Hi, kids!

It’s time once again to turn a jaundiced eye toward the newsmakers of the day – the winners and losers – who, in my cynical opinion, either contributed to our quality of life, or detracted from it, in some significant way.

Let’s look at who tried to screw us – and who tried to save us – during the week that was:

Asshole           Volusia County School Board

Given the cascade of controversies that have recently befallen Volusia County District Schools, it was my fervent hope that our beleaguered school board would find their equilibrium, perhaps privately impress upon Superintendent Carmen Balgobin the importance of transparency, accountability, and stability to restoring trust.      

That didn’t happen…   

Frankly, when it comes to the machinations of our elected officials – and the near constant flubs, botches, fumbles, and bumbles of Balgobin and her well-paid senior coterie – I’m as bored opining on these variations on the same dreadful theme each week as you must be suffering through them…  

In all sincerity, like many standing on the sidelines watching this horrific trainwreck playout in excruciating detail, it was my wish that our elected representatives would find the collective vision to see what must be done – then take decisive action to right the ship – especially now that the education of anxious students and the livelihoods of hundreds of dedicated educators lies in the balance. 

Now, this terrible quagmire is ebbing from bad to worse…  

The foundational principle of leadership is the moral courage to accept responsibility for mistakes and oversights, especially during times of chaos and adversity, because deflection, projection, and spreading of blame by senior administrators compounds the turmoil and further erodes the public’s faith in the organization. 

In my view, what happened this week in the cloistered Ivory Tower of Power in DeLand was inexcusable – and something that should result in the immediate resignation of Superintendent Balgobin and her clown troupe of a “cabinet” (whose foci will now turn to career preservation) – if not the entire Volusia County School Board, en masse – because a leadership vacuum would be more stabilizing than allowing this malignancy to destroy the very heart of Volusia County Schools…

In recent weeks, Volusia County taxpayers, students, teachers, and staff learned (by email) that despite the repeated concerns of our elected representatives – Superintendent Balgobin inexplicably continued to use finite federal emergency relief funds for recurring personnel expenses.    

As that revenue source draws to a close in September, an estimated 284 teachers are being “displaced,” popular electives eliminated, and core subjects diluted amidst growing fears of overcrowded classrooms next year. 

Now, in keeping with the worst traditions of what passes for governance in Volusia County (which has a terrible history of tolerating toxicity until it’s too late) the finger pointing and obfuscation begins at all levels…  

In a disturbing exposé by reporter Mary Ellen Ritter writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal this week, we returned to the marque dysfunction that marks the Balgobin administration as her attempts to deflect blame by claiming she “inherited” this predictable fiscal crisis were called out as “misrepresentations” by former Superintendent Scott Fritz – who was terminated with extreme prejudice by the School Board following a mysterious internal contretemps in 2022. 

According to the report, “At a school board workshop in May 2022, (former Chief Financial Officer) Snead presented a budget update in which she stated that the district was using emergency funding for permanent positions. She predicted that if the district was unable to locate additional revenue sources or make expenditure reductions in fiscal year 2025, it would have a negative financial condition ratio in fiscal year 2026.

“It really wasn’t an inherited issue. It was something that they’ve done since (Fritz’s term) to not stay the course,” Fritz said. “When the former CFO told them that if you did these things, you would be $53.3 million in deficit, she laid it out. This was over two years ago. She laid it out for them and told them that this was going to happen.”

Balgobin was not employed by the district when the 2022 workshop took place. She left her position as deputy superintendent of Volusia County Schools in March 2022 for a position in Broward County before returning as Volusia’s superintendent in July 2022. However, current board members Jamie Haynes, Anita Burnette, Carl Persis and Ruben Colón were in attendance.”

Perhaps equally disturbing, rather than demonstrate the strong leadership necessary during uncertain times, School Board Chair Jamie Haynes chose not to respond to the News-Journal’s telephone call, instead issuing this grammatical nightmare:

“My position on the use of non-reoccurring (sic) dollars has been consistently stated each and every time the issue has come up. I did not support the use of any non-reoccurring (sic) funds for ANY (sic) permanent positions.”

Perhaps more troubling, board members Anita Burnette and Carl Persis couldn’t be bothered to respond to the News-Journal’s inquiry in any form…   

In Chairwoman Haynes defense, last week, a snippet of a June 2023 board meeting emerged in which she clearly directed Superintendent Balgobin to look at all positions that are not required or mandated by state edict – then make the tough decisions to ensure that every student has a teacher in their classroom – even if that means hacking the thick rind of fat at the top.  

Instead, teachers are now being “displaced” and important programs clumsily axed as part of Balgobin’s ham-handed and ill-defined “plan” – one that still hasn’t congealed just five months from the day the well runs dry… 

My God.

The district’s shambolic ‘cur chasing its tail’ tactic took a more ominous turn when Superintendent Balgobin again deflected responsibility – this time spinelessly shunting the “people” question (i.e., living/breathing teachers, paraprofessionals, and staff) to the district’s clueless Chief Financial Officer:

“When The News-Journal contacted Balgobin directly, she said that she did not want to “go back and forth on people,” and deferred to Todd Seis, the district’s current CFO.

According to Seis, “Balgobin stated it correctly” at the April 9 board meeting when she said the current administration “inherited” this financial issue.

“The problem is that there’s no other funding source that you can identify with over $46 million worth of people sitting in your ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) funds that are recurring and need to come back to the general (fund),” Seis said. “We inherited this issue that Lisa Snead identified… This current administration is taking care of and identifying and resolving, so we can move forward as a district so we can make sure that we continue to operate with a balanced budget.”

Danielle Johnson, Volusia’s director of community information, said later that Seis was likely speaking generally when providing estimates. She confirmed that a more a “more precise” figure falls slightly under $45.7 million.”

Call me a skeptic, but it is increasingly apparent that neither Superintendent Balgobin nor her senior bean counters have any identifiable plan in place – beyond kicking the problem down the hill to hapless principals and ordering them to “deal with it.” 

In my experience, when it comes to errors and omissions, most people can forgive what they see themselves doing.  I don’t believe anyone who manages a household budget could fathom using a short-term windfall for recurring expenses – a fiscal recipe for disaster.

This is the antithesis of stability and transparency – and nervous stakeholders deserve answers. 

In my view, the need for the school board to protect their constituents from Balgobin’s blunders is now undeniable. 

Angel               Ormond Beach City Commission

I took some time off last week, and upon my return to Florida, I instinctively knew I was home by the noxious brown cloud of dirt billowing across I-95 from a massive land clearing operation near the unsightly U.S-1 overpass – the dusty result of heavy equipment churning more, more, more greenspace into a barren moonscape to make way for yet another “Active Lifestyle Community” in Ormond Beach.  

Gross.

As a lifelong resident, I’ve learned to take small victories where I can find them, and last week the Ormond Beach City Commission did something it rarely does and stood tall in the face of saber-rattling from an out-of-town land-use attorney.

Instead of tucking tail and nervously piddling in their expensive pants, the elected officials demonstrated real courage and issued a resounding thumbs down to a controversial rezoning request that would have seen hundreds of cracker boxes shoehorned onto the former Tomoka Oaks golf course.   

For the past few years, residents – galvanized by the threat of overdevelopment in this historic neighborhood – have fought valiantly to preserve the unique qualities of Tomoka Oaks – while the developers, who clearly have different equities, hammered away at Ormond Beach officials as they sought to construct a community within a community on the former golf course. 

In the view of many, the development is wholly inappropriate for the area, representing a drastic increase in density that will change the unique character of the neighborhood, result in thousands of additional vehicle trips on area roads, more overcrowding, and a diminished quality of life for surrounding residents in The Trails, Escondido, and beyond.

Normally, “growth at all costs” is a foregone conclusion in Halifax area commission chambers where the rubber stamp seems to edge out smart growth initiatives every time. But sometimes those we elect and appoint to make the complex decisions that affect our lives and livelihoods get it right.

In January, the Ormond Beach Planning Board voted unanimously to recommend denial of a request by the developers of Tomoka Reserve, d/b/a Triumph Oaks of Ormond Beach, to rezone the former golf course to R-2 “single family low density” after the parcel’s previous Planned Residential Development designation expired.

