🏛️ Fort Pierce Financial Woes

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Daisy at SE Benchmark has been on me about making sure I have all my insurance in place. It's the top of the year, so I'm already doing an analysis of what I'm spending and how much. Insurance is a big piece of that.

Here's the thing: insurance companies just took a rate decrease. Yesterday, Daisy saved a Fort Pierce resident almost $1,000 for the year on their auto insurance. One phone call. $1,000 saved.

Two major financial bombshells hit Fort Pierce this week, raising serious questions about the city's management and spending.

Crabby's Owes $215,000: At Tuesday's City Commission meeting, it was revealed that Crabby's restaurant, which operates on city-owned property at the marina, owes Fort Pierce nearly $215,000 in unpaid rent and property tax reimbursements. The debt includes five months of missed rent payments and three years of unpaid property taxes.

Commissioner Michael Broderick called the situation "horribly mismanaged" and said the city failed to act until the tenant was four months behind on rent. "This is not a way to run commercial real estate assets that are owned by the city," Broderick said. He pointed out that the property tax issue dates back three years.

City Manager Richard Chess explained that a billing error contributed to the property tax backlog. The county provided three years of tax bills all at once rather than annually, meaning the city couldn't bill the tenant until recently. Once notified, Chess immediately sent a cure letter demanding payment. The tenant has since vacated.

$10.5 Million "Wasteful Spending" Claim: The day after the Crabby's revelation, Florida CFO Blaise Ingoglia held a press conference claiming Fort Pierce had $10.5 million in wasteful spending last fiscal year. Ingoglia pointed to the city's general fund budget increasing 60% since 2019 while population grew less than 5,000 people.

Commissioner Broderick told WPTV that Ingoglia's analysis "isn't fair and doesn't follow accepted accounting principles."

A source inside the city told Sunland News they were not made aware of the press conference happening Wednesday. As of this writing, the source said city officials still haven't been shown exactly what data or methodology the CFO's office used to arrive at the $10.5 million figure. The Commission is demanding better internal controls and accountability moving forward.

The new Vero Beach Veterans Affairs clinic will open in March at 777 37th Street after multiple delays, with Phase 1 offering physical therapy, occupational therapy and chiropractic services. The $8 million clinic will create 40 jobs, with Phase 2 adding audiology, cardiology, dermatology and other specialty services in May.

👉 Read more (Vero News)

Fort Pierce ended its emergency declaration for South Hutchinson Island beach erosion after 95 percent of replenishing sand remained on dunes. Officials said recent high winds eroded about 15 feet of new sand deposits, with a major renourishment program planned in four to six weeks.

👉 Read more (Hometown News)

The Stuart Brightline station project cost ballooned to $87 million from $60 million, with Martin County seeking nearly $70 million in federal funding. The station alone will cost $60.7 million, up from $37.2 million, with construction potentially starting October 2027 and finishing June 2029.

👉 Read more (TCPalm, TCPalm subscription may be required)

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See you Monday!
With Love, Ja’Min

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