The financial impact of city leadership decisions
By Jesse Phillips, President
Winter Springs Community Association
With the cost of gasoline and groceries sky-high, and the City of Winter Springs taking more of our hard-earned property tax dollars, can you afford a 59% hike in trash service and more than doubling of your water bill?
Can you afford the policies of Commissioners Benton, Elliot and Johnson?
Winter Springs has a vibrant retirement community—good people, many of whom are on fixed incomes, who simply cannot afford what these commissioners are forcing down on us. Enough is enough. Things are already tight enough!
City leaders do not want me asking these questions for obvious reasons. Residents should be prepared for the Mayor to continue using his bully pulpit to silence critics who are willing to speak up for our neighbors financially strapped by their mismanagement.
This is why they still do not allow us to comment on the City’s official Facebook page. They don’t want to hear from you.
They approved plans to raise the costs for trash service by 59%, without sending your money to the trash service company, and to more than double your water rates, without a workable plan to fix your water system.
We cannot afford four more years of misguided priorities, mismanaged resources, and denial of the issues our City is facing. We cannot afford Commissioners Benton, Elliot and Johnson.
Rep. David Smith Confirms Mayor McCann Lied
If you want to see exactly what happened, check out this Oviedo Community News report on the Inspector General’s recent visit. Mayor McCann wants to obscure the fact the Joint Legislative Auditing Committee (JLAC) referred the City of Winter Springs to the Governor’s Office over misleading answers he gave about our finances.
We knew Mayor McCann’s claim he invited the IG to be false because we watched the public hearings in which the legislature made the referral. Representative David Smith also contradicted the Mayor’s false claim when he told the Oviedo Community News that it was the Inspector General who took the initiative to visit.
As the article reports, Mayor McCann has been accused of circumventing the elected commissioners who have the authority to run the city, keeping them in the dark as to what’s been going on.
Commissioner Resnick stated at the recent commission meeting being kept in the dark significantly violated his trust, a similar theme to the findings of the audit that the city’s accounting practices had eroded public trust.
I have my doubts the commission will take the right action and censure the Mayor for his antics, since a majority of them are his political allies. The only alternative voters have is to remove Commissioners Benton, Johnson and Elliot later this year and elect leadership who will hold themselves to a higher standard.