Under the R-2 zoning – which was wielded like a cudgel by the developers and referred to as the “Nuclear Option” by concerned residents – Triumph Oaks would have been permitted to cram hundreds of homes in the Tomoka Oaks “doughnut hole” with substantially reduced buffers. 

To their credit, when the chips were down, the Ormond Beach City Commission did the right thing – for the right reason – and stood firm to the city’s commitment to limit the adverse impacts of increased density on area residents. 

In response, the developer’s Ponte Vedra based attorney, Karl Sanders, openly threatened that the City Commission’s denial could result in a crippling lawsuit.

According to a report by News-Journal business editor Clayton Park, “You’ve got a $40 million damages claim waiting out there,” Sanders told the City Commissioners before the vote. “No one wants to do that which is why I am imploring you to follow what the law requires and give these property owners the property rights they’re entitled to.”

Whoa.

The Bert J. Harris, Jr., Private Property Rights Protection Act is the weapon of mass destruction used by land-use attorneys – the ominous threat of a massive lawsuit when landowners feel a government action, even when taken in the public interest, “devalues the highest and best use” of their property – and I am quite certain the City of Ormond Beach does not wish to be Mr. Sanders’ pour encourager les autres…

That’s why I hope the spirit of negotiation is still alive.

Throughout this protracted process, the residents of Tomoka Oaks and surrounding neighborhoods have sought reasonable concessions that would reduce density, increase environmental buffers, and alleviate traffic concerns – or see the golf course returned to its intended use or converted to much needed greenspace.

Now, one would hope that if the developers of Tomoka Reserve genuinely care about protecting the character of the existing neighborhood (while realizing the profit they are entitled to) they will return to the bargaining table and seek, as City Commissioner Harold Briley suggests, a “magic number” – a compromise that hundreds of existing residents can live with. 

I like Commissioner Briley and consider him a friend, but as an accomplished realtor/elected representative, he is often caught between a rock and his professions bread-and-butter. 

But he makes a valid point.

In my view, continued negotiation and concession should prevail as both sides work toward a mutually agreeable solution – free from the legal threats, bullying, and coercion that is destroying the unique character of communities across the width and breadth of Florida.   

Angel               Community Activist Steve Koenig  

Earlier this month our community lost the great Steve Koenig – a true gentleman and fierce warrior for all that is right and just – a staunch and unrivaled advocate for preserving our quality of life here on Florida’s “Fun Coast.”

I first met Steve when he served as a frequent contributor to the late Big John’s radio forum “GovStuff Live!” 

Like anyone who had the pleasure of interacting with Steve, I was incredibly impressed with his sharp intellect, broad knowledge of regional issues and the personalities who practice politics in these parts, and his innate ability to build consensus among diverse opinions through the always courteous debate of ideas. 

Most of all, I admired Steve’s inherent kindness. 

By his personal example, Steve Koenig kept alive the lost art of civil discourse, furthering the robust, but respectful, debate of the challenges we collectively face while remaining friends and neighbors.    

During our friendship, Steve was always exceedingly gracious to me and wonderfully supportive of this blogsite, and he gave me the opportunity to speak before The Bellaire Community Group and participate in various moderated discussions of pertinent local issues.   

He didn’t have to do that – and I have always been grateful that Steve thought to include me…

Along with his loving wife Nancy, Steve served the Halifax area and beyond in many important ways – not the least of which was his 17-year stewardship of The Bellaire Community Group – the largest neighborhood organization in Daytona Beach committed to protecting and enhancing the beachside lifestyle.  

In 2003, Steve and Nancy formed Koenig Realty, and he frequently spoke of the pride he felt in his remarkable service to others – and the ethics, standards, and reputation he championed for his beloved profession. 

In addition to his community involvement, Steve’s leadership included service as president of the Daytona Beach Board of Realtors and district vice president for Florida Realtors, as well as many board appointments and volunteer positions both locally and at the state level.

Steve Koenig leaves behind a loving family and a trove of devoted friends and colleagues to cherish his memory – and his admirable legacy of service above self. 

Thank you, Steve. Godspeed.

Your important contributions to our community will be sorely missed…

Quote of the Week

“Volusia County School Board member Jessie Thompson asked the board to pay her $459 dues to the Florida Conservative Coalition of School Board Members, a group she heads that’s based out of her home.

Thompson is the president of the organization, which calls itself “nonpartisan” but is only open to “conservative school board members,” according to its website.

At its Tuesday meeting, board member Ruben Colón made a motion to deny the request. Carl Persis seconded the motion, which passed 4-1 with Thompson opposed.”

–Reporter Mary Ellen Ritter, as excerpted from her article “Volusia School Board member wants taxpayers to fund dues to conservative group she heads,” The Daytona Beach News-Journal, Monday, April 15, 2024

Look, I don’t care where you “identify” on todays convoluted political spectrum – those divisive self-affixed sobriquets that now bear no semblance to traditional “conservative” or “liberal” values – no longer used to describe one’s political ideology or affiliation, but rather a slur, always coupled with “idiot,” “nutjob,” “wingnut,” or worse when hurled at the “opposition.”  

For instance, the (wink-wink) “non-partisan” Volusia County Council is presently comprised of seven self-described “Republicans” who are currently ramrodding a $10+ million allocation of taxpayer dollars for a motocross track – pissing away precious public resources while their constituents face serious budgetary shortfalls…

Does that bear any similarity to the “fiscally conservative values” they claim to hold dear each campaign cycle?    

Trust me – most of these insufferable jacklegs the local cognoscenti hand-select for public office don’t have a clue what true conservatism means – more focused on the care and feeding of the bloated bureaucracy they now exist to serve – rather than the needs of their tax strapped constituents who are expected to pay the bills in silent subservience… 

In my jaded view, those venerated concepts which once differentiated our two-party system – when “republicans” believed in limited government, a strong defense, conservative spending, and our sacrosanct individual liberties – while “democrats” took a more liberal view of social issues and community accountability, progressive economic policies, and increased government control and regulation – have now mutated into a weird “Red v. Blue” polarization – political extremism marked by a hundred different philosophies all massed on the ragged margins of both parties leaving no room for compromise or collegiality.    

Just one man’s view – your opinion most assuredly will differ… 

But what has Barker the Bitcher’s knickers in a twist this week is Volusia County School Board member Jessie Thompson’s brazen attempt to stick taxpayers with a $459 bill for her annual dues in some cobbled together club called the Florida Conservative Coalition of School Board Members – a homegrown (literally) partisan group whose invoice just happens to contain Thompson’s home address and telephone number… 

You read that right.

In Ms. Ritter’s article, we learned that before the school board’s vote on the item, “Thompson said if the board didn’t support her dues, she would opt out of her FSBA (Florida School Board Association) funding for funding that will cover her coalition dues.”

“In comparing the two organizations, Thompson said, “It is not in competition with FSBA, but it is running parallel, and it is providing networking education to school board members around the state, some that have opted out of FSBA (and) some that are still part of FSBA. It comes at a substantial less cost, so that’s been a reason for some, but others didn’t agree with certain things taught at FSBA.”

Parallel? 

Not even close…

I encourage Volusia County taxpayers to compare the websites of both organizations (www.fsba.org and www.conservetheboard.com) and determine which provides our elected board members training, resources, and advocacy – regardless of political affiliation or ideology – and which appears to be Thompson’s cockamamie cottage industry?

More important, how does any of this “separate but parallel” exclusiveness improve our children’s education, foster communication, build bridges, promote mutual understanding, seek solutions to common issues, or help recover from the gross maladministration Ms. Thompson and her colleagues on the dais continue to permit at Volusia County schools? 

I’m asking.  Because seeking public funds for private interests is typically frowned upon by those who pay the bills…

I realize Ms. Thompson bills herself as a stand-up comedian – but this sick joke isn’t funny.

In fact, I find her request particularly inappropriate when hundreds of Volusia County teachers are worrying about their future – while students and parents make impassioned pleas to preserve educational opportunities – amidst the school board’s unmitigated failure to ensure Superintendent Carmen Balgobin had a strategic plan for the anticipated loss of $200 million in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds.

I could care less which way Ms. Thompson leans politically.  In fact, I would still feel robbed if she sought tax dollars for membership in the Lunatic Fringe Chapter of the Florida Progressive Moon-Bat Federation (I’m sure one exists…)

In my view, asking taxpayers to foot the bill for her admission to an echo-chamber operated from her own home amid a raging budgetary crisis affecting the lives of real people is not only poor optics – it reeks of something more sinister…

And Another Thing!

