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The reorganization of the Board of County Commissioners has enabled Commissioner Heard (who was not chair for many, many years) to retain the position for another term. Commissioner Ciampi remains Vice Chair.
The new county attorney’s salary will be $255,600, which is lower than Florida’s average of $267,052.
The Sewall’s Point Commissioners showed up with an ask for their septic to sewer projects. It became interesting when the town engineer, Joe Capra, stated that the original claim of no assessments was mistaken. There will be a” hook up fee” aka a “Customer Contribution Charge “ for the construction of the lift station of approximately $5-6,000 per household if the town has to install a gravity sewer system. The Town is between a rock and a hard place because if they are not allowed to install more units than originally allowed by the County, they will have to give back millions of dollars of grant money. Lucky for them, the Board voted 3-2 to allow them to proceed. MCTA wonders why there was such misinformation originally.
What seems to be a welcome community enhancing development in Rio has been approved. Rio Marine Village was approved in 2022 and has been under review for the last 6 years! It will include apartments, town homes, a marina club house, dockage for rent, commercial buildings, restaurants, outdoor boat storage and slips. It was refreshing to see support from people living in the immediate vicinity.
Three of the five Commissioners voted to make MARTY fare free. What can we say? There was no limit set on this experiment to see if they could finally make buses fly. What if it is still a failure in a year, 5 years? MCTA hopes we are wrong in thinking that they may have just approved of the first mobile homeless shelter. We congratulate Commissioners Hetherington and Vargas for holding their ground with dissenting votes. FDOT continues to support MARTY as well with another grant of $41,537. This time to provide assistance for rural public transportation.
Whenever there is a request to expand the primary urban service area, there must be an assessment performed. The entity performing the review looks at the projected population growth to predict future demand and then prepares an analysis of the existing supply. Calculated in are all the approved but not yet built developments to get as accurate an evaluation as possible. Martin County’s population B/T/W has grown less than 2% per year since 1996. The Waterside development on Kanner and Bridge, which is requesting the expansion, disagrees with the County’s latest study. They claim that the County is basing its capacity analysis on flawed methodology. Their attorney et al showed up to explain. They were ultimately denied. Stay tuned, this may get ugly.
Florida Division of Emergency Management will reimburse the County $60,319 for a drainage project.
The Commissioners voted to accept $450,000 of a Waterways Assistance program grant for renovation of Jensen Beach Causeway boat ramp and pier improvement. This project will cost twice that so the County will pay $450,000.
An Emergency Management Performance grant of $68,319 was accepted for training and planning with 0 cost to the County.
A contract for sludge dewatering polymer (wastewater treatment) not to exceed $2,000,000 over 5 years was accepted.
It will cost $1,263,541 for signalization improvements at Kanner and Waterside Way.
There will be piping improvements at the North Jensen water treatment plant which will cost $1,651,861.
The County will apply for a grant from the Florida Dept of Agriculture which will result in $1,750,000 for stream restoration projects, the aim of which is to reduce nutrient loads.
Opps! The County has experienced a contract overrun in their attempt to renovate a building at the airport which was built in the ’50s. It sat vacant for 20 years and of course there were surprises lurking in the foundation. Eventually it will house the new REACH center. (For more info on REACH … What's On Deck for The Economic Council of Martin County) The project will cost an additional $49,351 more for a total of $3,579,997. Luckily the overrun will be funded by the still lingering Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 lovingly known as ARPA and the airport enterprise fund.
Staff asked for $78,000 so they can comply with a mandatory order to make county documents ADA (American Disabilities Act) compliant for people who are visibly or audibly impaired. It may or may not be enough to achieve that goal.
The Florida Opioid Settlement Fund will send Martin County an additional $24,403 to be used for intervention programs.
The Sheriff is requesting $11,022 for crime prevention programs from the Law Enforcement Trust Fund. This money comes from contraband forfeitures. There will be 0 match from the County.
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Confused About All These Topics?
Check Out Our New Free Event
Insight Series
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Insights Series
🗣️ Let’s Talk Local: What No One Told You (But Should Have)
A Community Briefing on Where Your Tax Dollars Are Really Going
Ever wonder where your money’s going—and who’s deciding how it’s spent? This eye-opening event pulls back the curtain on how your local tax dollars are allocated, who’s behind the decisions, and what it means for you, your neighborhood, and your future.
🧠 Get the inside scoop from our featured local guest speaker
🤝 Network with movers, shakers, and change-makers
🍴 Enjoy hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar in a relaxed setting
📣 Gain the knowledge—and the voice—you didn’t know you needed
WHEN & WHERE: Coming Back in 2026
FEATURING – A Local Guest Speaker to be announced
This isn’t your average community meeting. It’s your chance to ask questions, get answers, and connect with others who care about what’s happening right here in our hometown.
✅ Come curious. Leave empowered.
🗓️ Coming Back in 2026
📍 TBD |
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Get Involved – We Need You!
Your 70+ year old, non-profit, taxpayer watchdog organization works with volunteers. There are many county meetings (usually lasting only about 1 hour) that are open to the public. We ask volunteers to attend just one a month (some don't even meet that often) and become the "expert" on that particular committee. You will pick a committee meeting that interests you. Then report back to the MCTA. You need not write anything except notes for yourself. If you are interested in serving your community without investing a lot of time, please contact Darlene for further information at 772-285-7447 or mctaxpayers1950@gmail.com
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Keeping an eye on how our tax dollars are managed
For over 70 years, this volunteer non-profit organization has been the "Watch Dog" for
your Martin County Tax Dollars.
Your Donations Save You Tax Dollars!
Please consider a donation so we may continue for many years to come.
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Dear friends and supporters of MCTA,
Thoughts on MCTA - Hear what others have to say about MCTA
Please share your thoughts about MCTA and why it is important to you - we'll be sure to include you here. Send us and email mctaxpayers1950@gmail.com. (put "Newsletter Thoughts" in the subject line)
Are there topics you would like us to cover?
Send an email and we will do our best. mctaxpayers1950@gmail.com (put "Topic to Cover" in the subject line)
Please share this newsletter with everyone. The more we all know, the more power we have!
Martin County Taxpayer Association is an IRS registered 501 C3 – EIN: 59-0652292
~ All Donations Are Tax Deductible As Allowed By Law ~
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