The EcoGen project slated for Indiantown has been cancelled due to problems with county approvals. I don’t know whether this type of use would be harmful to our environment or not. On the face of it growing eucalyptus trees and then producing electricity with the bio-mass seems to be a good idea. Perhaps the county is correct and this would have been a bad project.  The problem is any economic development proposed seems to be bad. At some point, the majority of residents and business people stop believing the county commission is looking at economic development projects impartially.

How long does the majority on the Martin County Board of Commissioners ignore the wishes of the residents of Indiantown and other un-incorporated areas? If Martin County tries to staunch all new industry, there will be unintended consequences. Those consequences will lead to the very type of harmful growth and urban sprawl that the county commission is against.

It is apparent to me that Martin County is on an unsustainable course. Real estate taxes are close to the maximum millage allowed by statute. Our county’s infrastructure is literally falling apart. Apparently, the county is incapable of enacting common sense budgetary reforms that would lessen the cost of providing governmental services. Without measured sustainable development both in housing and business, Martin County will be in dire financial straits.

Communities from Hobe Sound to Indiantown feel that their desires are not being met by county government. It is impossible for the county commission to adequately represent the diverse interests of the residents of Rio and western Martin County. The majority of the county commissioners are trying to micro manage instead of allowing the people to have a say over their individual communities. The way county government operates is broken and needs to have much more input from the citizens.

Now with the near abandonment of any autonomy to the county CRA districts, the commission is pushing those distinct areas into forming independent cities and towns. I believe that the formation of new municipalities throughout the county will ultimately result in better government at both the county and municipal level. Municipal government will allow more direct representation of the wishes of the electorate. The people of Palm City will determine whether they want industry or not. Residents in Rio will decide whether and what type of housing will be built.

The development within those communities will reflect the will of the people who live within the municipal boundaries. Further, the level of governmental services will only be that which those residents want and are willing to pay to have. This will result in much less county taxes being levied on all Martin taxpayers. For instance living in Stuart, I see the benefit of having a professional fire/rescue department and am willing to pay for that level of service. If I lived in rural Martin County, I would be in favor of having a volunteer fire department and privatization of ambulance service. Different areas within the county have different expectations of levels of service.

County government was originally to be limited in nature and act as an arm of the state providing those services constitutionally mandated. Martin County, through its one size fits all approach to the delivery of traditionally municipal governmental services, has succeeded in becoming an unresponsive and bloated bureaucracy. As the area and scope of services have increased, fewer and fewer residents and taxpayers are happy with the outcome. If the more populated areas of the county incorporate, I can easily see Martin County cutting its workforce and lowering county taxes substantially.

Of course, the new municipalities would now have to levy taxes and provide services. From public works to parks to law enforcement, the type and cost would be determined by those living and paying within the municipalities. If in the next few years Martin County does not have new municipalities formed, county government will be unsustainable since it will no longer be able to raise the millage rate.

At one time in the not too distant past, Martin County was rural with Stuart as a small county seat. This is no longer the case as more and more of the county has become urbanized and suburbanized. What Martin County government has failed to do is adapt to these changes. I agree with the vast majority of county residents that we do not need unfettered growth outside the Urban Services Boundary. However, within that boundary, jobs and development do need to happen.

If you want to preserve Martin County, we will need to think about governing differently. Control over governmental functions in these now urban and suburban unincorporated areas have to be placed in the hands of local residents. There are distinct differences between Hobe Sound, Indiantown and Palm City, and our governing bodies need to reflect this fact. The less the “Big 5” on Monterey control, the better the outcome for all of Martin County including the preservation of the Urban Services Boundary and lessening of sprawl in the remaining unincorporated areas.