'But perhaps the most egregious yet is the $70 he charged for traveling 10 minutes to a County Commission meeting on July 18. '

- editorial

At the end of this month, taxpayers will begin paying Key West attorney Jerry Coleman $500 per hour for phone calls, research and any other work he does for Monroe County in the name of affordable housing.

Over the past two years, the county has paid Coleman $406,232 in public money — and that was when his rate was $300 to $350 per hour. Rather than paying this inflated rate, it’s time for the county to cut Coleman loose. Coleman’s accomplishments, compared with his long list of charges to the county, are minimal and most likely could have been handled in-house by a full-time county attorney drawing a $100,000 annual salary. It must pain County Attorney Suzanne Hutton to approve invoices from Coleman that, in yearly totals, top her annual salary by more than $50,000. And it also raises the question: Why does the county need Coleman  after hiring an affordable housing coordinator at more than $80,000 per year? A review of Coleman’s bills to the county reveals that he has strayed from his original pur- pose of affordable housing and into matters involving sewer systems and the Navy’s new jet noise and accident potential maps aimed at determining where development should occur around Naval Air Station Key West. In just one day in July, Coleman billed the county $1,820 for advising then-Mayor Mario Di Gennaro on waste- water issues and conducting research. Coleman has faced scrutiny in the past for billing the county for trivial expenses. But perhaps the most egre-gious yet is the $70 he charged for traveling 10 minutes to a County Commission meeting on July 18. The item on the bill actually reads: “Travel to BOCC meeting (8:50 - 9 a.m.)” with $70 under the amount column. The total amount Coleman charged on that July bill is $24,255, although he highlighted several six-minute meetings or phone calls for which he chose not to charge the county $35. The county has not gained much ground since Coleman began advising on affordable housing two years ago, and that which has been achieved probably could have been done  without his expensive help. His  strange behavior at commission meetings and his obvious  bent toward trying to please Di  Gennaro and Commissioner  Dixie Spehar have created an  uncomfortable atmosphere  for those who don’t agree with  them.

For the outrageous expense  and all these other reasons, it’s  time for the county to end its  relationships with Coleman. The  money would be better spent  keeping the libraries open,  building affordable housing or  constructing sewer systems.

— The Citizen Editorial