In a country founded on the premise of federalism, the organizational effectiveness and fiscal health of all levels of government are vital. Under federalism, the United States has three levels of government: national, state and local. Unlike many countries, we divide the important public functions among these levels, so each level can better focus on the services and activities it does provide.
Much has been written in the national and state media about the current condition of the finances of some American states, counties and cities. High tax rates, borrowing, unsustainable commitments to public employee union pension plans and deficit spending are usually a part of the picture, with bankruptcy the feared outcome.
And then there’s Plant City.
Members of Plant City’s Downtown Luncheon Club were treated last week to a sneak peek at ongoing and new plans and on the city’s fiscal health by City Manager Greg Horwedel.
Horwedel began with a reaffirmation of our city’s low tax rates. Plant City is run like a business. That commitment has been good in the past, and it extends into the future. But the city also recognizes its responsibility to provide services in support of business and residents, building on the community’s assets.
One asset that has been developed over the past 15 years is the Plant City Stadium and Randy Larson Four-Plex. First established as the spring training complex for the Cincinnati Reds, the stadium morphed into an international softball venue.
In 2013, the city has returned to this important sports asset and developed a new plan for the future. Youth soccer has grown at a fast pace over the past decades, fueling the development of the sport on a professional level. In the short term, the city has leased the stadium for six months to VSI Tampa Bay FC. It also has issued a Request for Proposal for all organizations to bid on the facility. The bid is wide-open, which allows the city to negotiate and tweak the winning proposal.
Horwedel then moved to a host of other new directions the city will follow to improve services. The city will continue to invest $1 million per year in repaving projects for roads, with our vehicles and the cost of maintaining them being the chief beneficiaries of that investment. That, and other expenditures, will place the city high among area municipalities in spending for facilities maintenance.
Another major area of emphasis in the future, as East Hillsborough real estate leads the way in our area’s emergence from recession, will be a set of actions to recharge the city’s Midtown redevelopment project.
The Plant City Observer commends Horwedel and our five city commissioners — Mayor Mike Sparkman, Vice Mayor Mary Yvette Thomas-Mathis, Rick Lott, Bill Dodson and Billy Keel — for leading our beloved city. We do not expect to ever see Plant City in the national news as an example of another poorly managed city edging toward bankruptcy.
Felix Haynes is an owner of the Plant City Observer.RedHelper —,