The cost of building, operating and maintaining capital facilities is second only to personnel costs in placing the increasingly heavy burden on our taxpayers. For this reason, we call upon our County and City Commissioners and our School Board Members to carefully coordinate their expected building needs. We think that sharing facilities and avoiding duplication of services are excellent ways to lower tax burdens while continuing to provide quality service. We agree that the need for additional space is becoming a major problem for all local governments. It also seems to be a regularly recurring problem as our local governments continue to grow. We see this need as an excellent opportunity for long-range planning to help avoid expensive short-term solutions.

We have recently witnessed a good example of this process as the Indiantown community works with the County and School Board. They are attempting to jointly plan for the problems and opportunities facing that community with the pending rapid growth in the area. We applaud these efforts and hope they can be channeled into a real attempt at long-range community planning. Why not follow this same approach Countywide?

We could start by honestly looking at the way we do the public’s business. Does today’s technology afford us the opportunity to work faster and more efficiently? Can we do more with less? We suggest that we could also look at our adopted levels of service to see if the indicators remain effective. Do we really need 2.5 sq. ft. of public buildings for each resident?

We have had a very stable growth rate for decades; therefore we should be fairly confident in predicting our future needs. We can look at our adopted service levels, student generation rates, crime rates and other indicators to forecast our future needs. If we know that Martin County will ultimately have 250,000 residents, why not plan ahead? Why continue to scramble for school sites, parks and rights of way?

We would suggest a joint meeting of all of our elected officials to look at their capital requirements with an eye to consolidation. This would include our Sheriff, Clerk of Court, Tax Collector, Property Appraiser, Supervisor of Elections, all County and City Commissioners, School Board Members and School Superintendent. Working groups made up of senior staff members from administrations with similar capital requirements could be identified and given the opportunity to brainstorm areas for consolidation. Hopefully these steps will eliminate the surprise million-dollar building increases that have been included in many recent capital budgets.

Before we agree to buy, build or lease another square foot of building, we should have a clearly understood plan that meets the public’s needs and is financially feasible. We should put our service buildings where they can serve the most people at the highest level of convenience. We should look at consolidated satellite service centers in our communities such as Jensen Beach, Palm City, Port Salerno, Hobe Sound and Indiantown. With the cost of transportation rising rapidly we have to consider the cost of delivering as well as providing service.

In short, we should strive to provide the most efficiently governed county in the State. To accomplish this we will need cooperation, planning and the will to implement by all Martin County public service administrators. We are ready and anxious to help. Maybe some ideas would be forwarded that lead to more efficient use of the public’s money. Let’s get started!