- December 4, 2025
Dear Editor:
"Houston, we have a problem.” It is actually Ormond Beach that has the problem, but you get the idea. For over a year I’ve been withholding judgment about our mayor.
I assumed the coverage of his missteps, misstatements, and mismanagement was probably on target, but I was open-minded. I wanted to check things out for myself, so I attended the city Budget Workshop Aug. 19 and was blown away by his lack of leadership and budget skills.
I had not been to an Ormond budget workshop in 28 years, when I was on the City Commission in the 1990s.
My quick take: The mayor is immovable and in way over his head. He clearly signaled what he plans to do in September when it is time to vote on the budget: He will vote no.
He was asked many times at the workshop for new ideas or new solutions and he pretty much sat there with nothing substantive to add. He also seems to be enjoying putting senior staff in a bind.
The best way to deal with an immovable object is to just go around it and thank goodness in our city the mayor only gets one vote. If he wants to vote in September on symbolism instead of substance, that’s his choice. What he’s doing is a dereliction of duty. Instead of owning his inexperience or admitting it, he’s just digging his heels in deeper.
When asked to provide practical solutions, he retreats to more sloganeering, sarcasm, and cagey, vague promises. He acts like he has a secret plan and will fill us all in when he’s ready. I’m 100% convinced he does not have a secret plan.
In contrast, the rest of the elected officials and the senior staff could not have been more professional and thoughtful in their deliberations. The City Manager and her team took questions, answered them clearly, and the four Commissioners represented themselves with class and patience.
To the four commissioners: Thank you for standing up for the city in a way that the Mayor just doesn’t understand. Thank you for your steady support of city employees and their families. You were not afraid to make hard choices, but I felt you were doing so with compassion.
Unfortunately, I’m afraid the mayor is set in his ways and I don’t expect him to have any epiphanies anytime soon.
Ormond, we have a problem.
David Schecter
Ormond Beach
Editor's note: Mayor Jason Leslie was given a chance to respond.
Houston, we do have a problem.
The city’s operating budget has grown from $110 million in 2022 to just over $170 million in 2025, according to the city’s transparency portal — a jump of more than 55% in only three years. This comes despite less than 1% population growth and higher property tax revenues from rising values. Just three years ago, the city provided the same services with nearly a third less in the budget.
As mayor, I hold one of five votes on the commission. At this year’s budget workshop, I suggested cost-saving measures like leasing vehicles and carrying insurance to reduce litigation and replacement costs. Those suggestions were later followed by an extensive Q&A in the Observer. I also directed staff to identify ways to lower the millage rate. What came back was a 7.66% increase — with no actual reductions in spending. To put it in perspective, the rest of the commission was prepared to approve a 10.3% increase.
I remain committed to what residents elected me to do: find solutions, build consensus, and resist unnecessary tax hikes. With the possibility of a statewide property tax repeal and proposed utility rate increases, we must act now to stabilize spending.
As a former city commissioner and now a resident, I hope my efforts to reduce your tax burden are recognized and appreciated.
Editor's note: The city's transparency portal reflects the current working budget, said Finance Director Kelly McGuire, which reflects adjustments for capital projects approved by the City Commission that were budgeted last year and need to be reappropriate to the current year. "There will be additional adjustments made including significant reductions at the end of the fiscal year for capital projects not fully completed by year end," she said.
The commission will vote on a proposed operating budget for fiscal year 2025-2026 of $143M in September.
Dear Editor:
As a registered nurse, I had to read the article about the woman posing as a nurse at least six or seven times to try to make sense of it.
From what I could tell, this woman was being hired as an advanced nurse tech but then told the interviewer that she had done all the schooling to be a registered nurse and that she just needed to pass the test.
During this same hiring process to be an advanced nurse tech, she then announced (perhaps a couple days later?) that she had "passed" the registered nurse's test and presented her license which had the wrong last name on it.
She told the interviewer that she had just gotten married, thus the wrong last name on her license. The interviewer asked her to bring in her marriage license to prove her last name had changed to the one on the license. Shockingly, she never brought her marriage license in to validate the last name on her registered nurse's license but was hired and began working as a registered nurse on July 3, 2023, using a license that was not hers.
She worked for one and a half years, according to my calculations, as a registered nurse at Advent Health Hospital in Palm Coast having no education or license to be a registered nurse. According to her criminal investigation, in looking over just one six-month period from June 2024 through January 2025, she provided care to 4,486 patients.
This is scary stuff.
Darla Widnall
Ormond Beach
