Sunday, February 1, 2009

Keeping the line on taxes and preparing the city for stormwater upgrades are two of the big issues on tap for the March 10 Key Colony Beach City Commission election.

Three seats are up for grabs in the small city's election, and four candidates have qualified for the race. All three incumbents whose terms are expiring are running for re-election: Lester "Rusty" Stevens, Ron Sutton and Jeff Vorick. Joining them in the fray is challenger Mary Schmidt.

"I've helped people become really proactive in local government," said Schmidt, who in addition to serving on the city's code board writes and distributes a local newsletter throughout the community. "We are all facing budget issues and that will certainly play into what we are doing."

Sutton, who has served as the city's mayor for the past year, said he wanted to help keep the city going in the right direction, especially with some infrastructure projects in the city's future.

"We are starting a stormwater project in the spring of this year," Sutton said. "It takes commitment to get through it on time so you get your grant money."

Stevens said the city needs to keep an eye on the slumping economy and the effects it might have on local governments.

"We need to keep Key Colony Beach ahead of the curve," Stevens said. "We need to continue to work to keep the taxes here as low as possible."

Vorick said the city is currently in a maintenance mode.

"We have some capital improvements, but we are putting those on hold until we see what the state Legislature is going to do with the tax money," Vorick said, adding that the city needs to hold the line on taxes without cutting back on services, especially health and safety.

City Commissioners Tucker DeGraw and Geraldine Zahn last year won the two seats up for grabs on the five-member board.

Key Colony Beach city commissioners serve two-year terms and the five commissioners' terms are staggered so there is an election every year. After the election, the commission chooses a mayor, who takes on duties similar to a city manager.

The city of Key Colony Beach comprises about 800 full-time residents, although the community has a large population of seasonal visitors.

The registration deadline for Key Colony Beach voters is Feb. 9.

rbusweiler@keysnews.com