Stormwater

Utility bills will increase an average of around 9% in fiscal year 2026, which begins Oct. 1. Officials recommend a 17.5% increase on stormwater rates.

Mark Cunningham becomes the highest-ranking official to step down in the wake of revelations about widespread failures in the county's stormwater system. County officials did not disclose the reason for his leaving.

The county is moving quickly to make stormwater its own department, rather than a division within public works, as it hired Ben Quartermaine as the director. The job posting included a salary up to $180,000 per year.

Stormwater activities are currently managed under a division within the Public Works Department.

Many residents believe the county has fallen short on its duty to remove sediment and vegetation from creeks, ditches and drains that keeps heavy rains from causing massive flooding.

The eight public meetings will be held through May 19.

They include upgrading several water pump stations throughout the city, and putting generators at all the stations while switching to generator power for all the stations right before storms hit.

Homes, cars and streets were flooded with rainwater for days — and even weeks — after Hurricane Milton, which overwhelmed stormwater systems.

The county will look at the impacts on many communities during Debby, Helene and Milton, plus the previous rainy summer season. Then, it'll look at what projects can be done to mitigate damage.

Part of the state’s surveillance program is keeping track of flooded areas, as pools of accumulated rainfall are prone to becoming mosquito breeding grounds.

Cave divers in North Central Florida say the proposed 500-home Tara Forest West development could contaminate the Floridan Aquifer with its stormwater runoff.

In Monroe, the climate threat is already considered so serious that political leaders are now pushing a bold plan built around a typically unpopular option. They want to raise taxes — in this case, sales taxes.