WinterParkPerspective.org

Click here to send an email to the commission letting them know if you want your neighbors to have chickens in their yard, or not. Last Wednesday commissioners DeCiccio, Weaver, and Sullivan voted for a chicken ordinance that will legalize your neighbor having a 7-foot-tall chicken coop in their rear or side yard with up to four chickens. Leary and Cooper voted no. The initial ordinance was amended so that approval of neighbors is not required to receive a chicken coop permit. The ordinance will sunset 24 months from adoption and allows up to 25 permits. They vote again on…

Contrast past city commission response to the Great Recession of 2007 to 2012 (reduce taxes by lowering the millage rate and decrease spending) with the current commissioners response to the COVID-19 pandemic (increase taxes by increasing the millage rate and increase spending). Click here for the history of the millage rate and city general fund revenues. During the Great Recession, the city commission kept the millage rate constant while falling appraised values lowered General Fund property tax revenue and other revenues also declined. During the same time period the city commission cut expenses while adding over $6.0 million to reserves,…

Check your new TRIM notice from the Orange County Appraiser to see how much the 11.5% millage rate increase will cost you. TRIM is an acronym for Truth In Millage. A very apt phrase in current circumstances. Here are the responses of the four commissioners who addressed your questions about their vote to increase taxes. Sheila DeCiccioMarty SullivanTodd WeaverCarolyn Cooper Arguments in support of their vote to increase the millage rate include claims of better information by September, concerns about the city’s solvency and hurricane recovery costs, and comparisons of millage rates between cities. The truth is they just want…

Last evening I received the following email from Winter Park Mayor Steve Leary and share it here. Regards, Pete Weldon Peter, I received your email “Commission Increases Taxes 11.5%,” and other questions from concerned stakeholders since the City Commission voted to increase the Tentative Millage Rate during our most recent meeting. I offer the following for clarification: Did the City Commission vote for an increased Millage Rate (Tax Rate?): Yes. By a vote of 4-1 (I was the lone dissenting vote), the City Commissioners voted to increase the operating millage, or tax rate. I have heard some claim that the…

Please ask the commissioners to explain their vote to increase your taxes: msullivan@cityofwinterpark.org, sdeciccio@cityofwinterpark.org, ccooper@cityofwinterpark.org, tweaver@cityofwinterpark.org. Please send their responses: peterjweldon@outlook.com. On July 22, 2020 commission members Marty Sullivan, Todd Weaver, Sheila DeCiccio, and Carolyn Cooper voted to INCREASE your Winter Park property taxes by 11.5%. This will be an increase of $235 for a home assessed at $500,000. This increase will also lead to increased rents as landlords pass on the increased cost. The commission will finalize the millage rate at their public meeting of September 23, 2020. This commission has committed our city to unnecessary costs and risks…

Please recognize our local police men and women for their commitment and professionalism. Fran and I have been residents of Winter Park for over 30 years and raised our two children here. We have long involved ourselves in civic matters and understand the importance of policing in maintaining peace and the quality of life we all enjoy. Winter Park is fortunate to have such brave and responsible men and women serving us. You can send your appreciation to all of them by contacting our police chief Michael Deal at mdeal@cityofwinterpark.org. Regards, Pete Weldon

Three members of our city commission (Sheila Deciccio, Marty Sullivan, and Todd Weaver) voted to approve this Memorandum of Understanding between the city and the East Central Florida Regional Resilience Collaborative, a group established by the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council (ECFRPC). If you suspect by the names of these groups that this is a bunch of nonsense you are on the right track. The state legislature established 11 regional planning councils statewide over 50 years ago. Each is funded at the discretion of the respective included county governments and have no authority under the state statute. The ECFRPC…

More speech is always better than less if we are to be accurately informed. To that end, please explore and sign up for “the32789.com,” a new digital asset for Winter Park. From publisher Matt Certo: “We started the32789 to give Winter Park a dedicated source of local journalism that our community needs. Whether you live, work, or spend time in Winter Park, this platform is for you and about you. It’s about telling our individual and collective stories in a way that gives us more insight about what’s happening in and around our town. My goal is to make us more informed, more…

The city owns 4.4 acres of vacant land at the south west corner of Denning Drive and Orange Avenue. Our city commission has considered many uses for this land over many years. Our current commission met on May 4, 2020 on this issue. You can view their meeting here. My May 6, 2020 letter to the commission on this issue is below. Please contact the commission with your thoughts: mayorandcommissioners@cityofwinterpark.org. Mayor and Commissioners, I offer comments on your discussions of May 4, 2020 regarding the Progress Point land owned by the city. There seems to be a baseline expectation that…