I am shocked and disheartened by the actions that have taken place over the past few days in regard to Monroe County.

The governor and members of the Cabinet asked numerous times if the 18-hour clearance time was adopted into the Monroe County Comprehensive Plan. This question was asked of the Monroe County administrator, Tom Willi, and of Ms. Teresa Tinker, staff to the Administration Commission.

The question was clear. The answer would reflect whether the public had been given its legally provided opportunity to participate in actions of government that would impact their health and safety. There is no confusion as to what the honest answer to the question should have been. Instead of providing an accurate answer, the governor and Cabinet were led to believe that the necessary plan amendments establishing the clearance time for Monroe County at 18.2 hours had been adopted. Such a breach of public trust is a difficult pill to swallow.

Unfortunately, the lack of accuracy and accountability does not end with the discussion of hurricane evacuation clearance times: Two other items of information were misrepresented to the Administration Commission:

1) When asked by members of the Administration Commission if testimony provided by Ms. Kim Wigington that wastewater funds were being diverted to purchase restaurants and sink ships, County Administrator Tom Willi said that was false. And yet county documents provided to [Tinker] show that funds originally allocated in the Monroe County budget for wastewater projects were reassigned in later budget documents. The documents reflect a reduction of $5.75 million from the line item for the Key Largo wastewater board, with a corresponding addition of $2 million for the sinking of the Vandenberg and $3.75 million [later negotiated down to $3.13 million] for the purchase of the Hickory House, a waterfront restaurant on Stock Island.

2) When asked if Monroe County could not find a way to appropriate funds to provide the necessary infrastructure to allow the hook-up of residents on Stock Island, County Administrator Tom Willi stated that the project is under construction to provide such infrastructure "as we speak." In reality, there is no construction going on to remedy the insufficiency of the Stock Island sewer system. The Monroe County Commission has not taken any action to do so, and no funds have been appropriated to undertake this action as reflected on the county budget.

I would sincerely request that the governor and Cabinet, sitting as the Administration Commission, recall the Monroe County Annual Assessment Report for discussion and corrective action at their upcoming Dec. 19 meeting. At a minimum, the reference in the Department of Community Affairs report to Monroe County achieving an 18.2-hour hurricane clearance time must be corrected. It would be my recommendation that the Administration Commission reconsider their finding of "substantial progress" for Monroe County based upon the wholly unacceptable actions of the county in both action and word. ...

Debbie Harrison, director, South Florida Program, World Wildlife Fund