“A fool and his money are soon parted.”

–Thomas Tusser, 1573

Sadly, the same is true of Florida taxpayers…

Earlier this week, I chuckled to myself when reporter Mark Harper asked the rhetorical question in The Daytona Beach News-Journal:

“How did ERAU’s $1.5 million state budget request turn into $26 million?”

You get three guesses and the first two don’t count…

In Mr. Harper’s disturbing revelation, we learned that a $1.5 million ask by Rep. Chase Tramont of Port Orange and Sen. Travis Hutson of St. Augustine for a “Technology Focused Ecosystem at the (ERAU) Research Park,” magically morphed into a $26 million grab – ostensibly to fund research activities by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and the University of Central Florida. 

Say what?

I found it interesting that Tramont and Hutson now seem just as baffled by this remarkable mutation as the rest of us. 

In an “Aw shucks, I dunno” dodge, “Neither Tramont nor Hutson said they had more information about the changed budget amount, saying that the change occurred after their role in the process.”

“The Legislature’s public information office has yet to respond to a request for any documentation of the new budget amount, and the University of Central Florida − originally contacted for comment on Friday − has yet to respond.”

Weird, eh? 

Fortunately, the incredibly powerful House appropriations chair Rep. Tom Leek of Ormond Beach shed light on the multi-million-dollar mystery when he reported, “It was very simple for me,” Leek said in a text message. “There was an opportunity to bring high tech, high paying, clean energy jobs to Volusia County, and a remarkable partnership between UCF Daytona and ERAU. I was happy to make it a reality.”

Now I’m really confused…

Our state allocation process now consists of individual committee chairs unbuckling the public purse and taking out what they need whenever an “opportunity” presents?    

God help us…

Regardless, please add the names of every taxpayer in the Sunshine State to that “remarkable partnership” between ERAU and UCF.

According to the News-Journal report, Rodney Cruise, senior vice president and chief operating officer at Embry-Riddle, gushed over the chance for the new ERAU/UCF mind meld to pursue “bleeding edge” research of “hypersonic technology” for defense, aviation, and aerospace applications. 

That’s a great thing – a much needed national capability as we seek to keep pace with our increasingly aggressive adversaries.

But I’m curious why these universities – UCF, a public research university with a published endowment of $215 million – and Embry-Riddle, a private institution with an estimated endowment of $241 million – cannot fund their own for-profit research activities?

According to the News-Journal, “…the Congressional Research Service states that the Pentagon significantly boosted its request for funding of hypersonic research, from $3.8 billion in 2022 to $4.7 billion the following year.” 

So, why are state officials digging $26 million deep into our threadbare pockets for something the federal government is already funding – at a private, for-profit university with ample endowments?   

More important, where does it end?

Although Gov. Ron DeSantis has yet to sign the budget – and has the authority to veto the item altogether – I would be incredibly surprised if that happened. 

My educated guess says that our High Panjandrum of Political Power, Mori Hosseini, who happens to be King for Life of ERAU’s board of trustees, is the master magician behind the multiplying money sleight-of-hand in Tallahassee…

I could be wrong – but as history repeatedly proves – what Mori wants, Mori gets – and how that happens in the Hallowed Halls of Power in Tallahassee is no concern of yours, rube.

Keep moving, nothing to see here, folks…

In another odd development that defies all logic and reason (and sound fiscal policy), this week Volusia County officials hosted a Q&A with residents concerned about the proposed use of $10+ million in taxpayer funds to underwrite a motocross track for Councilman Don Dempsey. 

According to WKMG’s Molly Reed, during a recent meeting Councilman Dempsey pouted, “We have several softball fields, baseball fields, soccer fields, we have now pickleball courts and the county keeps kicking in millions for that,” said County Councilman Don Dempsey.”

“There’s not one single place in this county where a parent or grandparent can bring a child to go ride dirt bikes,” he said.”

(Note to Councilman Dempsey:  The obvious difference being, those are recreational activities available to the masses – popular pursuits for those strapped Volusia County residents and retirees who don’t have thousands of dollars to purchase specialty motorcycles, personal protective equipment, trailers, RV’s, trucks, etc. – or possess the exceptional physical abilities required to participate at any level.)

Whatever.

According to WKMG, the tracks exorbitant public price tag isn’t the only thing concerning some Volusia County residents as officials narrow their sights on 65-acres of public property off Tomoka Farms Road near Port Orange: 

“The sound of buzzing motors, though, is not appealing for some near this potential site.

“We moved out to the country to be isolated, not have a track right on top of us now,” said Michael Glasnak.

Glasnak, who owns a home and business near the site, said he worries about the sound and traffic.

“They’re putting it on a curve, that is a dangerous curve. The entrance is going to be right behind our houses. They’re going to have to light that up,” he said.”

In my view, it is high time these self-described “pro-business fiscal conservatives” who occupy the Volusia County Council get the hell out of the marketplace (and our pockets) and allow the competition of free enterprise and entrepreneurship to flourish. 

While we are told there are still plenty of humps, bumps, and whoop-de-doos to work out, our stewards of the public trust in DeLand – without any plan for how to pay for this nice-to-have – have already authorized a study by a private consultant, and public meetings are quickly underway to sell Dempsey’s Folly to wary Volusia County taxpayers.

Full throttle, wide open, damn the risks – or the cost…

Never mind the fact Volusia County residents were recently shocked to learn our stormwater fund is hemorrhaging money – something that will ultimately effect everyone living or doing business in Volusia County – as widespread flooding from irresponsible overdevelopment begins to inundate a neighborhood near you.

Unfortunately, catastrophic flooding could be the least of our concerns in Volusia County when you consider:

Transportation infrastructure.

The most dangerous roadways in the nation.

A county operating budget now exceeding $1.1 Billion.

Water quality.

Affordable housing.

Beach management and erosion control.

How about SunRails proposed multi-billion-dollar expansion to OIA and Disney? 

Screw it.  Donnie “Braaap-Braaap” Dempsey want’s a new play toy… 

In my jaded view, each budget/election cycle – at all levels of government – we continue to see the pernicious influence of powerful special interests, cronyism, corporate welfare, and those who benefit from their bought-and-paid-for suckling position at the public teat, always at the expense (and detriment) of overstressed taxpayers.

Then, when We, The Little People seek answers to puzzling questions – like how a $1.5 million request somehow transformed into a $26 million publicly funded windfall for Mr. Hosseini’s private fiefdom at his Harvard of the Sky – taxpayers are treated like mushrooms by those we elect to represent our interests – kept in the dark and fed bullshit.   

That’s all for me.  Have a great final weekend of Jeep Beach 2024, y’all!

Hi, kids!

It’s time once again to turn a jaundiced eye toward the newsmakers of the day – the winners and losers – who, in my cynical opinion, either contributed to our quality of life, or detracted from it, in some significant way.

Let’s look at who tried to screw us – and who tried to save us – during the week that was:

(Barker’s View is publishing this edition of Angels & Assholes a day early this week as your intrepid scribe departs for opening day of Spring turkey season in Northern Virginia this weekend.  Please don’t fret for the safety of those big Old Dominion tom’s – the only Wild Turkey I’m likely to see is in my après hunt whiskey glass – and that’s okay by me.  I enjoy the tradition, spending time in the woods, and the companionship of great friends.  Thanks for your understanding.  A&A will return later this month.) 

Asshole           Volusia County Council

Something interesting happened last week at the Volusia County Council meeting, one of those rare moments of enlightenment when We, The Little People get a glimpse of how our decision-makers think, reason, and rationalize.

What we witnessed should send a shudder through everyone who lives and pays taxes here on the “Fun Coast.”

I find it amazing that when faced with a crisis, those chameleons on the dais of power have the fantastic ability to transmogrify into something completely different – a lycanthropic shapeshift that has elected officials who previously refused to even acknowledge the possibility that explosive growth and the resultant change in topography and hydrology of the land has contributed to widespread flooding – now present themselves as idealistic environmentalists who share our fear as a means of driving the revenue increase they hope will alleviate the threat.

Bullshit.

