Being Mayor of Apopka is Hard Work

Being Mayor of a City of 45,000 people is apparently MUCH harder than anyone could imagine possible. Just ask the Mayor of Apopka, Joe Kilsheimer. During a budget workshop last week a line item in the budget calling for the hiring a Chief of Staff was discussed. When asked about this request, Mayor K replied, “It is a struggle on a regular basis; all things come to the mayor’s office. Just the routine kind of handling situations, and then there are extra requests for meetings, places to go”. WOW, really Mr. Mayor, the job of mayor is a struggle? With all due respect, what  did you think the job was going to be? Attending ribbon cuttings, making speeches at events, polishing your own public image? Did you think it would be all play and no work? At $150,000.00 of taxpayer’s money a year, the job should be MOSTLY hard work, very little play.

The proposed Chief of Staff salary (including benefits) would have been $119,687. Our Mayor’s salary, among the highest in Orange County Florida, is $150,000.00 per year. I did not see anything in the story from the Apopka Chief indicated that Mr. Mayor was requesting a corresponding decrease in his own salary. And a Chief of Staff, really, Mr. Mayor?? You are a MAYOR, not a Governor, President or King. We already have a Chief Administrative officer…isn’t he already performing the job of Chief of Staff?

The reason for the request for Chief of Staff is revealed by The Mayor’s request for travel expenses/budget ($16,870), to cover attendance at various legislative and congressional conferences in DC, Tallahassee and Miami. When questioned about this line item expense by Commissioner Doug Bankson, the Mayor defending several of the proposed conferences that “he feels strongly about” attending…. “It’s about making connections on behalf of the City of Apopka with important decision-makers in Washington”. Wondering exactly what type of connections and which decision makers the Mayor is referring to? I mean, yes, in order to get the Mayor’s signature City Center going, Apopka will need some MAJOR funding to re-do the roads leading to the City Center. But what other connections?

I must admit, when I read this story, I laughed my head off. I thought it was some kind of joke, but Mr. Mayor your administration has been the joke, mostly from day 1. The overall City Budget tops at over $100,000,000.00, when just three short fiscal years ago the budget topped at somewhere around $60,000,000.  Some of the expenditures are justified: the new fire station for instance, and the hiring of fire personnel to staff it. And requested police expenditures. A city’s first responsibility is the SAFETY of it’s residents. But I guarantee that a close reading of the proposed budget will reveal a lot of PORK spending in order to justify the expense of last year’s Visioning Process.

Mr. Mayor, may I respectfully suggest that if this job is too hard for you, consider your future. Being Mayor is not a glamour job, but tough, roll-up your sleeves work, as is the job of the City Commissioner. It seems this job is beyond your comfort zone, and maybe a return to cushy private public relations consulting is just the ticket for you.