How have the Key Colony Beach City budget (and our property taxes) skyrocketed?

Let us count the ways.

Property taxes have more than doubled, from over $1.7 million in 2018 to over $3.9 million in 2023
(that despite a claim by Mayor Patti Trefry that she was "reducing" taxes).

Spending nearly doubled in 2019-20 rose

Fresh on the heels of denying you the right to vote, the runaway Gang of 3 will pass a TWENTY MILLION DOLLAR BUDGET at the end of the day on Thursday.

Key Colony Beach has raised property taxes at least 73% since 2018 to pay for extra employees, extra vehicles, extra lawyers, extra boodoggles, and years of trailer houses. Now, the Gang of 3--Commissioners Harding, Ramsay-Vickrey, and Trefrey--will pass a resolution with that huge and unexplained spending.

The approved budgets over just the past few years show very worrisome trends.
» From 2018-22, KCB carried forward a lot of reserves that just plain disappeared in 2022-23.
» The city claims about a million less in 2023-24 Ad Valorem Tax "Revenue" than the county calculation yields based on millage rate and property values.
» The city claims to budget $7.8 million in 2023-24 expenditures but Resolution 2023-13 budgets $20.5 million for the same period.

Fiscal Year	Property Taxes	% Increase	Total " Revenue"	% Increase	Total Expenditures	% Increase
2018-19	$1,732,677	- -	$3,855,068	- -	$3,855,068	- -
	"Revenue" will increase by $2,152,738 carried forward from 2017-18 Expenditures will increase by $3,128,148 transferred to "Reserves" Source: http://PeopleAreAsking.org/resources/budget/fy-18-19-budget-summary.pdf
2019-20	$1,804,165	4.1%	$6,013,449	56.0%	$5,496,295	42.6%
	"Revenue" will increase by $5,997,971 carried forward from 2018-19 Expenditures will increase by $6,515,125 transferred to "Reserves" Source: http://PeopleAreAsking.org/resources/budget/fy-19-20-budget-summary.pdf
2020-21	$1,878,301	4.1%	$5,512,552	-8.3%	$5,313,568	-3.3%
	"Revenue" will increase by $6,505,127 carried forward from 2019-20 Expenditures will increase by $6,702,111 transferred to "Reserves" Source: http://PeopleAreAsking.org/resources/budget/fy-2021-budget-summary.pdf
2021-22	$2,300,383	22.5%	$6,436,199	16.8%	$7,224,462	36.0%
	First "Turner" budget, last budget with funds carried over "Revenue" will increase by $6,954,415 carried forward from 2020-21 Expenditures will increase by $6,166,162 transferred to "Reserves" Source: http://PeopleAreAsking.org/resources/budget/fy-21-22-buddget-summary.pdf
2022-23	$2,627,390	14.2%	$7,737,390	20.2%	$7,737,390	7.1%
	"Revenue" includes $500,000 from 2021-22 fund reserves Expenditures will increase by $ transferred to "Reserves" Source: http://PeopleAreAsking.org/resources/budget/fy-22-23-budget-summary.pdf
Two official data sources for the upcoming fiscal year contradict each other. The "official" city budget presentation offers a rosy picture of financial good health but the Resolution the commission passed 4-0 shows a $17 million dollar shorfall. Here are the two sets of figures:
2023-24	$2,999,042	14.1%	$7,778,784	0.5%	$7,778,784	0.5%
	Amounts claimed in "KCB Proposed Budget Presentation" by D. Turner "Revenue" includes $124,829 of "internal transfers" Expenditures include by $457,833 transferred to "Reserves" Source: http://PeopleAreAsking.org/resources/budget/fy-23-24-budget-approved-9-7-23.pdf
2023-24	$3,946,224	50.2%	$7,778,784	0.5%	$20,494,491	164.9%
	Amounts from calculated revenue and Commission Resolution_2023-13 "Revenue" includes $124,829 of "internal transfers" Expenditures are the total approved in Resolution 2023-13 Source #1: http://PeopleAreAsking.org/resources/budget/fy-23-24-budget-approved-9-7-23.pdf Source #2: http://PeopleAreAsking.org/resources/budget/budget_resolution_2023-13.pdf

» These numbers alone underscore the need for a forensic analysis of city finances.
»