It is this théâtre de l’absurde that I find so fascinating about local politics and governance – that well-choreographed kabuki where everyone plays their designated role – alternately telling us what they think we want to hear while subliminally setting the stage for “what comes next.”   

Since day one of his tumultuous term, Chairman Jeff Brower has been openly and repeatedly gaslighted by his “colleagues” – castigated, marginalized, painted as an irresponsible and ineffective dirt-worshiping buffoon – for having the courage to speak out on the environmental issues that most Volusia County residents see as important to our future. 

Not the least of which is the disastrous problem of stormwater showing up in Volusia County homes and businesses every time we have a rain event – while their new neighbors in recently built subdivisions sit high-and-dry atop a fresh mound of fill dirt… 

Floodwater is one of those things that won’t be ignored. 

It can’t be swept under the rug, camouflaged as something it is not, or, given its recurring nature, explained away as another “once in a lifetime” event.  Stormwater is intrusive, it moves and flows with the simplicity of gravity then stands its ground, and when the natural processes that allow rain to make its way back to the aquifer are blocked by impermeable surfaces and quickly overwhelm retention systems, the foul water, polluted by chemicals and nutrients, flows into rivers, estuaries, and watersheds.       

Unlike cowardly past councils – kicking the stormwater can down the dusty political trail is no longer an option in 2024 – nor is dismissing flooding as a historically common occurrence (it isn’t).  Now it is glaringly evident that our ‘powers that be’ have painted themselves into a tight corner, caught without a plan, or the money to effectively address the problem if they did. 

Expenditures in Volusia County’s stormwater utility are estimated to be 114% over the programs operating revenue in 2026-2027 – something alternately explained as increases in personnel costs and an insane operational reliance on federal coronavirus funds. 

Wow.                          

Look, I’m not a budget analyst, but that doesn’t sound sustainable (or responsible) to me…

In an informative article by Jarleene Almenas writing in the Ormond Beach Observer last week, we got a peek at the weird mental gymnastics on the dais, such as when Councilman Jake Johansson metamorphosed into a hand-wringing tree-hugger – openly acknowledging sea level rise, climate change, density, and development-induced flooding – right before our eyes – then dumbed it down to terms us uneducated bumpkins could understand:

“Councilman Jake Johansson said the most common complaint he hears from residents, other than taxes, is flooding. He was supportive of a “stair step approach” to increase the program’s level of service.

“I think people will give up a six-pack or three of beer a month to help put a dent in the flooding issues that we’re seeing, regardless of the reason — sea level rise, climate change, development,” Johansson said. “It’s all probably coming anyhow, right? We have a flood of water. We have a flood of sea level rise and we have a flood of people coming. We have to balance all those.”

It turn, Councilman Troy Kent rightfully called out the spinelessness of previous iterations of the Volusia County Council:

“Fee increases tend to hurt the most needy, said County Councilman Troy Kent, who voted against the increase.

“That doesn’t escape me when we’re making heavy decisions like this,” Kent said. “But it also doesn’t escape me that prior elected bodies will sometimes go years or decades without making small incremental increases, and then you’re hit with, ‘Hey we’re in a crisis situation and we’re going to increase everybody’s rate to an astronomical number.’ That doesn’t feel good.”

According to the Observer’s report:

“Councilman David Santiago, who voted against an increase to $7.50, thought $8 was too small of an increase to address issues, but that it was a start.

“Let’s tell Volusia that we’re serious about flooding and it costs money to do the projects,” Santiago said.

Councilman Danny Robins brought up a sales tax as another funding mechanism. Santiago asked if he was suggested exploring a referendum for a stormwater sales tax.

“Is it better for our visitors to pay for a portion of it to alleviate this, instead of putting 100% of the burden on our residents?” Robin (sic) said.

Santiago said he was open to the conversation.

“If we go there, it has to be very narrowly defined because of the failures in the past to do things like that,” Santiago said.”

In response to my views on the issue in last week’s A&A, Councilman Robins responded in an open post on Facebook’s popular local political forum “Volusia Issues”:

“Nothing for nothing, I never said I supported a sales tax, I actually denounced it 2x, once in that agenda item and once when John Nickleson came up to speak promoting it.

I made the argument what is the difference between this increased stormwater tax and a sales tax targeting stormwater and infrastructure projects? This was Political Tomato / Tomaato in my opinion. Neither one keeps up with the hyper inflation and honestly don’t know how much it would help. And I left it with “Something doesn’t feel right about this.”

These community related blogs used be capturing, factual and educational. The last few years they morphed into the same cherry picking, creative writing articles just like CNN.”

Apparently, Councilman Robins is falling back on the old “I didn’t say what you think I meant” dodge – and it’s the messenger’s fault that we are staring down the barrel of a triple-digit deficit in the county’s historically inadequate stormwater program…

I wasn’t the only one who was ‘misinformed’ as to Mr. Robins’ intentions.    

On Monday, the West Volusia Beacon published an article entitled “Are you ready for a new sales tax?”

“Council Member Danny Robins suggested the possibility of a referendum on a “stormwater tax.” The debate came after Public Works Director Benjamin Bartlett warned about a lack of cash to keep up with the problems the county now faces.”

Please watch for yourself and form your own conclusions on whether a “stormwater sales tax” is a distinct possibility:  https://tinyurl.com/3ypmshw8  (Mr. Robins’ conundrum begins at approximately 8:15:25)

I suspect time will tell exactly what Robins and Santiago were getting at when they bandied about a sales tax increase when discussing revenue shortfalls… 

The fact is, in many parts of Volusia County, Joe & Jane Six Pack are standing knee-deep in stagnant stormwater – rightfully worried about the exponential impacts of permitting more, more, more growth with this asinine cart before the horse strategy without a viable plan to improve our transportation and utilities infrastructure – or a reasonable means of paying for it beyond taxing the eyeballs out of residents and visitors alike.     

Angel               Attorney Chobee Ebbets & Seventh Day Baptist Church

This week, the venerated Daytona Beach attorney Chobee Ebbets filed a pro bono action on behalf of Seventh Day Baptist Church.

The church doesn’t want money. 

They want to help those less fortunate… 

Last fall, Daytona Beach officials visited First Christian Church on South Palmetto Avenue and Seventh Day Baptist Church on Live Oak Avenue – both located within the vast food desert that is the Downtown Redevelopment Area – and ordered them to cease their food drives.

The code enforcement action came following a complaint from an area resident who objected to people waiting for sustenance near the church.  It came as a surprise for both houses of worship as the food pantries have been serving the community long before an ordinance was passed prohibiting food distribution programs in designated redevelopment areas.

Although First Christian Church was later found to have been “grandfathered” in and was allowed to reopen their food pantry – officials could find no record that Seventh Day Baptist had registered their operation with the City of Daytona Beach. 

Apparently, there’s no record that they were ever told they needed to register either…

According to an excellent report by Eileen Zaffiro-Kean writing in The Daytona Beach News-Journal this week:

“Ebbets has said he doesn’t see the food pantry causing problems. He maintains in the lawsuit that the city’s code prohibiting food pantries in redevelopment areas is “overbroad, arbitrary, capricious, discriminatory, and selective,” and was used against Seventh Day Baptist Church in a way that amounted to “an unlawful exercise of the city’s police powers.”

A special magistrate hearing on the food pantry code violation that has been delayed repeatedly since November was scheduled for Tuesday, but was continued again because of the new lawsuit.”

(Find the News-Journal’s informative article here: https://tinyurl.com/vutnz567 )

Rather than seeking damages, the lawsuit asks for declaratory judgment and an injunction stopping the enforcement action to allow the Seventh Day Baptist food pantry to continue serving needy people in the community. 

According to a November 2023 News-Journal report, Mr. Ebbets felt called to help when he witnessed hungry people being turned away.

“Today I saw people with carts turned away,” said Ebbets, whose law office is in a 113-year-old coquina house next door to Seventh Day Baptist Church.

Ebbets doesn’t want to see anyone else sadly walking back home with an empty cart or bag.  He said he’ll sue the city if it doesn’t allow the Seventh Day Baptist Church pantry to reopen soon — and without penalty.”

Mr. Ebbets is a man of his word – and clearly someone who cares. 

The fact is food pantries throughout the region provide nourishment to those experiencing food insecurity.  For instance, the venerated Jerry Doliner Food Bank in Ormond Beach helps feed hundreds of families in Volusia and Flagler Counties each year.

