- May 3, 2024
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Ways to save money in the city of Palm Coast budget
Dear Editor:
Some full-time jobs in Palm Coast and Flagler County should be dropped to part-time status to provide services and also balance next year’s budget.
The “flexible workforce” is a model the city and the county should already be using with its mowing crews. The part-time crews would work as much or as little as needed to keep the city and the county property maintained.
It is nonsense to believe that the city of Palm Coast will save money by hiring seven more full-time employees to cut the grass. The city will have to spend a huge amount of taxpayer money for equipment, repair, fuel, insurance, salary, benefits, workers compensation, etc. Contracting must be done by yearly bid.
Morgan Monaco
Palm Coast
City workers can’t compete with private companies
Dear Editor:
Mr. Tony Capela, have you estimate sheets that include labor, materials, insurances and equipment or a ballpark number? I know how you can save the city $65,000 in the landscaping contract, including salaries and benefits: by terminating your position and your work force.
You can start your own landscaping company, and the city will invite you and other contractors to bid on future one-year landscaping contracts. I am sure your bid will be the lowest but, however, you will be filing bankruptcy, also.
Walter Albano
Palm Coast
City should insist on current sales tax formula
Dear Editor:
I disagree completely with Mayor Jon Netts and Commissioner Barbara Revels on the formula for distributing the sales tax revenue from the extra half-cent we pay in Flagler County.
The formula should remain the same for the simple reason that Palm Coast is the engine that drives Flagler County. Palm Coast produces 78% of that sales tax revenue, and the current formula does not even reflect that proportion. Palm Coast always seems to lose out in making such compromises with Flagler County.
Remember the deal as to which entity will widen the Hammock Dunes Bridge and repave Palm Harbor Parkway, a road which is in need of repaving, especially in The Tidelands area. Remember also the water-rights issue in further development at the Flagler County Airport.
So please Mr. Mayor, insist that the current formula be maintained for the future of Palm Coast.
David W. DiNardi Sr.
Palm Coast
Swale maintenance should not depend on where the blockage came from
Dear Editor:
Poor maintenance of swales by the city, as a writer stated in a recent letter to the editor, is an understatement.
I called about standing water in my swale and was informed by an inspector the problem was mine, the property owner, to correct.
He stated the rainwater from my gutters pushed the dirt down to the swale.
Does it really matter where the dirt comes from to form the blockage?
I would think the city should remove this dirt to free up the flow of rainwater. But that is common sense and we are talking about the city of Palm Coast and its officials.
Donald Farron
Palm Coast
Changes in state code puts vacation homes at risk of fire
Dear Editor:
The state of Florida has specific fire prevention codes for vacation rentals, but finding a rental agency willing to take on the responsibility to insure the specifications within the codes are met may not be so easy.
Why? Because the state passed a bill under pressure from lobbyists working for vacation management companies; the bill prevents local officials, homeowners associations and property owners associations from regulating or requiring vacation rentals to submit proof that they are in compliance with the laws of the state prior to renting their homes on a short-term basis.
In addition, the Division of Business and Professional Regulation has exempted vacation rentals from inspections. Yet they require apartments who rent to transient visitors to be inspected annually.
Since the passing of Florida House Bill 883, there has been an influx of new vacation home rentals in residential neighborhoods throughout Florida. Why is this happening? Because of the loopholes that have been created. The major problem is the lack of safety inspections.
The end result is the creation of a serious hazard for the unsuspecting renter and first responder. Some management companies are creating an overcrowded situation within these dwellings without proper secondary means of egress, which by definition is a secondary means of escape in case a fire inside the dwelling cuts off your primary means of escape. This second egress is required by law. Management companies also allow additional furnishings to accommodate the increased occupancy load, which adds more fuel to the fire and increases the amount of time required to escape during a fire.
Here are important questions to consider:
Why are these vacation rental homes being licensed by the state and allowed to be occupied before they are inspected for these additional fire prevention requirements?
Why would the state fire marshal waive the requirements for a sprinkler system?
Are our state representatives aware of the situation they created by the passage of Florida House Bill 883?
Why are these dwellings still classified as single-family residences, when they are licensed as “transient public lodging establishments”?
Why would insurance companies insure dwellings that have not complied with the Florida fire prevention codes?
Why is there a total disregard for public safety?
Finally, who is going to stand up to these management companies and say “Enough”?! These vacation home rentals need to be inspected annually for compliance.
It is time to call your local county officials, state senator and congressman. We need to be pro-active before a tragic event occurs.
Ronald J. Boyce
Palm Coast
Editor’s Note: Boyce is a retired battalion chief from the New York Fire Department and is a certified Florida fire safety inspector.
