Fallan Patterson
Staff Writer

St. Cloud City Council members and Osceola County commissioners met Sept. 13 to discuss consolidating services to save money and which road projects take priority if voters approve a penny sales tax on Nov. 2

Osceola County Commission Chairman Fred Hawkins Jr. proposed managers from both St. Cloud and Kissimmee meet with County Manager Don Fisher to determine if services – such as the building department, code enforcement and emergency response – could be consolidated and shared among the three agencies.

“Next year it’s going to be the same thing. We’re going to be in arrears again,” Hawkins said. “I don’t want to turn down anything (that’s going) to save tax dollars.”

Councilwoman Mickey Hopper said she wants further discussion on preserving jobs as well as saving money.

“I’m not sure if I want to, not give up, but let go of some of the things that we have,” she said. “I know I consider our employees more of a family than anything else and with giving up, giving back, someone is going to lose a job.”

The proposal would save money by closing offices and consolidating employees. For example, a countywide building department would have two offices, one each in St. Cloud and Kissimmee, and building policies for all three entities could be looked up at any office.

“We all want to protect the people who work for us and their families but we have to look at the community in 10 years,” County Commissioner Michael Harford said. “There’s pain in any progress. Just like any other business, you want to reduce your costs. We keep the best and move forward.”

A strawpoll among elected officials decided discussions would begin among the managers to determine if any consolidation is feasible.

“We have to at least have a dialogue. We definitely want to do our due diligence and have all the facts,” Harford said.

Other business discussed included the 1 percent surtax on November’s ballot, which, according to the county manager’s office, would pump an additional $1 billion into the Osceola County economy over the lifetime of the tax, create thousands of jobs and put local businesses back to work.

According to Fisher, the 13 roads already designated by the county that would be upgraded using surtax revenue would drop to failing service levels over the next 15 years without improvements. Better roads could entice more businesses to operate in the county, Fisher said.

“It would be a way for the county to control its own destiny,” he said. “It’s a tool to attract higher paying jobs.”

Three road projects would benefit St. Cloud specifically. Old Canoe Creek Road, from Kissimmee Park Road to Canoe Creek Road, would be the fifth highest priority project. Two phases of Canoe Creek Road from Nolte Road to Old Canoe Creek Road and from U.S. Highway 192 to Nolte Road; they would be the last two projects on the list.

“I think it would be a tremendous uplift for the city of St. Cloud,” Fisher said.