Look, I don’t believe city officials are indifferent to the suffering of its less fortunate citizens – and they are dutybound to respond to citizen complaints – but it appears that Seventh Day Baptist may have been caught in an unfortunate bureaucratic snafu.   

In my view, one characteristic of a healthy community is a sensitivity to the needs of the “least among us” – or at least a willingness to get the hell out of the way while others provide for the welfare of those who desperately need help.

As community compassion declines, so do our civic values, like respect for human dignity, a willingness to confront injustice, kindness, empathy, generosity, and acceptance – the moral imperatives of living together as a society.

Renovation and revitalization in blighted areas of our community is important.  So is how we deal with the interminable problems of hunger and homelessness. 

Here’s hoping Mr. Ebbets and the Seventh Day Baptist Church find a quick resolution in the court – one that allows a return to their important work providing the most basic human need – life-sustaining sustenance – to those who need it most. 

God’s work.

Asshole           Volusia’s Educational literati

It must be nice to be part of the “in-crowd” – those fashionable and influential few who make the difficult decisions that affect our lives and livelihoods here on the “Fun Coast” – a magic often performed in effective darkness so us rubes aren’t bothered with the complex conjuring that we couldn’t begin to comprehend…   

Thank God we have these mystical visionaries looking out for us, eh?  

For instance, I remember a few years back when our elected elite on the Volusia County Council were caught flatfooted – without a viable transportation infrastructure plan while simultaneously refusing to ask their friends and benefactors in the real estate development industry to help pay for the impacts of the sprawl they created – and were instead clamoring for a sales tax increase to pay for it all.

Sound familiar?

At that time, they made it perfectly clear that any of us rubes who rejected the tax increase on grounds our elected officials had failed to address impact fees was comparing “apples and oranges.”

Then, when We, The Little People asked for clarification, our elected prestidigitators gazed down from their lofty perch on the dais and told us not to worry our pretty little heads about it – condescendingly explaining that the chaunts and incantations for calculating impact fees were far too complicated for us hapless dupes to possibly understand.

Remember?  I do. 

Volusia County has a long history of political cliques, coteries, and camps – all supported by those uber-wealthy insiders who underwrite the campaigns of hand select candidates that know exactly what’s best for the rest of us.

That includes thaumaturgists like Superintendent Carmen Balgobin and her all-seeing Coven of Mystics on the Volusia County School Board… 

This week, the fallout from what should have been anticipated funding reductions landed the School Board back in the news when students and stakeholders passionately defended a long-established arts program at Deltona High School – a popular choir that is being cut and its well-respected teacher lost to “displacement” – due to the district’s inability to effectively plan for the end of federal Coronavirus relief funds.

You read that right.

Last month, I asked the question many anxious Volusia County students, parents, teachers, and staff are increasingly worried about, “What do you think the first casualties of the Balgobin administration’s unconscionable lack of planning will be – music, art, physical education, sports, enrichment programs, electives?”

Now we know…

Oddly, those of us who pay the bills never hear about these critical cuts from Superintendent Balgobin herself. 

Why is that? 

Instead, her often draconian diktats are sprung on us – such as the disastrous transfer of Riverview Learning Center to the former Osceola Elementary, a controversial move that has left Ormond Beach residents and officials stunned – or, we learn about them in mass emails and canned press releases handed down from the Ivory Tower of Power in DeLand. 

As a result, members of Balgobin’s ‘clueless cognoscenti’ never need explain themselves to us rabble who pay the bills…

I found it disturbing that rather than study the issue, provide for stakeholder input, then develop a strategic plan for the expected loss of some $200 million in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds – district principals were simply made sacrificial lambs – handed a small pile of horseshit and ordered to make apple pan dowdy – all while board members and senior administrators shrug their shoulders and sigh from on high…

As the school year winds down – grinding toward an uncertain future – watch for the district’s fangshi to continue conjuring ways to replace certified educators with contrived “assistant teachers” (apparently charged with everything from classroom instruction to performing minor surgery…) and “administrative deans” so, as Volusia United Educator’s president Elizabeth Albert put it, the Balgobin administration can “stack ‘em deep and teach ‘em cheap” next year.   

Or, as School Board Member Ruben Colón ominously put it, expect “larger than usual” class sizes next year…

During Tuesday’s board meeting, some 38 speakers submitted forms requesting their three-minute audience – many of them students who were infinitely more articulate, emotionally invested, and better prepared than those expressionless gargoyles on the dais – who received a valuable lesson in what passes for strategic planning and priorities in Volusia County Schools. 

Before they were allowed to address our elected elite – Board Chair Jamie Haynes gave the assembled a warning on the grim fate that awaited anyone who would dare violate Volusia’s Supreme Law of Lèse-majesté while presenting before the Monarchy – including having the Chair subjectively “terminate your privilege” to speak on topics of civic concern in a representative democracy… 

My God.

In my view, the curtain has been pulled and Volusia County’s educational literati – those omniscient elected and appointed Mystics of Magical Methods – have now been exposed for what they truly are: Irresponsible phonies who were caught out when the chips were down. 

Sadly, it is the students and educators of Volusia County who will now pay the price for their gross and inexcusable negligence… 

Quote of the Week

“The rush is on to save the Florida Wildlife Corridor — a ribbon of land and water that runs the length and breadth of Florida. It’s supposed to set aside some space for Florida’s non-human 99% to survive once the state is completely paved over. In 2021, the Florida legislature unanimously agreed to put the corridor into statute and Gov. Ron DeSantis signed it into law.

The Florida Wildlife Corridor is a gold rush too. Florida is spending billions to put conservation easements over corridor lands and also buy corridor land outright. There is not a moment to lose.

Let’s be blunt — Florida is on autopilot to pave over the entire state. It has been for a long time, at least a hundred years. During the past century, Florida has been organized politically, legally, economically, and socially around the goal of converting wildland into money. It is a Florida truth universally acknowledged that every scrap of land (wetlands too) is always on the table for development. No government could/would/should “just say NO.” This socio-economic model implemented and sustained by what I like to call “government of, by and for the developer,” has been fabulously successful, at least from the perspective of real estate development and profit seeking.

The Florida Wildlife Corridor signals official confirmation that the State of Florida will be entirely paved over, and nothing can/will/should stop it but buying land and development rights to ensure conservation.”

–Attorney Leslie Blackner, as excerpted from her guest column, “Florida is on auto-pilot to pave over the entire state,” The Daytona Beach News-Journal, Sunday, April 7, 2024

And Another Thing!

I am a firm believer in the sage adage, “You can’t pick up a turd by the clean end…” 

But come December, that is exactly what Volusia County taxpayers will be asked to do vis-à-vis SunRail.

That said, I suppose it helps if you have some sway with the committee that decides when, where, and how that steaming lump of excreta will be hoisted, eh?    

This week, we learned that Volusia County Council Chair Jeff Brower has been elevated to head the Central Florida Commuter Rail Commission, SunRail’s governing body, comprised of elected officials representing the five local “partners” from the counties of Volusia, Seminole, Orange, Osceola, and the City of Orlando.

For the uninitiated (read: Most taxpayers here in Weedpatch Camp), over the past decade, the Florida Department of Transportation has paid for the operation of the Orlando-centered commuter rail system currently serving 16 stations from Poinciana to DeLand and will begin phasing expenses and operations to the CFCRC by the end of the year. 

According to reports, sometime this spring, the new DeLand SunRail depot will begin offering service to points south.  Unfortunately, if you live and work in Volusia County during the week you won’t get much use from it because, at present, the train still only runs on weekdays.

Given the ever-expanding cost of operation, maintenance, and necessary service expansions – don’t expect that schedule to change anytime soon – at least here in Volusia County.    

Last month, in a report by Al Everson writing in the West Volusia Beacon, we learned of the massive financial burden ahead:

“SunRail has a budget of $81.6 million for the 2023-24 fiscal year that began July 1, 2023 and ends June 30, 2024.

SunRail’s projected revenues, according to the system’s website, will amount to almost $31.4 million. Thus, SunRail has an annual deficit of approximately $50.2 million.

Currently, the Florida Department of Transportation is covering the deficit, but that agency’s handoff of SunRail to the future owners, meaning the local funding partners, means Volusia County and the four other local governments, will become responsible for paying the debt.

