Key West Budget is a Shell Game

Key West budget faces scrutiny as hidden raises and DeSantis tax plan collide

Key West’s proposed $255 million budget for fiscal year 2025–26 heads to a final vote this month, following a final budget workshop today at City Hall.

But with it comes simmering debate over hidden salary hikes, rising property tax bills, and Gov. Ron DeSantis’s push to eliminate property taxes altogether.

While city leaders have pitched the plan as stable and fiscally sound, a closer look reveals that employees would receive compounded raises — base increases approved in June, followed by another 4 to 6 percent in September. For many workers, that effectively doubles the original raise.

To balance the budget, managers trimmed training, travel, and departmental reserves, creating what critics call a budgetary shell game: salaries go up, while long-term resiliency gets shortchanged.

“This is one of those times where you really have to read between the lines,” said one longtime resident who tracks city spending. “The budget looks flat at first glance, but the money has to come from somewhere.”