Michael Cameron criticizes city spending and priorities
The first salvo in the mayor’s contest comes as the newcomer and challenger to Vice Mayor Sheila DeCiccio makes his first public comments about the race
Dec. 13, 2023
By Beth Kassab
The relatively unknown challenger in the mayor’s race attempted to separate himself from Vice Mayor Sheila DeCiccio this week by saying he “wants to bring back fiscal responsibility to Winter Park.”
Cameron, who is president of a real estate school and is a first-time candidate, said in a press release this week that he would have different priorities than the current City Commission, though some of his claims underscore his status as a newcomer to local government. Cameron declined to immediately answer questions about his statements in the release, though he did revise a statement that initially asserted DeCiccio is “depleting the city’s cash reserves” after questions from the Voice.
“My campaign is focused on more substantive issues, like making sure the city has a strong cash reserve on hand with low debt, making sure the city is fully prepared for a storm, or economic downturn, making sure our first responders, schools and educators have the resources they need to be successful,” he said. “Making sure this city remains a great place to raise a family, lowering our residents’ tax base, facilitating property value increases and supporting the Winter Park business community.”
The city’s cash reserves have steadily increased in recent years to a record $19.1 million or about 26% of recurring operating costs in the General Fund, according to city documents. The percent of operating costs represented by reserves has declined since 2021 from about 30%, the city’s stated goal, as inflation, labor costs and other pressures on expenses since the pandemic have increased along with the overall size of the city’s budget.
Winter Park shifted significant resources this year to storm preparedness, particularly in the wake of flooding caused by Hurricane Ian last year. DeCiccio has repeatedly sounded the alarm and called for urgency when it comes to studies now underway to help prioritize stormwater projects. Police and fire budgets reached new highs this year as well with first responders making up the biggest slice of the city’s General Fund.
It’s unclear what Cameron meant by resources for “schools and educators.” City governments don’t have any say over school budgets, which are approved by local school boards.
“My opponent’s focus has been on purchasing green spaces, as well as issues like bike paths and extending sidewalks, which in the grand scheme of things aren’t as important, as say, planning for a financial crunch or getting hit by another major storm or readying the city for any other 21st century needs,” he said.
The only greenspace the city has purchased in recent years is the Winter Park Pines Golf Course, which it issued bonds to finance. The operating revenue from golf sales is helping to pay off the debt.
Winter Park is about to begin construction on Seven Oaks Park, which is now projected to cost about $800,000 more than estimates from a few years ago, but the city already owned the land for the project.
Asked to respond to Cameron’s comments, DeCiccio noted that the city hasn’t raised taxes in 17 years. However, the City Commission this year passed a number of increased fees for residents such as the cost at recreation facilities and higher prices for garbage collection.
DeCiccio said improving bike paths and sidewalks is a safety and quality of life issue for families, particularly in Central Florida, which has repeatedly ranked among the most dangerous places in the nation for pedestrians.
“That is a safety issue for our children,” she said.
Cameron’s release said he was born in Winter Park and he and his wife are now raising their two young boys in the city. He touted an endorsement from Republican Jeremy Sisson, who works in real estate and unsuccessfully ran in 2020 against Democrat Anna Eskamani, who represents Winter Park in the Florida House.
“I take my hat off to everyone who came before me who has worked hard to help maintain the old-world charm that Winter Park has to offer its residents and its visitors,” Cameron said. “Because of all of you, my generation and generations after me will get to enjoy the Winter Park that you all created. If elected as your mayor, I would work hard every day to maintain and improve upon that Winter Park we all know and love.”
WinterParkVoiceEditor@gmail.com
-
By: Beth Kassab
No biography available at this time
-
There is no way I would even consider voting for this candidate based on his responses!
“reserves has declined since 2021 from about 30%, the city’s stated goal” to 26% b/c this commission spends, spends, spends and has not tightened the belt (fewer employees, lower raises, eliminating programs) even a little bit. No blame for them, of course. “Inflation”. “Labor costs” and “other pressures”-whatever that means. Please help, Beth.
And let’s stop the incumbent fog blast of “we haven’t raised taxes”. That’s a canard. They haven’t raised millage rates. Taxes, fees, and service charges have all increased.
Put your pom poms down, Beth. I dare you to print this.
If you continue reading, Pitt, you’ll notice that the story not only points out that this City Commission passed a bundle of new fees during the budget sessions, but we link to our earlier story that details all of those fees. I don’t think it’s helpful to deny the very real impacts of inflation and labor costs. What would be more helpful to voters would be to specify exactly what programs or other costs would be cut and how and why. I have yet to see that from anyone who is claiming spending is too high, but I welcome the information.
