- May 1, 2024
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Moving forward, the Volusia County Council will have a say in the chair's address at the State of the County.
On Tuesday, Feb. 20, the County Council voted 6-1 to review all material — including the chair's speech — prior to the event so the council can agree on what is said and ensure the speech focuses on council priorities, not individual goals. Chair Jeff Brower voted against.
The tense vote came after council members voiced concerns about Brower's speech during the Feb. 14 address, in which he said one of his goals for the coming year was reopening the stretch of beach from East International Speedway Boulevard to the boardwalk in Daytona Beach to beach driving and called for an end of draining, dredging and filling in wetlands for new development.
"If the structure is going to allow for speeches that don't necessarily reflect on what this body has worked on, or is focusing on, that concerns me," said Councilman David Santiago, who did not attend the State of the County event, citing a prior engagement.
The Volusia County charter calls for the chair to report annually to the council and residents on the year's activities and accomplishments, as well as set forth new and revised goals and objectives for future action. That annual report is conducted via the State of the County.
Council members felt that the address should be limited to only what the council agrees are collective goals.
Councilman Jake Johansson said he had concerns after last year's address that the message was not reviewed to be a "joint message."
"We are not the federal government," Johansson said. "This is not the president's State of the Union. We don't have a chief executive elected official and therefore, I think it's extremely important that we review an approved template of what we as a body will touch on to ensure our priorities are in line with our thoughts as a council."
He doesn't want surprises, he said, asking nothing be unscripted in next year's address. If it remained unscripted, Johansson said he would not attend.
Brower — who had been admonished by his fellow council members earlier in the meeting for sending letters as chair in opposition of SB 1624 and SB 1628, which aim to restrict local government actions regarding land uses for energy facilities and legal challenges — said that when he took office in 2020, he was told by county staff that he had free reign over the State of the County address, from the speech to the food served.
"That has been said," County Manager George Recktenwald said. "I totally agree with that, because that is actually how it evolved."
Brower said he referenced the five goals of the council twice during his speech. He didn't see anything wrong with stating his personal goals in addition, as those are issues he plans to bring before the council for debate. He said he worked with county Community Information Director Michael Ryan to bring forth a "unifying message" using the video addresses by his councilmen.
"My appeal was for unity," Brower said. "I asked everybody to come up on the stage afterwards, but yeah, I gave my goals for the next year as well."
Councilman Danny Robins said that the State of the County address "has taken a life of its own and it's getting a little out of hand."
"I think we're out of balance on a couple things," Robins said. "... I just want us to be a little bit more professional and organized and united."
The council is a group of seven and regardless of who the chairman is, Councilman Troy Kent said, he didn't want them to feel like they "have a muzzle on them." But, he would rather the State of the County address focus on council goals, generated by previous passing votes.
"And that could have been a 4-3 vote, doesn't have to be 7-0," Kent said. "But if this council agreed on it, four of us at least, then it's a goal. ... That's what I would stick with, only because it becomes problematic in the sense that — we're sitting here and talking about this at 11:09 p.m — because it's the State of the County address, it's not the state of the chairman address, it's not the state of District 4 address, it's not the state of Deltona address. It's the State of the County."
During his closing comments, Brower said he doesn't want the council to become a "circus" with fighting back forth. He repeated the sentiment he shared from a resident at the State of the County that the public deserves better and that the council needs to work together.
"That was my message," he said. "It failed. It's a flat zero so we'll deal with it from here."
