Challenge our commission members to explain how their CRA extension and expansion plan benefits the residents of Winter Park. Demand they put this plan to a citizen referendum. Contact them here: mayorandcommissioners@cityofwinterpark.org. (See my prior post on this subject.) I also encourage you to attend the City Commission meeting this Wednesday, March 27 to comment in opposition to this plan (the vote on the second reading should be about 4 PM). Again, this plan takes $84,000,000 from residents of Winter Park. This is the anticipated city property taxes taken by the CRA from our General Fund from 2028 through 2037,…
Month: March 2024
Commission Wants $84,000,000 of Your Money
Bet you didn’t know the city commission has approved an $84,000,000 money grab from you. Read their expanded CRA Plan and let them know what you think here: mayorandcommissioners@cityofwinterpark.org. This plan needs to be approved by Orange County before becoming effective. CRA stands for Community Redevelopment Area. Within this area, county and city property taxes, net of those based on valuation prior to formation of the CRA, must be spent within the CRA area in accordance with the CPR Plan approved by Orange County. When the current CRA expires at the end of 2027, all county property tax revenue goes…
Don’t Vote for the Bogeyman!
Having observed Winter Park politics for some 35 years, I am always amused that the Developer Bogeyman shows up every election. This year’s Bogeyman is brought to us by Jason Johnson. Concerns about Jason were noted when he declined to state whether he would support buying electric power at above market prices to pursue an arbitrary goal for our electric utility to use 80% renewable energy by 2035. Instead he claimed to me and many others that “the premise of the question may be fundamentally flawed” without further explanation. Note the lawyerly obfuscation in addressing a direct yes or no…