- November 25, 2024
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Four advisory boards could be dissolved by the Volusia County Council in the near future.
The council voted unanimously to direct staff on Tuesday, March 5, to bring back recommendations that could eliminate the county’s Code Enforcement Board, Library Advisory Board, Animal Control Board and the Business Incubator Advisory Board. The county currently has 30 advisory boards, and was directed by the council on Dec. 5, 2023, to bring them a list of boards that could be sunset or consolidated with another.
Over 30 people signed up to speak at the March 5 meeting, largely concerning a handful of boards placed on the agenda item summary for possible elimination or consolidation: the Cultural Council of Volusia County, the Environmental and Natural Resource Advisory Committee and the Volusia Forever and ECHO boards.
Former County Councilwoman Pat Northey said she called “BS” on this agenda item as someone who sat on the dais for 20 years, and asked the board to kill it entirely.
“Advisory boards are an important part of Volusia County government and represent the most engaged citizens in our communities,” Northey said.
Northey was particularly concerned about the possibility that the council could consider merging Volusia Forever and ECHO’s boards, which oversee the voter-approved programs.
After hearing from Northey, Councilman David Santiago said that the council never discussed combining the Volusia Forever and ECHO boards, despite it being part of the agenda item summary. County Council Chair Jeff Brower said that the summary included staff’s suggestions on what boards could be eliminated or consolidated, and not recommendations on what the council should do.
“Apparently, everybody has read the item, which is really encouraging,” Brower said. “I’m glad that you’re paying attention — we need that.”
The council reinstated ENRAC in 2022 to work with county staff to recommend minimum standards for environmental protection. The board was previously active from 1987 to 2003.
Ormond-by-the-Sea resident Melissa Lammers, chair of 14-member ENRAC, told the council that if some committees are struggling, they should address those individually. The ENRAC has only had two replacements in a year and a half, and its members come from a wide range of backgrounds, from agriculture and commercial development to accounting and land use laws.
“What we have in common is a commitment to our work to balance the needs of development with protection of the environment by thoroughly examining the questions before us, making sure that each of us is heard,” Lammers said.
ENRAC won’t be eliminated. Instead, the council voted to direct the board to focus on stormwater issues.
As for the Cultural Council, that board is also not going away.
Last June, the County Council heard pleas from the public asking the council to keep the board active — which also meant continuing to fund local arts and culture organizations, as the council provides over $600,000 in grants each year.
At the March 5 meeting, the public support for the board didn’t change. Ormond Beach resident Kathy Thompson, president of the Daytona Playhouse, said that while programs like ECHO are great (the playhouse received $600,000 in ECHO funding last year for its renovation), those funds cannot be used for maintenance or supporting programs. The Cultural Council’s grants can. The playhouses uses its funding from the Cultural Council to put on the children’s musical production every summer.
“The cultural advisory board serves this county so well,” Thompson said. “They are all passionate and knowledgeable about the arts. They may have their own personal preference for a particular art, but they never let that override their decision of how they support all of us.”
The council asked staff to come up with recommendations on how to enhance the Cultural Council, including how to bring in new organizations. Because staff is already working on this, an official motion providing direction was withdrawn.
As for the Code Enforcement Board, the council is interested in replacing it with a special magistrate process due to lack of participation.
“I’m not happy with the Code Enforcement Board process,” Brower said. “That doesn’t mean I’m unhappy with any of the people — it’s just a cumbersome process for our residents to deal with. I would like to see it improved.”
Council sought more information on the other three boards — Library Advisory Board, Animal Control Board and the Business Incubator Advisory Board. The members voted to have staff bring back information on what their elimination would look like, and in the case of the Animal Control Board, how to get expertise on the subject without an official advisory board.
