- October 14, 2024
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In the August primaries, two candidates in both the County Council District 4 and at-large races won enough votes to advance to the general election on Nov. 8.
On Wednesday, Oct. 12, Citizens for Ormond Beach held a forum where these candidates — Troy Kent and Ken Smith for District 4, and Doug Pettit for at-large — were able to discuss their views on local issues. At-large candidate Jake Johansson was unable to attend. The forum, held at the Ormond Beach Senior Center, was moderated by Liz Myers and also included candidates running for local City Commission races.
Pettit, of Ormond Beach, filed to run for at-large on March 11. A retired lieutenant colonel of the U.S. Marines and retired Seabreeze High School teacher, Pettit has lived in Volusia County since 2007. This is his first time running for office, and in the primary, he won 23.72% of the vote. His opponent, Johansson, won 33.88% of the vote.
"One of the reasons that I'm running is because as a resident of this county for so many years, I just saw so many things that I didn't think would be what I'd have liked," Pettit said. "I didn't think that the voice of the people was being heard."
Kent, who currently represents Zone 2 on the Ormond Beach City Commission, filed to run for District 4 on Feb. 1. He has been on the commission since 2003, and is in his 24th year in education, working as an assistant principal at Sugar Mill Elementary in Port Orange. He won 30.17% of the vote during the primaries.
"I'm here to make our county better," Kent said. "That's why I'm running."
Smith, also of Ormond Beach, filed to run for District 4 on Nov. 24, 2021. The owner of Wall-Y-World Gallery in Ormond Beach, Smith serves as the chairman of the Ormond Beach Citizens Police Advisory Board. He ran against Kent for Zone 2 in 2020. Smith won 30.84% of the vote in the recent August primary.
"I decided to run because I'm sick of the overdevelopment," Smith said. "I'm sickened with what the city of Ormond Beach did with the wetland building rules to stop the strict preservation of our wetlands, and they petitioned the county to do away with the same wetland building rules, allowing this out-of-control development we have right now."
The candidates were asked questions on development moratoriums, septic-to-sewer, Airbnbs and other issues. Here is what they had to say.
Question: At a recent County Council meeting, County Chair Jeff Brower suggested a moratorium on development in the county. Are you in favor of such a measure and what is your general philosophy on development here in Volusia County?
Kent
Kent said he is "totally, completely" against the idea of a moratorium on development.
"It is wildly outrageous and it basically says Volusia County is closed for business," Kent said.
He said that it blows his mind to hear people like his opponent say Ormond Beach is overdeveloped when the growth rate for the past 19 years has been 1% or less annually. He mentioned the Marshside residential project, which he voted no for when the developer asked to increase the density, citing lack of infrastructure as a reason for the denial. Daytona Beach is growing too fast, and someone there should have voted no on recent developments, he said.
But, turning down all development would be "ludicrous and outrageous," Kent said.
Smith
Smith said that overdevelopment means there isn't infrastructure in place to handle new development, and in order to get the infrastructure in place, one has to stop developing. The state has given counties the legal right to enact a moratorium on development for one year..
"And that's what we're asking for, is a moratorium on development until our infrastructure get to a point where we can take care of the citizens we have now," Smith said. "So those roads are built, so that structure is there. We have to say, 'Stop, right now,' so we can catch up."
A moratorium is needed, he said, and said the lack of infrastructure is an emergency and the county needs to start treating it as such.
Pettit
Pettit said that a moratorium is always going to be a "last resort," but that at this point, he is an advocate for controlling development.
"I think some of the destruction and devastation that we've seen in the last two weeks is a solid, solid clue that we're not doing some things right," he said. "And maybe a moratorium would be a chance for us to take a breath, take step back for a second and get some things done that need to be done before we proceed on."
He said the county could stop permitting now and there would still be enough construction work in the county already permitted to keep people busy for years.
Question: What is your position on impact fees?
Smith
Impact fees need to be increased, Smith said. For him, it's a priority that every developer pay the impact fees without "special discounts or incentives." He cited One Daytona as an example, which received $40 million in county grants and tax incentives for the project.
"It's not the county's job to pick and choose who gets a discount, who gets a deal," Smith said. "Everyone should be paying the same. So for me the priority of impact fees is that everyone pays and everyone pays the same amount."
Kent
Impact fees do need to rise, Kent said, and everyone paying the same amount sounds good, but he questioned that idea. He mentioned that the city of Ormond Beach recently conducted an impact fee study that would increase the impact fees for restaurants from $880 per 1,000 square feet to $25,000 per 1,000 square feet, an action he said is not treating everybody equally.
"If those rules were in place, the last guy, last girl in, gets hammered," he said. "It needs to increase, but that was out of control. ... Impact fees should be increased, but you need to take a hard look at them and make sure that it's more fairly spread out."
Pettit
The county impact fees were not in play for about 15 years because they weren't kept up to what they should have been in relation to increased costs, Pettit said.
