Bill Trotter

At Monday’s specially called meeting of Marco Island’s City Council, two key decisions became the guiding force for ultimately setting water and sewer rates. Both outcomes were hard-fought; decided my narrow margins. The first determined the rate matrix to be ...

Newly elected Marco Island City Council Chairman Larry Magel and Councilor Bill Trotter led a discussion Monday on reducing utility surcharges. Plans for the reduction were considered at several council water and sewer rate workshops in the past month. During ...

While the street light issue generated most of the heat and public interest at the Marco Island City Council meeting Monday afternoon, the councilors took up another question that could have much more far-reaching implications. Under new business, item (C) ...

As the final days of the outgoing year wind down, it is traditional to look back on the preceding 12 months, and assess where we’ve been.

The rockets red glare will fill the skies over Marco Island on July 4, 2012. In a 6-1 decision by Marco Island City Council on Monday, the city agreed to fund 50 percent or $20,000 for next year’s Independence Day ...

The utility surcharge placed on water and sewer bills was decreased from 6 percent to 4 percent in a unanimous, 5-0 vote. However, City Councilmen Joe Batte and Bill Trotter said that with an excess $5 million collected from the ...

During a marathon, six hour budget workshop on Monday, Marco Island City Council prioritized capital improvement spending needs, considered ways to cut expenses, and set a maximum millage rate for the upcoming fiscal year. Councilors voted 5-2 to set the ...

Next stop, City Council. The Marco Island City Council Budget Sub-Committee has put together a budget proposal for the entire council to consider, starting at their meeting on Monday. At the close of Wednesday’s Budget Sub-Committee meeting, chairman Larry Magel ...

The citizens of Marco Island can rest assured that when their city spends a dollar, serious consideration has gone into the expenditure. All summer, the Marco Island City Council Budget Sub-Committee has been meeting at City Hall, going over the ...

Plans to reduce an anticipated six percent water utility rate hike could hinge on the backs of vacant lot owners. Under a proposal by city leaders and discussed among City Council members on Monday night, property owners of undeveloped land ...

Choosing a fifth member to sit on the Marco Island Utilities Advisory Board (UAB) is turning out to be more difficult than anticipated; and until the position is filled, the committee may not be able to conduct business. The UAB’s ...

Wednesday afternoon, the Marco Island City Council Budget Sub-Committee held another meeting, slowly sifting through the myriad of expenditures, and various revenue sources, that all add up to the city’s $20 million-plus annual budget. Three of the city councilors, committee ...

At their regular meeting on Monday, the Marco Island City Council heard a number of reports, on topics ranging from the Judge S.S. Jolley Bridge and bonds to baseball and water treatment. For the last year, the landscaping at the ...

The Judge S.S. Jolley Bridge has a twin. It’s not quite identical and wasn’t “born,” or constructed, on the same date, but next to the old Jolley Bridge is now another Jolley Bridge. Drivers will be able to use Marco ...

It’s why they make the big bucks. At the third of six meetings to review the city’s budget, each scheduled for three hours but likely to stretch to four or five hours, City Councilmen Larry Magel, Bill Trotter, and Wayne ...