West Volusia County mayors share much in common regarding the joys and frustrations of leading a city.
One of the biggest shared frustrations is the erosion of local governments’ ability to function with a certain amount of autonomy.
“We want to keep our home rule,” Pierson Mayor Samuel Bennett said during the DeLand Area Chamber of Commerce and Orange City Alliance’s State of the Region event April 7.
The panel — which also included Orange City Mayor Gary Blair, Lake Helen Mayor Cameron Lane, Deltona Mayor Heidi Herzberg, DeLand Mayor Bob Apgar and DeBary Vice Mayor Phyllis Butlien — also spoke of the importance of water quality projects and how the coronavirus pandemic has impacted their communities.
Rob Doan, an attorney with the law firm Cobb Cole, the event’s title sponsor, moderated the meeting.
Taking on Tallahassee
Most of the discussion focused on state government and how elected state officials have helped and/or hindered their constituents.
“It’s all about home rule,” Blair said. “Tallahassee tries to take it every single year and every year they chip away and get a little bit more.”
Doan said it’s the legislation that doesn’t pass that should be remembered because it “will more than likely come back in a different form with a few new words.”
Herzberg agreed.
“If there’s motivation behind it, they will always come back,” Deltona’s mayor said.
Of particular concern is House Bill 1: Additional Homestead Property Tax Exemption for Specified Critical Public Service Workforce.
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HB 1 “proposes an amendment to the Florida Constitution to authorize an additional homestead exemption for a classroom teacher, law enforcement officer, correctional officer, firefighter, child welfare services professional, active duty member of the United States Armed Forces, or a member of the Florida National Guard. Property maintained as a homestead by the owner for a person dependent upon the owner is eligible for the exemption,” according to a statement from Senate President Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, on this year’s session.
“Think about some of the unintended consequences of that particular amendment,” Apgar said. “It will be a huge hit to most of the local governments.”
Currently, homesteaded properties are exempt from the first $25,000 of value in property tax assessments and between $50,000 to $75,000 from non-school taxes.
If the bill passes, it would make the homestead property value from $100,000 to $150,000 exempt from non-school taxes for homeowners in the aforementioned professions. Local governments could take a hit of more than $80 million as a result of the tax cut, according to legislators.
The longtime DeLand mayor also expressed concern about the lack of defined terms in the aforementioned bill.
As an example, he asked if a professor at Stetson University qualifies as a classroom teacher.
The bill received overwhelming support in the house and senate — only one senator voted against it — and was filed with the secretary of state on March 23.
Senate Bill 620: Local Business Protection Act also worries local leaders.
SB 620 is defined as “authorizing certain businesses to claim business damages from a county or municipality if the county or municipality enacts or amends certain ordinances or charter provisions; limiting the amount of business damages that may be recovered; specifying ordinances and charter provisions that do not result in liability for business damages; requiring businesses and counties or municipalities to follow certain pre-suit procedures before businesses file an action for business damages, etc.”
The bill essentially would allow businesses to sue local governments over revenue-affecting regulations.
It received mixed support, and leaders of municipalities across the state have encouraged Gov. Ron DeSantis to veto it.
Going online
The State of the Region event took place virtually in 2020 and 2021, much like a number of the meetings the mayors led during the same period.
This year it took place at The Center at Deltona with a few dozen in attendance.
Each panel member spoke about the significant role technology played in conducting city business during the past two years and how some of those improvements, such as giving residents and business owners more flexibility with paying bills and applying for permits, are here to stay.
They also shared the highs and lows experienced by their respective cities during the past couple of years and how the state and federal government helped and/or hindered them during that time.
Congress, under President Biden and Trump before him, approved approximately $5 trillion in federal money to go into communities to help with unemployment, businesses, families and schools. It’s the federal government’s biggest investment in the country’s economy since Roosevelt’s New Deal.
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Each mayor spoke of their respective government putting some portion of their pandemic relief aid toward infrastructure improvements and public safety.
In Deltona, approximately $9.8 million is going toward replacing water meters citywide with data-centric advanced metering infrastructure.
“Proudly, that’s where our funding is going,” Herzberg said.
Acting City Manager John Peters III said the measure should ultimately result in an annual savings of about $800,000 to the city’s utility.
Alice J. Roden started working for Trending Insurance News at the end of 2021. Alice grew up in Salt Lake City, UT. A writer with a vast insurance industry background Alice has help with several of the biggest insurance companies. Before joining Trending Insurance News, Alice briefly worked as a freelance journalist for several radio stations. She covers home, renters and other property insurance stories.