Flagler County, Palm Coast and School Board candidates discuss property tax amendment, school vouchers and other issues at FCAR forum

The County Commission and City Council candidates were mixed in support and opposition of Amendment 3.

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The Flagler County Association of Realtors, the Palm Coast-Flagler Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Home Builders Association of Flagler hosted a political forum on June 30 at the FCAR building in Bunnell. The forum included candidates vying for seats on the Flagler County School Board, the Flagler County Commission and the Palm Coast City Council.

All seven School Board candidates participated in the first session, while five of the six commission candidates that will appear on the November ballot took part in session 2 and five of the City Council’s seven candidates participated in the third session. The forum was broadcast live by WNZF 94.9 FM.

A panel including FCAR Vice President and Public Policy Chair Eddie Lang, HBA Executive Director Annamaria Long, Chamber of Commerce President John Phillips and AdventHealth Government Advocacy Manager Josh Goergen rotated questions for the candidates.

All of the County Commission and City Council candidates were asked whether they support Florida Amendment 3, which would increase homestead exemptions for non-school taxes to $150,000 in 2027 and to $250,000 in 2028. It would also decrease the cap on how much assessed value non-homestead properties can increase each year and limit how counties and municipalities can spend property tax revenue.


COUNTY COMMISSION

District 1 candidate Theresa Pontieri said she supports the amendment, which will be on the November ballot and would need a 60% vote to be approved. Her opponents, Greg Feldman and Raymond Royer, were on the fence.

Feldman initially said he was against the amendment, because “it would make for drastic cuts in our services.” But he later softened his stance. “I like tax cuts as much as the next guy, but I want to see where [county revenue] is going to come from,” he said.

Royer said he will support the wishes of the voters, but when pressed for a specific answer, he said, “Yes, I support it. It’s on the ballot, so I support it.”

District 4 incumbent Leann Pennington and candidate Drew Moss both said they support the amendment. “I absolutely support tax cuts,” Pennington said. “I’m a little concerned about it being a tax shift, but let the voters decide.” Moss said, “I want to keep your money in your pocket.”

On other issues, Pontieri, who is currently Palm Coast’s vice mayor, suggested the county adopt a strategic action plan to cultivate economic development with clean industry such as aerospace businesses to take advantage of Flagler County’s proximity to the Space Coast. Pontieri also said she would like to see the county cut red tape by reducing administrative processes.

“Businesses need to open as soon as possible,” she said. “We need to be business friendly, to make it easy to open so they can thrive.”

Pennington said the county needs to be more business friendly. She said she is trying to partner with the state to fund water service in the U.S. 1 corridor, which would spur economic development.

Royer said affordability is an issue that should be addressed. Feldman spoke about the need for more fire rescue trucks to handle the burgeoning number of medical calls that Fire Rescue handles. Royer said with increased development, the county also needs three more fire houses. “I’ll go to Tallahassee to try to get more grant money,” he said.

Pennington said road paving is the county’s most pressing need with 130 miles of dirt roads in need of paving. “It’s pivotal we up our paving game,” she said, noting better roads would benefit economic development. She also said flood mitigration in the west side of the county and the beach area are pressing infrastructure needs.

Pontieri said Palm Coast has the same issue with road paving, and the city has been able to save money and maintain more roads by microsurfacing. Another priority, Pontieri said, is shoring up dunes. “An unhealthy dune system is bad for the entire county,” she said.

Moss said infrastructure has not kept up with a growing population, and he would like to see development slow down. He also said spending needs to be scrutinized in every county department.

District 1 candidates Pontieri and Feldman will be on the Republican primary ballot on Aug. 18, while Royer, an independent, will be on the November ballot.  

District 4 candidates Pennington, Moss and Anna Jones, who did not take part in the forum, are all Republicans and will be on the GOP primary ballot. Denise Calderwood, a District 4 write-in candidate, also participated in the forum.


PALM COAST CITY COUNCIL

District 1 City Council candidate Tony Amaral Jr. said he does not support the property tax amendment because the plan is not fully developed yet. Jeani Duarte, the other District 1 candidate who participated in the forum, said she supports the amendment. “I believe in home owners,” she said.

Jimmy Hengy, the third candidate running for District 1, was absent. Ray Stevens, who is running unopposed and will automatically be elected in District 3, did not participate.    

Three of four District 4 candidates participated. Dylana “Dee” Galery and Ramon Marrero oppose the amendment over concerns about revenue cuts affecting city services. John Kvederis said he supports it. “I’ve watched my own family struggle to live here,” he said. Darlene Shelley did not participate in the forum.

On other issues, Amaral, who has lived in Palm Coast for 43 years, is concerned about future generations. He said it’s important to keep up with infrastructure “before growth gets out of hand.” He said Palm Coast's westward expansion is the city’s gateway to getting the land it needs to diversify the tax base and provide high paying jobs. “Westward expansion needs to be done correctly,” he said, with industrial sites being pad ready before 50% buildout.

