Basin 10 Flood Fix
Kudos to Commissioners Cronin, Butler, Quarrie and Reed who attended the June 10th Workshop on Basin 10 stormwater, and to those same four commissioners who did their homework and came prepared to vote on a solution at the June 17th Regular Town Commission Meeting.
With so much misinformation being posted on Nextdoor, it’s so refreshing to go to commission meetings and see most of our commissioners being prepared with the truth to SERVE THE PEOPLE in our town.
Untrue comments like, “Our previous Town Manager dwindled our Reserves into zero”, was posted by town resident Joanie Shepherd even after our Town Manager, Marie Smith, presented a detailed slide presentation on the financial status of our town. The FACT is, our town currently has over $2.5 million in Reserves.
Screenshot of slide presentation
Another misleading post by Shepherd referring to our Town’s budget, “We have very serious budget problems & looming financial deficit apparently a potential $650k shortfall”.
This shortfall rumor was started by failed Town Commission candidate Bruce Larson. Resident Larson lost in the last commission race yet considers himself an expert and lectures the Commission at almost every Town meeting. He has NO municipal finance experience and NO access to accurate financial records. Both our Town Manager and our experienced and highly educated Finance Manager have met with Mr. Larson and said his $650,000 shortfall claim makes no sense.
People in town like Joanie Shepherd and Bruce Larson who present themselves as valid sources of information are manipulating the truth. Their blatant lies are being spread through gossip, texts and social media posts. We all need to be aware of their deception. They choose to mislead, pushing their version of town issues. The residents are the ones who suffer. The truth is easy to find. Our town IS in good shape. We are NOT in the hole.
As a result of this type of misinformation, many residents in Basin 10 are concerned about where the money is going to come from to fix their stormwater problems.
Our town’s infrastructure concerns are primarily roads and stormwater. Roads need to be repaved. Stormwater systems need to be updated and repaired. Just like our homes need continual maintenance, so does the Town’s infrastructure.
Small towns utilize municipal bonds to fund their infrastructure. This allows for Reserves to stay in place for emergencies, while providing towns like ours the money needed to fix problems without raising taxes all at once.
We appreciate Town Manager Smith for providing solid information about a bond issue for a referendum vote. After listening to a presentation by PFM Financial, a consulting firm from Orlando, Commissioner Sherri Quarrie moved to approve the firm as the Town’s financial advisor for the bond; Commissioner Anna Butler seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously. To get the process started immediately, the Commission also agreed to allocate $49,000.00 from our Town’s Reserve account for Haley Ward to begin the engineering and testing needed for the Basin 10 project.
Truth and Accuracy Matter fully supports the Town for the bond. We are committed to help get the referendum passed. It will help our neighbors in Basin 10 with their stormwater issues as well as funding future infrastructure needs throughout town.
Side Note: The Town of Melbourne Beach had a bond issued in 2009. Every homeowner has been paying this line item, MELB BCH STMWTR, on our tax bills for the past 18 years.
Thanks to the responsible management of our former Town Manager, Elizabeth Mascaro and our current Finance Manager, Jennifer Kerr, our Town was able to pay off our previous bond TWO YEARS EARLY — meaning, our individual 2026 tax bills will no longer include charges for repayment of the prior stormwater bond.
Thank you to Marie Smith for moving past all the negative social media chatter to hear and act on what the residents in Basin 10, the residents on Riverside Drive and residents throughout our entire town have come together to support…a new bond for our Town’s stormwater needs… starting with Basin 10.
Remember to steer clear of the misinformation that is circulating around town by bad actors. If it sounds crazy, it probably is. We encourage town residents to stay informed and to vote YES for the stormwater bond in November. We want to be the Town who cares about everyone in town.
Now, with clear direction from our current commission, our new Town Manager and a well respected financial advisor in place, our Commission is acting decisively for the people.
With the mayors race coming up in November, Truth and Accuracy Matter is looking forward to announcing the candidate we are supporting. We know you are going to love him… he is a true servant FOR THE PEOPLE.
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