In 2018, they began to address this issue, and recently, the county did a study that showed a 100% impact fee increase.
"[Impact fee increases] are the things that will help the infrastructure and I think that's one of the reasons for the moratorium," he said.
Question: On the ballot this year, there are three constitutional amendments that we are all going to vote on. Amendment 3 regards the new homestead exemption for up to $50,000 for certain public service employees (teachers, firefighters, EMTs and police officers). The legislature estimated that it will cost local governments $85.9 million in lost revenue for the fiscal year 2023-2024. What are your thoughts on Amendment 3?
Pettit
As a retired member of the military and retired teacher, he said he was torn on this amendment. One of his issues with the proposed amendment is that, when looking at the salary scale for starting positions for these public service employees, there are some workers or job categories included for which he said an additional homestead exemption won't be as effective.
"I think I'm in the same boat that most citizens are," Pettit said. "They look at the amendments, and sometimes they're not sure about what to expect. There are so many good things about it, but there are so many things in it that really caused some difficulty."
Kent
At first glance, he likes the amendment.
"I think it will help those individuals that are government employees that, let's face it, they don't make a lot of money," Kent said. "They're all living paycheck to paycheck, and that's the harsh reality of it."
But, he added that he would also see if there are other options to help these employees.
Smith
As the only candidate in the forum that wouldn't benefit from the amendment, Smith said he is in favor of it. There are people in these jobs that are doing it because they care, and not to get rich or to look for tax exemptions.
"We can tell those people, 'You know, we'll do less with tax dollars. You should have a homestead exemption," Smith said."Here, property values have skyrocketed, like everyone else's. Fifty-thousand-dollars now off your house isn't what it was 10 years ago."
Question: Volusia County adopted the rollback rate this fiscal year. County staff has warned that a tax increase is likely to occur in the next fiscal year or be faced with a $7.2 million budget shortfall due to recurring expenses. How would you address this?
Kent
He would go to rollback, he said. Kent also proposed having the Volusia Sheriff's Office take over law enforcement on the beach, an action he said would save taxpayers "a tremendous amount of money."
"There's a healthy financial reserve the county of Volusia has, and I'm fine with with going to rollback," he said.
Kent also argued that Ormond Beach, though it didn't go to rollback, did lower its tax rate this year.
Smith
Smith said that it's true the city of Ormond Beach has the second lowest tax rate in the county, but that taxes have increased almost every year he's been in office. (Per state statute, anytime a governmental entity adopts a tax higher than the rollback rate — the millage required to bring in the same amount of revenue as the prior year — it is considered a tax increase, though the tax rate itself may be lower than the previous year's millage.)
Property values are skyrocketing, and it's more reason for the county to go to rollback. He advocated for looking at the budget line by line to find ways to cut costs, citing the high cost of replacing the sheriff's helicopters as an example.
"It is time to take a strong look at the budget and say, 'We need to do more with less,'" Smith said. "We can't keep going like this. You can't just keep asking for money every time something has to happen."
Pettit
People don't want to pay more taxes in the economic environment we're headed into now, he said. He has been an advocate for no taxes of any kind — no sales tax or property tax increases. He referenced a speech by former President John F. Kennedy, who said one of the things that can be done to stimulate growth and revenue in the country was to lower personal and corporate taxes.
When he first began his run for this office, he went over the previous county budget with a former employee of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, he said, and they found what they believed to be $14 million worth of redundancy and waste.
"I think when the when the staff does this, they're doing worst case scenario," Pettit said.
Question: Volusia County voted in 2021 to keep the county ordinance against short-term rentals in place. Would you be in favor of maintaining that ordinance, or not?
Smith
He said he would not be in favor, as there are over 1,000 active Airbnbs in northeastern Volusia alone, and only five county code enforcement officers trying to stop them. He called it a "non-winning battle," and that the county collects tax revenue on the rentals.
"We have to acknowledge that they're happening," Smith said. "We can regulate them if we acknowledge them."
The hosts would lose their homestead exemption, and the county could make it a requirement for hosts to charge a fee for a company to handle claims, freeing up the code enforcement officers.
Kent
Residents bought homes in a residentially-zoned area, and not in an area zoned for business, he said. Kent said he and his wife "live the nightmare of three hotels operating around us," and recounted an experience he had with a short-term rental behind his home where a fight broke out between the occupants and one jumped over the fence into his backyard.
"When there's a hotel operating there, you don't know who's there," Kent said. "When people are on vacation, they stay up a little later, they eat a little more, they party a little more, they turn the music up a little bit. If you want to make hotel money, buy a hotel — Not in our neighborhoods."
Pettit
Whether or not the county will have a choice is a moot point, he said, as the issue is being decided in court. He is, however, a supporter of Airbnbs because he believes it's an individual property rights issue. But, the rentals need to be regulated and monitored properly.
