Water Quality Property Taxes Are Center Stage At Volusa State of The County

Volusia County Chairman Jeff Brower gave the “State of the County” address on Wednesday, Feb. 25, at The Center at Deltona.

In the early going of his address, Mr. Brower stressed the need to preserve local control, aka home rule. He said that even a well-meaning policy from “outside forces” (Think state of Florida or the federal government) could have “unintended consequences that's felt for a long time.”

Volusia County Chair Jeff Brower during his "State of the County" address.

“The government closest to you is best suited to make local decisions,” Mr. Brower continued. “Local leaders understand those conditions…that does not mean we operate in isolation. Collaboration is important and Volusia County works regularly with our state and federal partners. But part of our responsibility is also to engage, to educate and advocate to ensure that decisions made beyond our borders are informed by local realities. That responsibility becomes especially clear when we talk about water quality.”

Water quality, particularly black water, colloquially known as toilet-to-tap, has become a major issue in Volusia.

Deltona Mayor Santiago Avila, Jr.

The City of Deltona has received its fair share of criticism for wanting to inject treated water into the aquifer.

Deltona Mayor Santiago Avila Jr. spoke to the matter as the day’s events were wrapping up. “We're trying to get surface water, to try to use it for reclaimed water,” he commented. “that's the simplest terms that I could explain it.”

He continued, “This whole nonsense about toilet-to-tap, is being used for a political stunt. We’re in an election year.”

Mr. Avila dismissed the idea that Deltona wants to shoot sewage water into the ground. A practice that may put the aquifer at risk for contamination.

During his “State of the County” address, Mr. Brower emphasized that “the aquifer we share must be protected, and that starts with preventing unnecessary damage. That's why this council believes strongly in protecting water quality by respecting property rights that support responsible land use.

Volusia County District 5 Councilman David Santiago was gracious enough to stop and speak to the issue of water quality, though he was pressed to meet a rental car deadline.

District 5 Councilman David Santiago

“From a county council perspective…we've never had any plans to do anything like this (toilet-to-tap). We don't currently have plans to do it. There's no intention to do it. So it's not really a county issue. From a county utility system. We only control 7% of the utility customers from a county council perspective. And that's what I've been saying.”

He allowed that it’s fine by him if someone puts the issue on the ballot as a referendum. However, if the County Council were to put it on the ballot, “it could give people a false impression that it is a county wide application, when it's not…we would give people the false impression, and I did not want to do that.”

Mr. Santiago said that the Council has taken a stance against toilet-to-tap. “You come up and ask me, you want toilet to tap? I say the answer is no. And I've even said we are not going to pursue that path. We (County Council) said that. Nothing there. But there are some that keep perpetuating that this is happening and it's not okay, and that's where my rub lies.

He commented that it is stupid for people to say that he would want to poison the water he and his family drink.

Wrapping his thoughts on the matter, Mr. Santiago explained, “Now I only govern Volusia County Council utilities. That's all I have authority over. The state governs all the other ones. So that's the truth of what's happening.”

During the “State of the County,” Mr. Brower turned his attention to the equally hot topic of eliminating property taxes.

Chair Brower thanked residents for "being engaged, for showing up and for always being a force of reason in the community."

He said that whatever the outcome of the property tax discussion, “This council is committed to being prepared and ensuring residents continue to be served responsibly, transparently, and thoughtfully. We're already working on it.”

“I was one of the first mayors to come out to support abolishing the property tax,” Deltona Mayor Avila commented in our post “State of the County” talk.

Mr. Avila explained that he has an idea to eliminate what he refers to as a duplicity tax. “So my idea was any property that's within the municipality should get their county taxes completely eliminated.” He does not want a sales tax increase to make up the lost revenue from a property tax decrease.

He took an interesting turn in the conversation to explain that he doesn’t trust government. “What I'm thinking (that) is going to end up happening, is, after the election year stuff is up the (property tax elimination) conversation is going to go away until the next election.”  He holds the libertarian view that paying property taxes means homeowners are renters, not owners.

“We all go through situations,” Mr. Avila said. “All of us, I've gone through situations that are very difficult where you see your funds go from black to red. What do we do in that case? We just say, ‘oh, you can't pay your property tax. You're gonna lose your house.’ It's not right.”

Councilman Santiago is in agreement with the mayor. “I made the motion over a year ago at the county council meeting to suggest that the governor and the legislature eliminate property taxes… and we voted unanimously to send a resolution to Tallahassee asking them to do that.” The resolution was sent more than a year ago, the councilman said.

Mr. Santiago suggested the following ways to make up for the reduction in property tax revenue: “a combination of trimming your budget,  only focusing on what your core responsibilities are, because too many governments have gone outside of that. And secondly, we'll have to find areas where we make it up in other fees. Maybe sales tax is part of it.” He also suggested shifting the cost to a tourist tax.

As Chair Brower was winding down his address, he stated, “I look forward to my role in directing where we are heading. Not because every challenge has been solved, they certainly haven’t, but because we must approach them honestly, with candor, preparation and respect for the people that we serve.”

Charles I. Guarria is an author, reporter and host based in the state of Florida, USA, covering any topic, anywhere in the world. His career began in 2009. Mr. Guarria is a three-time winner of Emerald Group Publishing’s Highly Commended Award and host of The Opinion Guy Fun Friendly Informative. He is available for hire to write, research, or beta-read.

Check the online show, The Opinion Guy, Fun, Friendly, Informative, for additional news.

Please support this blog and my show by buying me a tea. Thank you!

If you would, like, comment, and share.

You can sign up for exclusives and first-to-know news!

See ya soon!

Photo Credit: Me, Volusia County Government

~30