As for Volusia County’s possible share of the deficit, County Manager George Recktenwald estimated it would be about $6 million-$7 million per year under the current operating routine. That expense for the county could increase to approximately $10 million annually, “if nights and weekends are added,” he said.

The fares paid by SunRail’s riders total about $2.2 million, or only about 2.6 percent of the system’s cost. Other sources of cash for SunRail come from other trains, mainly Amtrak and CSX, who pay to use the state-owned rails, advertising, train charters, and federal and state grants.”

Whoa. 

Add that to Volusia County’s growing budgetary deficit in various essential services, programs, and utilities – as the vice slowly tightens on our already overwhelmed transportation and stormwater infrastructure – and you begin to see the utter quagmire we’ve been placed in… 

(“Nothing to see here, folks!  Go back to sleep.  Tomato/Tomaato.  Cherry-picking.  CNN, and all.  Just ‘Barker the Bitcher’ spouting from his frothy blowhole again.  There, there, you keep dreaming about motocross tracks, happy talk, six-packs, and Big Rock Candy Mountains…)

Fortunately (for us), a revised agreement between SunRail’s stakeholders now gives individual members the right to opt out of paying for future service expansions they can’t afford (guess which member that is?)  

According to the Beacon’s report, “At the insistence of Volusia County officials, the revised agreements contain safeguards against charging local partners for expansions or extensions of SunRail’s service that one or more members oppose because of costs.”

The downside is that members who can’t/won’t help with costs for expanded services – such as nights and weekends, or a useful extension to Orlando International Airport – would not see that service offered in their area.    

The fact we can’t be forced to pony up for niceties we cannot afford is a positive for us church mice here in Volusia County – the pariah of Central Florida – a social, civic, and economic cautionary tale among our more successful “partners” along the I-4 corridor… 

Needless to say, Chairman Brower has his hands full going forward.

In my experience, when “partners” – defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as “…individuals with interests and investments in a business or enterprise, among whom expenses, profits, and losses are shared,” continuously wail the Poormouth Blues and refuse to share liabilities or help fund increased services – frustration and animosity ensue.

Regardless of how you cut it, this is going to be interesting for already strapped Volusia County taxpayers, especially when you consider that SunRail has now accumulated costs of $1.5 billion, well beyond the $79 million anticipated when the commuter line was proposed in 2000. 

Now that our fellow SunRail partners have elected Volusia’s own Tom Joad to chair the governing body – let’s hope this experiment in rail transportation brings all the economic benefits we were promised, and then some. 

This one bears watching. 

Because many fear if the CFCRC fails to put the right hand on the switch going forward – a public and/or private entity with experience running a successful railroad – SunRail could prove a terribly expensive boondoggle for us poor cousins up here on the “Fun Coast.”      

That’s all for me.  Have a great weekend, y’all!   

Note: On Tuesday, April 16, 2024, beginning at 6:00pm, the Ormond Beach City Commission will consider the highly controversial rezoning of the Tomoka Oaks golf course.

If you care about the threat of increased density, shoehorning more, more, more onto every square inch of greenspace, and the rapid erosion of our quality of life in Volusia County, I encourage you to attend this important meeting and let your feelings be heard.

According to reports, overflow seating will be provided for the large crowd expected…   

The meeting will be held at the Ormond Beach City Hall Commission Chamber, 22 South Beach Street, Ormond Beach.   

Hi, kids!

It’s time once again to turn a jaundiced eye toward the newsmakers of the day – the winners and losers – who, in my cynical opinion, either contributed to our quality of life, or detracted from it, in some significant way.

Let’s look at who tried to screw us – and who tried to save us – during the week that was:

Angel               Daytona Beach City Commission & Salary Review Committee

Without any of the wailing and gnashing of teeth that normally accompanies pay increases for elected bodies, this week the Daytona Beach City Commission approved a well-thought ordinance that sets the mayor’s salary at 75% of that paid to the Volusia County Council Chair while commissioners will earn 75% of the mayor’s salary. 

The measure also allows for an annual review. 

According to the new salary, the mayor will receive $41,059.00 while commissioners will be compensated $23,650.00 annually.    

The salary increase will take effect November 20, 2024, after the city elections. 

The move represents the City Commission’s first pay increase in 18-years.

At the city’s Salary Review Committee’s November 2023 meeting, the citizen board discussed several relevant factors, including:

“The Committee wanted to set a pay rate that would encourage citizens that might not otherwise run for an elected office to pursue the endeavor. There is a significant time commitment and personal costs associated with representing the citizens of the City while serving on the City of Daytona Beach Commission.”

In my view, the Daytona Beach City Commission managed this increase in a thoughtful, civically responsible, and politically tactful way – and few could argue that a raise wasn’t needed or deserved after nearly two-decades.

For reasons I don’t completely understand, Mayor Derrick Henry cast the lone dissenting vote, issuing a deadpan “congratulations” to his colleagues following the 6-1 vote…

My personal belief is that local elected officials at the county and municipal level of government should be reimbursed for actual expenses – made whole for business-related travel and out-of-pocket incidentals – rather than receive a salary for their part-time elective service. 

I know, some perennial politicians – the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker who hold themselves out for public office then moan the Poormouth Blues – will blubber and bawl that holding political office is a full-time, all-encompassing, bone-crushing burden that requires their undivided attention 24/7/365, above and to the exclusion of everything else in their lives…

It doesn’t.  

Let’s face it, McDonaldland isn’t going to fall apart if Mayor McCheese happens to miss some gilded soiree or takes a weekend off from his appointed rounds shaking hands and kissing babies. By charter, day-to-day operations of government are administrated by a professional manager and a staff of career civil servants – subject matter experts who carry out the policies and vision set by the elected officials. 

While I make light of political pomposity, holding elective office is a hard dollar – a position of great civic, social, and fiduciary responsibility to the lives and livelihoods of their neighbors – and if done right, public service requires a high degree of preparation, homework, situational awareness – and hard bark…    

After nearly two-decades, those willing to serve the citizens of Daytona Beach deserve adequate renumeration for the effort.   

Angel               Florida Supreme Court

During my productive life, for many years of my career I was assigned to investigate and enforce narcotics laws – including the importation, distribution, sale, and possession of marijuana. 

Difficult and often dangerous work that I hope made a difference. 

But with the explosive proliferation of deadly chemicals that can kill with a single grain – I’m not sure I did…

Based upon my training and experience, for a time, I instructed law enforcement recruits in drug identification to help prepare them for the various substances – and those under their influence – they would encounter daily.

Now, after all that energy and effort, I’m an old man – and pot is all but legal…

For personal and professional reasons, I’ve never been a pot smoker, but with the advent of medicinal marijuana in Florida and elsewhere, I know people who regularly consume cannabis for its therapeutic (and recreational) effect.    

You do too.

I don’t judge. 

As a degenerate with a pack+ a day Marlboro habit and a copious consumer of blended whiskey – I understand the toll these “legal” (read: heavily taxed) substances take on what’s left of my body, mind, and spirit (and my meager budget…)

This may sound strange coming from someone who spent their life in law enforcement, but I also understand the definition of insanity – doing the same thing over-and-over again while expecting a different result – and for that reason, I support the legalization of recreational (and responsible) marijuana use.    

On Monday, the Florida Supreme Court ruled it will permit a ballot initiative allowing voters to decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana for adults here in the Sunshine State.  The 5-2 decision came in response to a request by Attorney General Ashley Moody seeking to reject the ballot language on grounds the measure fails to explain the continuing federal ban on marijuana among other legal arguments.

More than one-million Floridians signed petitions in support of the initiative. 

To become law, the proposal will require support from 60 percent of voters to pass.  In 2016, 71% of Florida voters approved the state’s medical marijuana statute.   

If voters approve, the amendment will permit the use of recreational marijuana by persons 21 and over and remove criminal or civil penalties for adults who possess and use up to three ounces of cannabis products for personal use that are purchased through licensed distributors. 

Look, your opinion may vary – that’s why we will all have an opportunity to vote the measure up or down in this year’s general election. 

Before all you jokers, smokers, and midnight tokers get your hopes up and renew your High Times subscription (is that still a thing?), there is a long way to go before stopping off at your favorite local dispensary for a sacky of the sticky-icky becomes routine. 

