By Marvin G. Cortner
Editor

Helping small businesses, lowering impact fees and a finding a more equitable way to pay for fire service were all ideas that candidates in the district 4 Osceola County Commission race agreed on Tuesday evening at a candidate forum at the St. Cloud Senior Center.

All but one of the seven candidates in the race attended the forum, sponsored by the St. Cloud Greater Osceola Chamber of Commerce. The format for the night involved candidates one-by-one answering similar questions, with candidates sequestered so they did not have any advance knowledge of what was being asked. Chamber member Robert Bass moderated the event.

Candidates attending in-cluded Democrats Don Miers and Bob Healy Jr., no-party candidate Jose Colon and Republicans Frank Attkisson, Donny Shroyer and Mel Welch. Republican Melanie Davis did not attend. About 30 people were in the

audience.

The candidates

Bob Healy Jr., a businessman who runs a funeral home in Buenaventura Lakes, said he believes he “can make a difference” in county government putting his small business experience to use. He also said economic development in the county has to focus on bringing in more small businesses and offering incentives to accomplish that.

The county’s high impact fees and fire assessment fees, the candidate said, are making it hard to start and keep small businesses going.

He also said he believes county property tax revenue will “get worse before it gets better” and that the county has to pursue consolidation of services with other government bodies to lower costs, but must do so without job losses.

Healy said the county has approved enough residential development to accommodate people moving here long into the future and that the proposed Northeast District Conceptual Master Plan, which covers the area south of Lake Nona, if approved as it is would destroy important natural areas.

“We shouldn’t jump on the first offer that comes along,” he said in reference to the plan, which involves a 17,150-acre mixed-use development.

He also said he supports pursuing amateur sports as a tourist tax producer.

“It is a good fit for what we do,” he said.

Jose Colon, who is retired and serves on the board of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, said the county needs change and that he is running as an “outsider.” He also said all county departments need to be re-evaluated and that each budget needs to be checked line-by-line.

“The first department that should go is the Economic Development Department – there haven’t been any results,” he said. “We need to bring businesses that result in jobs outside of tourism.”

He also said the county’s Fire Rescue budget needs to be examined closely and that county impact fees are “out of whack” and “ridiculous” in terms of the amounts.

“Small business is the driving force of the economy – we need to bring them here,” he said, adding that new medical-related businesses would mesh with the development in the Lake Nona area or Orange County.

Colon listed lower impact fees, small business incentives and a good credit rating for the county as important goals that he would work toward. The candidate also said he believes county revenue will fall in the coming year and then will remain flat until 2015, when property values would start recovering.

Frank Attkisson, a former state representative and former mayor of Kissimmee, said the county’s high property tax rate, high impact fees and proposed increase to the sales tax “have to be stopped.”

He said the county needs to strengthen its economic development efforts overall but hold the county department working in that area accountable for job creation.

“Let’s incentivize small businesses,” he said, adding that the permitting process for new businesses on the county level has to be streamlined.

Attkisson also called the property tax system “egregious,” characterized impact fees as “horrendous, awful and egregious,” and that county staff have driven the county into a “non-competitive state.”

The candidate said impact fees have to be on par with surrounding counties and that increasing taxation does not stimulate the local economy.

Mel Welch, who owns a local restaurant design consulting business, said his knowledge of running a small business is needed on the commission and that he would work to have a citizen advisory board that truly does provide input to the commission on budgets. He also promised regular town hall meetings.

He is for lower impact fees and lower fire fees. He said that when commissioners agreed on new fire fees several weeks ago, they had it backward: Fire Rescue’s budget should be set based on the revenue available, not set the fees to accommodate a proposed budget.

Welch also said that the county, when establishing sites for new fire stations, should not accept land from developers for that purpose but rather money so that stations are built where they are needed, not where a developer wants them.

Welch also said the two business incubators now in the county must be put to full use and that incentives must be available to attract small businesses to the county.

Donny Shroyer said he believes all current county departments are needed.

Shroyer said he was against raising the fire fees and that the money needed to run Fire Rescue should be part of the general fund tax levy as a way to more equitably spread around the cost of the service.

On having some of the highest impact fees in the state, Shroyer said the county during the housing boom “jumped on the bandwagon and took what they could.”

He also said the county should more aggressively market local destinations abroad to attract foreign tourists.

Shroyer was the only candidate to say he expects a property tax revenue turnaround for the county.

If approved, he said Amendment 4 would bog down the county’s development approval process. He also said he “isn’t for the Northeast District” unless it is well planned and does not destroy ecologically sensitive areas.

Don Miers, who works in sports promotions for the county, said his platform is built on managing growth and protecting the environment by fostering infill development rather than urban sprawl, protecting the existing urban growth boundary, balancing the county budget without job losses and building good relationships with the cities with an eye toward consolidation of services.

More specifically, Miers said the county Economic Development Department needs to be tweaked to allow it to help existing small businesses and to attract new ones. He also said the commission needs to look at the Building Department and see how the permitting process can be streamlined.

He also said the commission must take a close look at Fire Rescue’s budget and find ways to cut it so continued increases fees aren’t necessary.

“Put the onus on the fire chief and his staff to find cuts without cutting the level of service.  I think they could have done it if they were forced to,” Miers said.

Miers also said the county is scaring new development away to neighboring counties with its high impact fees, should live within its means and should consider consolidation of some services with the two cities and the Osceola County School District.

On Amendment 4, Miers said commissioners should represent the public and make the decisions about local comprehensive plans, not voters.

On the Northeast District issue, the candidate said he does not support it at this time.

“Much of that land is environmentally sensitive … plus I’d rather see us get folks into our foreclosed and vacant homes before we consider building new ones,” he said.

The candidate also said he favors the county promoting more amateur sports but that the county at this time does not have the money to buy land on which to build a new amateur sports complex. Instead, he said new playing fields should be developed on property the county already owns – Austin Tindall Regional Park, Mac Overstreet Park, the Chapman property next to the Osceola County Stadium and on land next to the Osceola County Softball Complex.