"Just because it's not a short-term rental, there's no guarantee that you won't have some of the incidents," Pettit said. "I've lived next to people who are really bad renters. I've lived next to people who are really bad owners, and you end up with issues that are just as prevalent as you do with some of the Airbnb situations."
Question: Should dogs be allowed in more areas on the beach?
Pettit
Yes, he said. There's a volunteer organization that has approached him with a good plan for this.
"Anytime you get a community group that wants to volunteer to monitor and set up something like this, I'm all for it," Pettit said. "I want the community to be involved in their community."
They shouldn't be all over the beach, though — Pettit was in favor of having designated areas for dogs.
Kent
Kent also said yes. He is a proponent of ensuring every beachside city has at least a 100-yard segment where dogs can enjoy the beach, but is not in favor of having volunteers oversee this, as he doubts the public would listen to them in regards to following the rules.
The designated area should be next to a year-round lifeguard station and have proper signage, garbage cans and bags, and dogs must be leashed.
"Certainly, we should be able to have our dogs on the beach and we should be able to manage it ourselves," he said. "We already have the staff. We can find the locations and it's a huge win for the residents of Volusia County."
Smith
He is also in favor of allowing dogs on the beach, but you have to regulate it and hold people responsible when they don't clean up after their dogs.
Smith said that the bed tax charged by hotels could be used to hire more lifeguards and patrol officers to help with regulating dogs on the beach.
"We can 100% control the way people have their dogs on the beach and regulate it and keep people safe, and keep the beach clean without a problem," Smith said.
Question: At a recent meeting, the County Council discussed renovations to the county fairgrounds. Would you support the expansion of the use of the county fairgrounds, and how would you pay for those improvements?
Kent
Kent was supportive of the plans.
"I'm a huge advocate for improving our quality of life, and that's something that the county can do that is hugely impactful," he said.
The fairgrounds should be a destination for residents, and Kent suggested the county could consider building an outdoor concert venue with an amphitheater or a splash pad to better serve the residents on that side of the county. He is also in favor of searching for grants to help pay for the project, as well as look in the budget for to find where some dollars could be best utilized.
Smith
Smith said he looked into the project and found it very exciting.
"It's a wonderful concept," he said. "That land is underutilized."
But, he would be in favor of improving the existing property first and looking into expansions once the county has the funds available. He would be in favor of purchasing nearby land though, as the county wishes to make an adjoining wetland preserve with walking paths.
Pettit
He would be an advocate for the creation of a regional amphitheater at the fairgrounds, as he said it's sad people have to leave the county to see entertainment and cultural acts. He recalled how Daytona Beach and the Central Florida area used to be a "vibrant cultural" area.
"We need to get back to some of that," Pettit said. "We need to rebuild some of our cultural aspects, I think. And I think starting with an amphitheater out there that attracts top notch entertainment could be a wonderful start."
Question: In 2019, the city of Ormond Beach briefly explored a septic-to-sewer conversion for Ormond-by-the-Sea. Many residents opposed this conversion due to concerns with the project's costs to homeowners. Being that Ormond-by-the-Sea is under county jurisdiction and water quality is a huge issue for the citizens of Volusia county, should this issue be revisited?
Smith
He understands that septic tanks are something that will need to be addressed, but said that he felt the cities' effluent in the intercoastal is doing more harm to water quality than septic tanks. It should be noted that a 2013 report by the Florida Department of Health in Volusia County deemed the north peninsula as unsuitable for septic tanks; septic tanks are now regulated by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
Smith added that he's lived in several homes with septic tanks and that he's had to replace the tank at each one, which is an expensive project.
"If the cost was less than putting in a new septic tank in order to tap into the city sewer line, it would be a no brainer for anyone that needs it," Smith said. "So it should be an option, not mandatory. It should be done with minimal expense to the homeowner, and it should be done at a time when the city can handle the sewage, not dumping into the intercoastal as effluent as we're doing now."
Kent
Kent said he wouldn't revisit the issue until the state, or the county with grants, can fund it 100% for the residents. There are those whose septic systems are failing, but Kent said there are also residents who have recently replaced these systems and everything is working the way it should.
"So to put that financial burden on anybody and kind of stronghold them with that is wildly inappropriate, completely wrong," Kent said. "But a sewer system is a much better alternative to septic. It could happen if the state and the county find the funding — and the feds, not just the state and county..."
Pettit
He is not a supporter of forced septic-to-sewer, he said. The county has developed an educational program where staff goes and teaches homeowners ow to maintain a proper functioning septic system, and he said he thinks those programs are vital.
Pettit mentioned that a spill happened in Port Orange last week, supporting his claim that there's no guarantee putting in sewer will prevent these issues from happening. He added that septic systems today have newer technology as well.
"If we're going to do anything with septic, we need to be sure that we're helping those homeowners, so we're not forcing them out," Pettit said.
