Martin County Commissioner Sarah Heard
District 4 Newsletter, October 5, 2026 |
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Dear Friends,
Election Day is looming and an important Constitutional Amendment is on the ballot, Amendment 3. Amendment 3 proposes to decrease the amount of property taxes assessed on homestead-ed residential properties. If passed by 60% of Florida's voters, Amendment 3 will have significant impacts on services in counties like Martin that are heavily dependent upon residential property taxes.
The Martin County League of Women Voters is presenting a panel discussion on Amendment 3 on October 7 from 6-8 pm at the Unity Church on Central Parkway in between Kanner Highway and US 1. The panelists include Florida Representative Toby Overdorf (who led the House Committee on Amendment 3), Jenny Fields (Martin County Property Appraiser) and Stephanie Merle (Chief Financial Officer for Martin County).
Thank you for your continued interest in gathering information and education about our community.
Sarah Heard |
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| BOARD SUMMARY FROM 9/15/2026 |
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PH-2 was the first of two public hearings to adopt the Fiscal Year 2026/2027 countywide budget.
The ad valorem (property tax) total budget proposed was $334,395,217.
The maximum millage is capped at 10 mils. The proposed millage rate is 6.5614.
57.6% of our total property tax budget funds the Constitutional offices, (Sheriff, Clerk of Court, Tax Collector, Property Appraiser, and Supervisor of Elections) 66% of our property tax budget funds the sheriff and fire rescue budgets.
Capps, Ciampi, Heard and Hetherington voted to approve the budget. Vargas opposed.
PHQJ-2 was a public hearing to consider adoption of an amendment to the zoning atlas to change the zoning district classification for Hobe Sound Business Park.
This was a request to change the zoning on a 108 acre parcel west of Hobe Sound from A-1 Small Farms District and M-1 Industrial to the GI General Industrial District.
The subject site is currently pasture and underdeveloped land south of Bridge Road, just east of Powerline Drive. Three sides of the parcel are land used rural density with usual lot sizes of 5 acres. This was not a mandatory re-zoning.
There is one significant difference between the current assigned zoning district M-1 and the requested change. M-1 is an older zoning district. It allows many of the same permitted uses as the medium limited industrial. However, M-1 does not allow data processing services. The LI limited industrial or G-1 General Industrial zoning district requested both allow data centers as permitted uses.
The Board will consider a data center moratorium at our October 13th scheduled meeting.
Capps made a motion to leave the M-1 zoning district as is. Heard seconded the motion. The motion failed because Ciampi, Hetherington and Vargas opposed the motion.
The motion to approve the limited Industrial zoning district to the entire parcel with its now newly allowable data center permitted use passed with Ciampi, Hetherington and Vargas voting in favor. Capps and Heard opposed. |
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| BOARD SUMMARY FROM 9/29/26 |
PH-3 was a public hearing to consider final adoption of Martin County's Fiscal Year 2026/2027 annual budget.
The total combined final millage rates for FY2026 and 2027 remained the same, 9.9185.
Capps, Ciampi, Hetherington and Heard voted to approve. Vargas opposed.
DEPT-1 was an agenda item to consider Office of Management and Budget items requiring Board approval.
7 and 8 were permissions to accept two 20 year loans from the Department of Environmental Protection. The loans carry a 1.34% interest rate, which is much lower than conventional financing that is available.
The loans will be used to provide septic to sewer conversions for the Western Extension project ($2,299,615) and the Port Salerno project ($17,700,385). These beneficial interest rates and lengthened terms will make these projects much more affordable for the ratepayers.
10 was a resolution authorizing the base purchase financing for the acquisition of 4 fire engines, 1 rescue squad/engine and 5 rescue/ambulances. The cost is $7,034,694 which will be paid over 7 years with a fixed interest rate of 3.990%.
We keep our fire trucks in service for 20 years. Five years ago, the cost of a new truck was $600,000. Today, that cost is over $1 million and it takes 4 years to build each truck.
DEPT-1 was unanimously approved.
DEPT-2 was a request to consider approval of a project whose budget exceeds $1 mllion.
Contract A.1 was the Port Salerno Peninsula resurfacing project. The project includes roadway milling and resurfacing, drainage improvements, safety improvements and full depth roadway construction on the local roadways between Dixie Highway, St Lucie Boulevard, Compass Way and Manatee Pocket.
The winning bid of $1,134,995 went to LP Asphalt LLC and was unanimously approved. |
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| UPCOMING EVENTS AND INFORMATION |
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Be Aware - King Tide Dates
September 8-15 (New Moon)
September 24-October 15 (Full Moon & New Moon)
October 22-November 12 (Full Moon & New Moon)
November 22-29 (Full Moon)
December 22-27 (Full Moon)
King tides are extreme high tides that occur several times a year, usually in the fall, that can cause coastal tidal flooding. This is often called sunny day flooding because it can happen on a cloudless day when no rain is in sight. The impacts of king tides are magnified when they coincide with major storms. |
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Park Ambassador Program
Do you have a favorite Martin County park? Become a Park Ambassador and help keep it safe, clean, and enjoyable for everyone! If you see something broken, hazardous, vandalized, etc., simply snap a photo and report it through our online system, and we will take care of the rest!
With so much land (1,736 acres and 75 parks) we need as "many eyes" as possible to help us keep our parks well-maintained and aesthetically pleasing.
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Board meetings are held in the commission chambers at 2401 SE Monterey Rd, Stuart, FL 34996.
October 13, 2026
October 27, 2026
November 10, 2026
MCTV Television Information - MCTV Links and Info
Martin County YouTube Chanel: YouTube Channel Click Here |
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