If approved, it will be six-months before the law goes into effect – not including the legislative wrangling, rules, and legal challenges that are sure to come as state government determines how it can best squeeze every possible tax, fee, and surcharge out of the state’s new cash crop… 

But that’s as it should be.  Because opportunities also come with consequences that will require reasonable and responsible regulation.   

The times they are a-changin’, y’all…    

Asshole           Volusia County Council

Newsflash:  Growth doesn’t pay for itself and existing residents of Volusia County – and our fragile environment – are in real trouble…   

In fact, now that our elected and appointed dullards on the dais of power in DeLand are coming up short on how to pay for necessary stormwater and utility upgrades – it appears they are finally ready to admit that malignant sprawl creates exponentially more problems for existing residents – flooding, congestion, utilities, and the civic claustrophobia that results from increased density, among others – requiring more, more, more money (read: increased taxes and fees) to pay for current and future needs.

And to remediate the sins of weak-minded politician’s past…

Don’t get me wrong – the looming issues of infrastructure, stormwater runoff, environmental impacts, utilities upgrades, and other overdue projects, repairs, studies, and renovations that are causing concern among Volusia County public works and budget “experts” – doesn’t stop the Volusia County Council from approving zoning changes that (literally) pave the way for more development. 

In my view, that defies reason. 

For years, existing residents have sounded the klaxon on countywide flooding – the natural result of using slash, burn, and fill to change the topography and hydrology of the land to accommodate massive residential developments – coupled with an asinine hurt here/help there environmental mitigation strategy that results in sensitive wetlands being paved over to the detriment of essential natural processes.   

Unfortunately, those previous political cowards that we have historically elevated to public office have procrastinated on reasonable and incremental fee increases, refused to rein in spending, or control the exorbitant salaries and benefits gifted to senior administrators who agree to look the other way and maintain the stagnant status quo.

On Tuesday, during a convoluted discussion of increasing stormwater utility rates to keep up with ever-increasing demands – Councilman Danny Robins exhumed the rotting corpse of the twice defeated “sales tax” bailout and placed it on the catafalque of governmental greed – casually suggesting that a sales tax increase would help spread the cost among residents and visitors – something Councilman David Santiago (who never saw a tax or fee increase he didn’t like) found “interesting.”

Bullshit.

How about a short moratorium on permitting and building massive “city within a city” developments on our sensitive wetlands and wildlife habitats – or at least a pause until a comprehensive study of countywide flooding can be completed? 

Of course not.

A move to reduce spending as a means of funding critical infrastructure repair or transportation improvements beyond taxing the eyeballs out of Volusia County residents?

Hell no. 

Restoring transparency and beginning the arduous process of repairing trust in county government after years of suffering the continuing consequences of the “trust issue”?

Unheard of.

In my view, the only one who made sense during the discussion was Deltona City Commissioner Dana McCool – who used her three-minute audience to speak truth to power – reminding Councilmembers that the one revenue source they have conveniently ignored is the developers who have hauled untold millions out of Volusia County, leaving residents who can least afford to pay for it with the devastating fallout in the face of crippling insurance premiums, taxes, and fees.   

According to the agenda report, a recent study found:

“The study provided that the current assessment of $6.50 per ERU (“equivalent residential units”) per month is not sufficient to meet the funding needs anticipated to maintain the existing program over the next five years. The study further provided that an additional increase in the assessment would be required to improve the program’s current level of service for program management and capital improvements.”

Ultimately, in one of their well-choreographed political skits, our elected “leadership” first voted down a motion to increase stormwater fees to $7.50 (county beancounters say they need nearly double that) – then immediately voted to raise the fee to $8.00. 

Whatever.

I don’t make this shit up, folks.

When will ‘No’ finally mean ‘No’?

Is it possible our elected dullards on the dais still believe we are too stupid to understand that they desperately need the money for infrastructure improvements after painting themselves into a dark corner with overdevelopment, maladministration, and a historic lack of appropriate impact fees or substantive growth management?

Trust me.  We get it.

However, as clearly stated in the first and second failed attempts at the half-cent money grab, We, The Little People simply will not allow the same craven assholes who got us into the mess in the first place to piss good money after bad. 

That’s a recipe for disaster.

No one should expect us to forgive, forget and hand over more of our hard-earned money to those who have proven unworthy of our sacred trust.

Look, there is little doubt our elected and appointed officials will continue to punish us with exorbitant property taxes and ever-increasing fees – while allowing even more malignant sprawl to pressure our infrastructure until we cry out for mercy and submit to sending more of our hard-earned money to government.

Or we elect those with the political courage to tighten the bureaucratic belt and responsibly address the most pressing issues of our time. 

Quote of the Week

“Residents of Volusia County know full well how dangerous the roads and highways are in the area. Sometimes it seems that people are killed every week.

According to a study of national data, Volusia is the single deadliest county in the entire U.S. for traffic fatalities, per capita, for counties with over 500,000 residents.

There were 648 traffic fatalities between 2017 and 2021, according to an analysis of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatalities Analysis Reporting System (FARS) reports by Convoy Car Shipping, That works out to a rate of 11.19 deaths killed per 10,000 people.

Of those fatalities, 82 happened on the East Coast’s U.S. 1, the report said. U.S 1 in Volusia County stretches from the small city of Oak Hill in the south more than 40 miles north through Ormond Beach to the Flagler County line.”

–Reporter C. A. Bridges, USA Today Network – Florida, “This Florida county ranked ‘deadliest’ for traffic fatalities. 10 others are also on this list,” Friday, March 29, 2024

Much of what I write in this space consists of hyper-political rants on the news and newsmakers of the day – rightfully dismissed by our civic cognoscenti as the ramblings of a cantankerous crank – of little consequence in the scheme of things. 

But this is serious.  Something that transcends the petty politics inherent to the “Fun Coast.”  

On Tuesday afternoon, a young woman from St. Augustine was killed in a three-vehicle collision on U.S. 17 in Pierson – and on Friday, a pedestrian was struck and killed by a vehicle on International Speedway Boulevard east of DeLand.

Last week, a child died in a traffic crash on congested LPGA Boulevard.   

A six-year-old child.  

Tragic.

Last year, area residents were shocked to learn in a report by Smart Growth America that the Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach metropolitan statistical area was named the most dangerous location in the nation by population for fatal pedestrian accidents – with 4.25 pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people.

Now, Volusia County takes the statistical top spot in the nation for traffic fatalities… 

Many Volusia County residents are pointing to increasingly crowded roads and our horribly inadequate transportation infrastructure resulting from the “shove ten-pounds of shit in a five-pound bag” growth management strategy that has allowed malignant sprawl to far outpace the capabilities of existing streets and roadways.

I hate to fall back on that old melodramatic saw, but in this case it’s appropriate:

“How many people have to die” before our ‘powers that be’ awaken to the grave consequences of ignoring commonsense concurrency and smart growth strategies in favor of kowtowing to the insatiable greed of those shoehorning more, more, more development in a place without a viable transportation plan?

How many traffic deaths do our elected officials consider justifiable collateral damage? 

Frightened residents are increasingly suspicious that We, The Little People are being punished for our resistance to the highly touted half-cent sales tax initiative in 2019 – a craven money-grab orchestrated by the same elected and appointed lumps who got us into the mess in the first place. 

Because performing civic triage, changing tack, allocating resources to immediate needs, and remaining focused on the serious issues facing residents is an anathema in the cloistered “Halls of Power” at city and county administration buildings across Volusia County – where infrastructure is a rusty can best kicked down the dusty political trail… 

Meanwhile, back in Tallahassee, our state legislature is busy running interference for insatiable speculative developers – cutting local government off at the knees – sacrificing the concept of “Home Rule” on the exalted Altar of Greed…  

Please don’t get me started on what passes for our regional transportation planning apparatus – an empty exercise that always seems to roll immediate needs into long term “priorities” that take decades to receive state and federal funding (unless, of course, you happen to underwrite the right political campaign – then there always seems to be an extra hundred-million-dollars laying around for an interchange…) 

“Transportation planning” also serves as a stationary bicycle for local elected officials – who dutifully attend meetings and peddle like crazy but never go anywhere – politicians who desperately need to tell worried constituents that they are “doing something” about improving our increasingly dangerous roadways (usually in the form of some colorful study, analysis, program, or “long-term plan” written in confusing bureaucratese.)

