- February 26, 2025
Dear Editor:
I am a friend of both Jason Leslie and Jeff Boyle.
When I watched Jason giving the tour of Ormond Beach on Channel 6 Orlando, I saw the Jason I know. He does not know the details that those of us who have lived here a long time know, but I saw the man who worked very hard to become the mayor of Ormond Beach because he thought he could do a really good job.
Jeff had very good input in his letter on Feb. 18, to the Ormond Beach Observer as to what the tour could have included as far as history and background.
This is what I realized. This is how new mayors learn, through the wisdom of those who have been there, done that. Jeff has the experience and knowledge, Jason has the willpower and stamina to learn the ropes and be the best mayor he can be.
These two would make quite the team if they had each other on speed dial. It was nice to see Jeff’s outreach to Jason through his letter and Jason’s ability to accept Jeff’s input in a positive way.
Darla Widnall
Ormond Beach
Dear Editor:
I enjoyed the letter authored by Joe Hannoush regarding property taxes and the proposal to repeal them in favor of another system in Tallahassee. I remember the debate taking center stage almost 20 years ago while working in the legislature under then-Speaker Marco Rubio, who boldly proposed the idea, over the vocal concerns of hundreds of local government bodies in Florida.
To be clear: I agree with my friend Joe in concept, that property taxes on their face seem unjust as they are the only ones you are required to pay to exist. (e.g, you can choose not to pay a sales tax by not buying things; you can choose not to pay income taxes by not working). To live in a dwelling of any kind means paying property taxes, either directly through ownership or indirectly by renting. Further, the inequities in our particular property tax system are exacerbated every day that goes by, as businesses pay more and more, while residents, perhaps somewhat deservedly, get a break. Then you have the disparity from one home to the next.
Anyone reading this has a neighbor who either pays significantly more or significantly less than they do for the exact same services, all based on when you bought your home and the value assigned to it at that time.
Having said that, and for these three reasons, I have to push back on Joe’s idea of chunking the entire system. First, every U.S. state has property taxes. Any success Florida or my former boss would have had would make Florida the lone exception and a guinea pig for the country. Interesting, but problematic, because of reason number two: the overwhelming reliance on property taxes to fund vital public services is too much to risk with a brand-new, untested proposal. One of the reasons this fell flat back then was the lack of cohesive replacement plan.
Picture the state having to sort through the chaos (not to mention lobbying) to determine how and the amount of funding each city and county received? And thirdly, we are fortunate to live in Ormond Beach, where our tax rate is among the lowest in central Florida and we get tremendous value for our dollar, with services rivaling any other municipality imaginable. That’s something I’d be reluctant to gamble with, even though Joe’s view is a valid and robust conversation worth continuing.
Mike Scudiero
Ormond Beach
Dear Editor:
I saw your article in the Observer about the Humane Society focusing away from clothing donations. I realize it's a lot of work to do it by the piece, but I know that Goodwill has a process "by the pound" in some areas.
The thing of it is most people that want to donate something don't want to have to separate their clothing out and I realize that it's not cost-effective for the Humane Society to do them individually, but this might be a catch-all that they could just sell it by the pound, that people go through things. They don't even have to fold them or mark them or anything else.
I like going through and donating my stuff but I don't want to have to separate it or make two separate stops.
Terry Joyal
Palm Coast
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