From a letter I sent to city commission in September:
General fund spending in 2019 was $58 Million. In 2024 budget, the spending is $77 million. In 4 years, a 33% increase in spending.
“You’re more concerned about spending money to fix imaginary problems. A greenspace shortage? ($5 Million Pointless Park) A $1M traffic pacifier on Aloma? A $150,000 construction manager to oversee an overreaction to a once in 50 year rainfall? An IRP manager ($100,000-$150,000 likely per year) for electric utility? More cops/fire? (About $100,000 per person) An electric riding mower that costs 3X that of a gas mower? Denning Ave. turn lane that costs a couple million to save a few seconds? (maybe get FDOT to add 10 seconds to the green light?) And the money pit that is OAO? How is it possible to screw up a prime piece of commercial real estate in one of the country’s most desirable, small cities and leave taxpayers “holding the bag!”
Delay a few hires, chop Aloma “crisis” plan (traffic counts are slightly down in last 20 years), prioritize stormwater with that department’s annual plan, not another expensive bureaucrat and a $750,000 consultant, adjust traffic light timings, cut out expensive consultants/reports. Tell residents that now is the time to be prioritizing savings, not spending. Set an example of responsibility. Property tax revenue increases are not guaranteed. ”
I guarantee the incumbents will campaign on “look how much money I/we spent”. I have had to make some adjustments to my personal budget to deal with increased costs. It would be great to see this commission do the same with our taxes. Call me crazy, but just because revenue is higher than budget forecast doesn’t mean it all needs to be spent.
Thank you Beth. Yes, Let critics detail the areas where spending increased and explain exactly what they would like to see cut and how that would impact our lives. Let’s be through with vilifying and dig into substance!
Hello Pitt,
Beth is correct. She was too kind to the candidate. We have to spend money now on flood prevention to avoid spending many times more in the future if we neglected that area and I am not even including the psychological costs of people have it their homes flooded. Additionally, Beth clearly points out that there have been all kinds of increased costs the past two years. Have you seen the price of a burger on Park Ave? Still great to eat but much more costly. CIty needs to increase salary and benefits to keep excellent staff. Did your homeowner insurance increase? Saying we need budget cuts is much different than saying we need to specially cut the budget x amount of dollars for y service. No need for poms poms here!
I always enjoy reading Pitt Warner. Say what you may about Pitt’s substance but one would be hard put to say he is not colorful and entertaining. I have often wondered why he does not run himself as he has the gift of the gab as well. I will agree with Pitt that the whole business on not raising the tax rate is at least a bit of fog. No one can deny that the amount of money we pay in taxes has gone up. That said so has the value of our houses and the costs to run the city. The money has to come from somewhere so I am not complaining myself about paying more in dollars as my home value goes up, as inflation happens and Winter Park gets better and better. Pitt is basically a “small government” supporter I figure and he is very, shall I say, partisan on that issue. I will stay with DeCiccio myself and vote for her yet again.
Thank you Pit for showing DeCiccio’s opponent’s hand – actively campaigning a false premise or false flag if you will – accusing the current Commission of over-spending while deliberately choosing to ignore the excessive debt – $70+ million to be exact – created by the former commission when Mrs DeCiccio wasn’t in office.
Heck has everyone forgotten the Progress Point land swap that cost taxpayers millions and benefited only a few political donors?
I could go on and on….
Be careful what hill you choose to fight from.
These were all initiatives supported by Warner, so his argument that the current Commission (specifically (DeCiccio) spends too much rings hollow.
Furthermore, targeting females ( the writer and candidate) is downright offensive and 20th century-ish.
Mr. Cameron doesn’t seem informed on the issues and that alone questions his ability to serve as Mayor.
But thank you for running Cameron, Democracy is best served by transparent and competitive races.
I have lived in Winter Park since 1995 and it has become more and more concerning to me about the money that our city government is willing to spend. The promised larger library never materialized and the project ran millions of dollars over. And now they are spending almost half a million dollars on a larger than life statue of MLK. A real life sized statue would not have sufficed? Where does the continuous spending stop? And we are not talking about thousands of dollars at a time, but millions.
Interesting article and comments. As I have documented, DeCiccio has proven to be a spendthrift with bad judgment. Reserves are below the policy goal, not because of inflation, but because of thoughtless spending. We could have added part of the “free” $15,000.000 Federal Rescue Act money to reserves but squandered it on personal agendas. And there is much more…