Duarte said the city needs to be more business friendly. She said Palm Coast needs to utilize its assets including rail lines, the beaches and visibility from I-95. She said there is “zero revenue visible” from the highway. Duarte said the city must protect its wetlands from development. She said city salaries are bloated at the top with a previous council approving raises for itself, which were not approved by residents.

Galery said the City Council needs to earn the residents’ trust through transparencey and accessibility. She said a focus should be on parks and recreation, which is one of the reasons many people moved to Palm Coast. Her Palm Plan, she said, is a community-driven road map forcused on responsible growth, stronger infrastructure, economic development and transparency.

Kvederis was asked how the city could create attainable housing. He said the city should look at ways to cap vacation rentals. Kvederis also also talked about focusing on infrastucture saying a priority should be on improving roads.

Marerro, who was on the city’s most recent Charter Review Committee, said Palm Coast has a lot of challenges that need to be confronted. He said infrastructure and economic growth should be emphasized equally.


SCHOOL BOARD

The School Board candidates answered questions from the panel about school choice, budget decisions, board dysfunction and other topics. 

Three School Board seats are up for election with at least two seats to be decided in the Aug. 18 primary. Former School Board member Jill Woolbright is running against Cathy Moon in District 1. Incumbent Will Furry is running against Rob Wood in District 2. And Ron Long and former board member Trevor Tucker are running against incumbent Christy Chong for the District 4 seat.

Moon, who has a background as a U.S. Postal Service executive, was asked that if budget cuts become necessary, what department or program would she protect first. She said the way she has been trained and been successful in budget crises is to not eliminate anything. “We drive down cost and increase operational efficiency,” by freezing hiring, she said. “If you must make cuts you make small percentage cuts across all departments. We have to preserve the classroom, we have to have our teachers in place, we have to provide the curriculum, so that’s the single most important place to protect.”

Moon said a district measure showing that kindergarten readiness had dipped to 37% of students is a big deal, because most of those students who are not ready never catch up. Having bus transportation for the district’s volunteer prekindergarten program would help increase enrollment in VPK which would improve kindergarten readiness. She said they could try to get a transportation grant to have a test program for VPK bus service to one school.

Woolbright, a former elementary school teacher in Flagler Schools, stressed teacher recruitment and retention as board priorities. “It takes years to become a master teacher,” she said. She suggested incentive bonuses for teachers who stay in the district for five to 10 years. Woolbright said parents know their children best, so the district needs to find out why some families are choosing private or home-school options. She said, generally, students return for high school.

When asked about dysfunction on the board, Woolbright said most board decisions are routine and decided unanimously in the consent agenda. She said during disagreements there needs to be a give and take.

Furry said the district has become a better place to work since the board promoted Superintendent LaShakia Moore three years ago. Her leadership has inspired teachers and staff to do their best, he said. Furry said the current board is not dysfunctional. “We have dissension, but we have one common goal, and off the dais, we all get along,” he said. As for families choosing the voucher program, he said the district hasn’t seen the exodus that other school districts have. Finding out why parents are choosing other options will show the board the areas that need to be improved, Furry said.

Wood said the board needs to prepare for what’s next instead of being reactionary. He that while Amendment 3 does not affect school property taxes, the district may still be affected because half of the base salaries for school resource deputies are provided by the county with Palm Coast also paying for one of the deputies.

Wood said he is uniquely qualified to be a School Board member having spent years in the military as a trainer, teaching GED courses as a federal contractor in a maximum security prison and spending the last 10 years as a senior leader at Western Governors University's School of Business. In previous candidate forums Furry noted that he qualified to be on the ballot by gathering voter signatures, while his opponent paid the qualifying fee. Wood, in his closing statement at the FCAR forum, referenced Furry choosing to run for reelection after he ended his run for a Congressional seat. “This is the job I want, not a stepping stone to another role,” Wood said. “This isn’t a soft landing for a failed campaign.”

Chong said the board needs to advocate for more state funding for Individualized Education Programs. When asked what department or program she would protect first if cuts became necessary, she said school safety is important. “The important thing is to make sure we don’t have waste,” she said. Chong said that during her time on the board, she has built relationships in the community. “People can say, ‘I know Christy. I can reach out to her,’” she said.

Tucker noted that during his previous 12 years on the School Board, board members approved Flagler Palm Coast High School’s Fire Academy and Matanzas High’s AICE program. He said his priority is superintendent retention, because every time there is a change in leadership it sets the district back. He said his goal is to keep a superintendent longer than four years to give them a chance to fully develop their programs.

Long said the election is about the district’s budget because the budget has grown while enrollment has remained flat. He said safety and emergency preparedness should be a priority. “The guardian program needs more attention,” he said, “but ideally, more resource officers would be the best thing.”

 

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