Andrew Werner, Local Palm Coast City Council candidate, has submitted answers to our questions in one of the last interviews to be published before early voting on August 10th.
- Primaries are right around the corner; you are currently running against Ray Stevens and Dana Mark Stancil. What reasons should voters choose you over the other candidates? It has been a pleasure to run for this city council seat and I have enjoyed getting to know the other candidates in the District 3 race. Both are great candidates, and I thank them for being willing to step up and serve our community. What sets me apart is that I have prioritized getting as much experience and exposure to as many residents and issues related to our city as possible. I have met with all of the city council members, met with many of the city department heads, participated in city council meetings, spoke multiple times at the city council, advocated for change, met with multiple community stakeholders, talked with businesses, and most importantly, walked all of Palm Coast neighborhoods asking residents about what is important in their respective areas.
- Many people are concerned about electing a candidate with ties to real estate and development; what connections do you have to the real estate and development communities? I work in education and have never had any personal ties to real estate or development.
- Residential development in Palm Coast has been a major concern; in what ways are you planning to balance that out to a manageable level so that the City can catch up on overdue and necessary infrastructure needs? I agree we need to take a manageable approach to balancing our city and we need to prioritize existing infrastructure. The council’s vote to increase impact fees was a start in the right direction. My approach to any new development projects will start with ensuring that it is a benefit to our community, is consistent with the surrounding neighborhood, and that developers are willing to invest in our city-wide infrastructure needs both immediately and soon.
- Environmental conservation of our green space in Palm Coast is also a top concern in the community. In what ways are you planning to conserve our green spaces, trees, wetlands, and other natural resources? Palm Coast is operating under the Land Development Code that has designated areas for green space. I believe we need to preserve these spaces at all costs to ensure they remain for generations to come. I will not be in favor of rezoning green space to make room for more areas zoned for residential.
- Taxes are among the top-tier hot topics this election year. Our tax base is 93% residentially funded, with only a small percentage coming from commercial tax bases. What plans do you have to diversify the tax base without hurting the residents with added taxes, fees, or other financial burdens? This needs to be an area of focus, especially over the next 5-10 years in Palm Coast. I would like to start by saying that I am not in favor of raising taxes on our residents because of the already overbearing burden being put on our homeowners to fund city expenses. What does not get talked about enough is that current high property values allow the current millage rate to provide funding for our city. If we see a state or national decrease in home values, our city budget will take a significant hit. During the housing crisis in 2008, Palm Coast’s millage rate tripled over the following 6-8 years due to over-reliance on residential property tax for our city’s budget. We need to do everything we can to ensure this does not happen in Palm Coast again. For this reason, we need to hire a city manager committed to reducing city spending, prioritizing our city needs, and having the foresight to help lead us into a successful future.
- Economic development: many claim that to be a successful city, there have to be economic opportunities for residents who live here; meaning quality jobs with higher wages. How do you plan to grow the economic base for Palm Coast and bring in more high-paying jobs for residents? This has been a focus of my campaign as I believe economic vitality should be our number one priority to ensure our residents’ continued quality of life in Palm Coast. Our city needs to focus on attracting quality industry and high-paying jobs to ensure we can live, work, and play in our community. I am raising a young family in Palm Coast and I would like for those young people growing up here to have quality opportunities in Palm Coast if they choose to remain. Currently, most of our young people have to leave town to get an education and find employment that will support them. Palm Coast was rated the second safest city in the state of Florida, is very clean and well kept, and has proximity to many different types of desirable activities. We should have no problem selling our city to prospective industries and should be actively recruiting. The city recently hired an Economic Development Coordinator and I hope to work with that department to begin the process of recruiting more quality industry and better-paying jobs for our residents. I have also spoken to many of the newer businesses in Palm Coast and they believe regulations are keeping new industries from wanting to invest in our community. We need to identify barriers, improve our efforts in working with prospective businesses, and secure our economic vitality for our residents and future generations.
- Stormwater, flooding, swales, and canals are considered undermaintained by many in the community. What are your plans to ensure that our unique system of canals and swales gets caught up on maintenance and stays maintained in the future? While walking Palm Coast neighborhoods and meeting local residents, this has been a topic of concern for many. I met with the city’s Stormwater Department and received a full presentation of current staff and equipment. We were able to have a dialogue about some of the processes and challenges the department routinely faces. Currently, routine swale maintenance takes over 20 years for the 2 crews to make a full service to the entire city. The city also responds to emergency requests at a much more rapid rate, but there is usually a significant wait time. This needs to be a priority for the new city manager to evaluate and develop a cost-effective recommendation on ways the city can provide these services. I am also not in favor of developing citizen-led committees to help solve our city’s issues. We need to have confidence in our city manager and city staff to be our problem solvers when issues arise.
- How long have you been involved in the local political scene? Have you always been active? Why now? I have been involved in advocating for some state and local level political races over the last 10-plus years. For me, the interest has always been there, but I needed both timing and opportunity to line up. When the opportunity to campaign for Palm Coast City Council presented itself, we discussed this as a family, and all decided together that this was a great opportunity to serve our community. I believe local government elections are just as important as any national election in the 2024 cycle. We need to ensure we have elected officials who are willing to serve the interests of the people of Palm Coast. I hope to have your vote in our election primary on August 20th.