Fortunately, there are signs of progress beginning to emerge from these hard lessons learned.

On Wednesday evening, Daytona Beach City Commissioner Stacy Cantu rightfully called for a formal resolution demanding that Volusia County officials take immediate steps to improve safety on LPGA Boulevard. 

In addition, last week the Florida Department of Transportation (no doubt in anticipation of NHTSA’s fatality analysis) held a “walk-and-talk” to educate residents on $4.1 million in recent safety enhancements that include eight lighted crosswalks on A1A from south of Milsap Road to East Granada Boulevard, including an “overhead hybrid beacon” at the Rockefeller Drive crosswalk with a corresponding speed limit reduction from 35 to 30. 

It’s a good start – but it does nothing to improve traffic flow or capacity – and is of little comfort for those mourning yet another loss of life on Volusia County’s increasingly congested roadways…   

And Another Thing!

A friend and I took a drive down A-1-A last week, traversing the Halifax areas perennially challenged “core tourist area” – a once vibrant “international destination” – now reduced to a slightly down-at-the-heels version of its former self. 

Heading south, we stopped at the virtually unmarked approach at Seminole Avenue in Ormond Beach, where Volusia County officials recently rejected an offer of an ADA compliant sidewalk that was to be paid for and constructed by the developer of a new five story hotel near the site, for reasons known only to those do-nothings at the county’s Coastal Division.  

We visited Andy Romano Park in Ormond Beach, a beachfront amenity with a splash pad, pavilions, a playground, restrooms, picnic tables, and grills, to check progress on the restoration of beach access ramps that have been closed (or missing altogether) since the last storms roared through in, oh, 2022…

It required navigating several “urban outdoorsmen” also enjoying the park – (one of whom appeared to be waxing the car he was living out of in the off-beach lot, his detailing ephemera of waxes, pastes, and sprays spread out in the parking space, while another vagabond repacked his worldly possessions into a tattered bindle at a picnic table).   

We even encountered a wandering minstrel complete with a guitar on his back, accompanied by another disheveled gentleman (his percussionist?) freshening up in a public foot shower – before making our way out to the east rail where we were met with a sign adorned with the City of Ormond Beach crest directing, “RAMP closed due to beach erosion – Please use county beach ramp” with an arrow pointing thataway…

Just beyond the steel barricade was a precipitous drop to the sand below (where yet another wandering nomad could be seen fast asleep on the strand using his satchel for a pillow). 

Farther down was a similar sign affixed to the ruins of yet another storm-demolished stairway. 

Fortunately, there was an open access located at the southern end of the park which appeared to be well-used by beachgoers (because it is the only option they have…).   

Continuing south on Atlantic Avenue, we drove past a vibrant Ocean Center – with brightly costumed members of various flag corps assembled for a competition, young people and chaperones walking in groups among gaggles of spring breakers and sunburnt families who appeared desperately in need of something to do…

Just south of the perpetually struggling Main Street (anyone know what happened to Andrew Baumgartner, the Knight in Shining Armor and owner of Savage Craft Ale Works of West Columbia, South Carolina, who was set to sink millions of his own money into the city-owned Corbin building on Main Street?) was a newly renovated and freshly painted storefront on the east side of A-1-A, each merchant clearly marked on the welcoming façade, a real sign of revitalization. 

Unfortunately, our hopes were dashed when, at the south end of the building facing Atlantic Avenue, we saw a homeless gentleman openly urinating in a graffiti-marred alcove…    

One step forward, two-steps back. 

An intractable problem that our incredibly expensive and deceptively named “First Step Shelter” is clearly incapable of addressing…   

Now, with the latest “vision” apparently being for Daytona Beach to transition from the “World’s Most Famous Beach” to a “sports destination” – rather than repair and revitalize our tourism product – it appears the publicly-owned property around the First Step Shelter on U.S. 92 is being considered for a state-of-the-art “commercial sports facility” which will include multiuse fields for soccer, football, baseball and softball, a swimming pool, waterskiing, horseback riding, and an “on-site hotel or two.” 

I guess one of our influential “movers-and-shakers” has an interest in a publicly subsidized “sports complex,” eh? 

Wonder who that could be…?    

Whatever.

While making our way south, I was struck by how poorly marked and maintained each of the county-controlled beach approaches are along A-1-A – shabby and uninviting, a mix of broken concrete, unsealed asphalt, faded parking lanes, and the inevitable gate prohibiting vehicular access affixed with the “County of Volusia” placard to let everyone know who is responsible for this mess.

Look, it doesn’t require a “hospitality expert” (God knows we’ve got enough of those) to explain the importance of making a great first impression with those from whom you accept money to access a public amenity. 

Clean, bright, uniform, and inviting access points establish the tone – their appearance is representative of the entire area – an advertisement for the “brand” and one that makes visitors want to return. 

Conversely, an unkempt gateway – especially one where a toll booth demands money, complete with a long list of “do this/don’t do that” rules, signage, and a forest of wooden poles – has the opposite effect on potential visitors.

Unfortunately, ‘It is what it is’ as they say…   

On Tuesday, during what passes for the Volusia County Council meeting, we learned that renovating the gateway to the International Speedway Boulevard beach ramp alone will cost taxpayers a staggering $2.2 million.  (I didn’t read the contractors entire proposal, but I thought $2,600 for “Ice/Water/Cups” was a little steep…)  

Instead, council members ultimately voted to remove the attractive color-tinted waveform concrete surface from the plans in a favor of (I guess) a drab sand-salted asphalt ramp on the most visible and active access point in Volusia County. 

The change will save $384,000 off the “guaranteed maximum price.”

Time will tell…

Call me a nitpicker, but it’s too damn bad nobody at Volusia County Beach Mismanagement thought to phase ramp renovations as part of a strategic plan for the revitalization of access gateways over time.

Sound familiar?

With a $1.1 Billion budget, is it negligence, institutional stupidity, or old-fashioned piss-poor planning that repeatedly puts Volusia County between a rock and hard place?   

You be the judge.  Because we damn sure aren’t getting the answers from those we elect to represent or interests…   

As my friend and I navigated the Lone Eagle west onto what remains of East International Speedway Boulevard – a lagging construction project that has progressed little beyond tearing up access to area merchants during the spring tourist season – we considered the fits, starts, and promises that seem to come and go on the Halifax area’s long-neglected beachside… 

Don’t get me wrong, there are signs of life everywhere you look.

With the Intracoastal Waterway to the west, and the perennial draw of the Atlantic Ocean – the most beautiful natural resource imaginable – all the civic Tinker Toys are in the box to make something truly special.

But for the life of me I can’t discern any “Grand Plan” between the cities and the county guiding the way forward – a unified public/private effort bringing together all facets of the hospitality industry, our planning apparatus, beach mismanagement, entrepreneurs, and area residents – those who benefit from a vibrant beachside (read: all of us) to revitalize, protect, and conserve our tourism product. 

As we drove through the good, the bad, and the ugly, my civically astute friend summed things up in the most observant, incisive, and completely accurate way:

“This is how you fuck it up…” 

Agreed.

I encourage everyone to take a leisurely drive along Atlantic Avenue sometime soon – come to your own conclusions about the condition of Volusia County beaches, approaches, and access points in our core tourist area and beyond. 

Then consider what is standing in the way of entrepreneurial investment in a place awash in highly compensated “Economic Development Directors,” “Redevelopment Directors,” “Economic and Strategic Opportunities Directors,” “E-Zone” Operations Managers,” “Team Volusia,” etc., etc.

Then, come election time, ask our elected officials why they allow the same failed policies and “visionaries” to keep their hand on the tiller of this foundering ship?

Ask them why they are even considering spending money on motocross tracks and other nice-to-haves when our essential infrastructure is in desperate need of upgrade and repair – as our streets and roadways quickly develop a grisly reputation as the deadliest in the nation?

Then remind them why we won’t rollover and acquiesce to a sales tax increase.

It’s your money – your community – and your life. 

You have a right to know.    

Just don’t ask those tough questions at the County Council’s upcoming “goal setting” workshop on April 30.  Because Councilman Jake Johansson believes that when the public is given unfettered input, it “…quickly evolves into something we don’t want…”

My God…

That’s all for me.  Have a great weekend, y’all!