I attended the BOCC budget meeting on Tuesday, and, just as I had suspected, the budget increased by $49 million for 2025. While the County Commissioners were thrilled that the millage rate decreased by a mere 1%, overall, the total tax that will be collected through property taxes increased almost 9%.

It’s July 1st and that means the 2025 budget meetings are about to begin. I’m hearing that there will be no tax or budget increases, even though consistent, large increases have become the expectation. Why do I think this will be the case? It is because WE are shining a very vocal light on these expenditures.

The June BOCC meeting was canceled due to the Juneteenth holiday, so I expected the May meeting to cover both months' agendas and last all day. However, the meeting ended in just 3 ½ hours, finishing before 12:30pm. While the commissioners may enjoy having the afternoon off, I'm concerned that not enough time was spent discussing two months' worth of agenda items that are important to the public.

We have 6 months to go until November’s election, but there is a lot of work left to do. This campaign is important to me because I know I can make the change that is necessary in our local government to better the lives of our residents.

Chris Massicotte’s decision to run for County Commissioner, District 3, is driven by a deep commitment to addressing critical issues and fostering a conversation about the future sustainability of the Florida Keys.