s what you need to know as Thursday gets underway.

Just a Few Friends Celebration Gets Underway

The festival continues through Monday. Friday’s schedule includes a city proclamation at Shrimp Boat Sound, a free performance by Gypsies in the Palace at Hog’s Breath Saloon and an evening concert on Duval Street. See the complete festival schedule⁠.

Festival Events Bring Street Closures

The Just a Few Friends celebration will affect traffic in several parts of Key West through Sunday.

The 100 and 200 blocks of Duval Street and a section of Greene Street will close beginning at 8 a.m. Friday for that evening’s concert. Duval Street between Southard and Angela streets will close early Saturday for the Parrots & Margaritas 5K, with rolling closures along the race route.

Sunday’s Second Line Memorial Parade begins at 5 p.m. on Duval Street and continues to Truman Waterfront Park, where a free celebration with live music, vendors, food and drinks is scheduled through 10 p.m. See the city’s event and closure notices⁠.

Womenfest Returns With Five Days of Events

Womenfest is underway in Key West with this year’s theme, “Lost Women in the Arts.”

The annual festival runs through Sunday with entertainment, pool parties, watersports, live music and other events celebrating women and the island’s “One Human Family” spirit. Read more.⁠

Tropical Street Closed During Daytime Hours

Tropical Street between Seminary and South streets will remain closed from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. through Friday, according to the City of Key West.

Drivers should plan for delays and use an alternate route. Read more.⁠

UPPER KEYS

DNA Identifies Suspect in 1973 Murder of Two Sisters

More than five decades after two New Jersey sisters were found murdered in the Upper Keys, investigators say DNA evidence has identified their killer.

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office identified the suspect as David Allen Snyder, formerly of Key West. Snyder died in Idaho in 2008.

The sisters had traveled to Key West during spring break and were hitchhiking north when they disappeared. Their bodies were later found in the Key Largo area. Read more⁠.

Rowell’s Waterfront Park Construction Closure Ends

The scheduled construction closure of Rowell’s Waterfront Park in Key Largo ran through Tuesday. Visitors should confirm current access conditions before heading to the park while work winds down. County updates⁠.

MIDDLE KEYS

Marathon Council Returns Tuesday

The Marathon City Council will meet at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 9805 Overseas Highway. The city has also scheduled its first public hearing on the proposed 2026-27 budget for Sept. 16, followed by the final budget hearing Sept. 22. Both begin at 5:30 p.m. Meeting information⁠

Marathon Seeks Code Board Members

The City of Marathon is accepting applications for vacancies on its Code Compliance Board. Information is available through the city’s Code Compliance Department at 305-743-0033. Read more.⁠

ISLAMORADA

Race Registration Prices Increase

Registration prices increase Thursday for December’s Islamorada Half Marathon and 10K weekend. The schedule includes the Rum Runner 5K and 10K and Beach N’ Beer Mile on Dec. 12, followed by the Islamorada Half Marathon and 10K on Dec. 13. Race information⁠.

MONROE COUNTY

Leadership Monroe County Announces New Class

Leadership Monroe County has selected the members of Class XXXIV.

The nonprofit program introduces participants to government, business, public safety, environmental and community organizations throughout the Florida Keys. Read more.⁠

WEATHER

Another Hot Day With a Chance of Storms

Thursday will be mostly sunny with a high near 92 degrees and a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms, according to the National Weather Service in Key West. Thursday night brings a 40% chance of storms with a low near 83. Forecasters expect daily rain chances to continue through the weekend, with locally hazardous winds and seas possible near thunderstorms. Full Keys forecast⁠.

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