Commissioner Barbara Stewart Calls For Better Planning

Barbara Stewart, chairman of the Highlands County commissioners, called for greater emphasis on planning, efficiency, accountability and oversight in county government as she spoke to the Highlands County Homeowners Association Monday morning.

"As you know, we are facing a tremendously challenging year and I believe it's going to be a challenging future," she said.

One way to deal with declining tax revenues may be more cooperation with local governments and state agencies, she said.

"We need to work with the other local governments to identify how we can partner with them, whether it be consolidating certain activities, such as purchasing, such as maintenance of some facilities," Stewart said.

If there is a bright side to the slow down in the economy, Stewart said, it's "an opportunity for our local government, for all of us, to have the time to, one, change the way our government does business, and, two, to prepare for our community's future."

In recent years, Stewart said, the commissioners have adopted comprehensive plan amendments that allow development of more than 100,000 new housing units. And, she said, the county already had between 70,000 to 80,000 platted lots that can be developed.

"We also have transmitted (for state approval) about 30 million square feet of non-residential development," she said.

"That," she said, "coupled with our extremely high vacancy rates in our existing commercial and industrial space, compared to what we had four years ago, means we have a tremendous amount of growth that is staring us in the face."

But, Stewart said, the county does not have solid plans for providing the services needed when growth occurs. She pointed out that the state Department of Community Affairs recently raised numerous objections to the county's proposed comp plan amendments for growth north and south of Lake Placid and on the Blue Head Ranch.

"We need to plan, from water supply, to transportation, to recreation, to fire services and quality of life issues, which obviously includes the lakes," she told the homeowners group.

"And we have to have a plan for economic development," she added. "Our county government needs to get prepared."

Protecting the environment as development goes forward is also vital, Stewart said, because "people come to Florida because of our natural environment."

Stewart praised the work of Michael Wright since he became county administrator on June 1, particularly for starting to implement written policies and for making the budget process "more transparent."

Stewart said the commissioners should support and work with Wright in deciding how to upgrade planning for future growth.

"Our administrator has a good understanding of long-term and short-term planning," she said. "He's experienced in that. That's one of the reasons why we hired him, so obviously we need to look to him to give us guidance."

Stewart said the county may have to look at doing the volume and quality of planning in one year that would normally take five years.

Stewart pointed out that the county has resumed road resurfacing, which was cancelled during the past fiscal year that ended Sept. 30.

"That's important," she said, "because if you don't keep up with your resurfacing your roads deteriorate and you have to reconstruct them, which is much more expensive."

In the recent budgeting process for the new fiscal year that began Oct. 1, Stewart said, most of the focus was on the cuts in spending.

"I'd like to see us re-focus our attention as a commission on that 85 or 90 percent that we didn't cut, that we still have to spend, and emphasize efficiency and effectiveness." Stewart said.