Shupe: What happened to the High Springs City Commission’s heart?

Letter to the editor
In 2021, the median household income of High Springs households was $71,909.
However, High Springs households living in poverty were 15.0% of the population.
In 2023, the average household income in High Springs is $87,351.
However, High Springs households living in poverty in 2023 are 21.42% of the population. (Please note that incomes listed above are household incomes and not individual income.)
I would like to thank the Mobile Pantry for coming to High Springs every Wednesday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. or to whenever all the food is gone. Currently, as of Oct 4, 2023, as told to me by a volunteer, the Pantry serves approximately 300 households per week.
With this being said and looking at the numbers, do you really think this is the time for the City to be raising our property tax millage rate? Do you really think it’s the time for the City to be considering raising our water rates?
Commissioner Ross Ambrose stated recently, “We have been growing at a rapid rate. Ten years ago, our population was about half of what it is now”.
I would like to ask if the increases are due to new growth. Why, then, isn’t the increase in the revenue stream not coming 100% from impact fees and not from the citizens who did not create the need for an increase at this time?
Maybe we need to think longer and harder about leasing top-of-the-line Sports Utility Vehicles for many of our City employees and staff? Do we really need top-of-the-line high-tech water meters at this time? Do we really need to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on outside computer services at this time instead of in-house, as some small towns do?
Why was our neighbor City of Newberry able to reduce their 2024 property tax millage rate from 5.9244 to 5.9000?
I’ll close by saying many citizens tell me they are beginning to feel they are nothing more than cash cows being milked dry by the City that is supposed to be serving them.
From my heart to the heart of the High Springs City Commission, I would ask, “What’s happened to your heart?”
Ed Shupe, High Springs
The opinions expressed by letter or opinion writers are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AlachuaChronicle.com. Letters may be submitted to info@alachuachronicle.com and are published at the discretion of the editor.
Their heart is no longer red, it’s turning blue.
Wait for it, it’ll be like NYC once the locusts have devoured it.
Vote! If you like the way the city is now, then vote for the incumbents. If you are disgusted by the current commissioners and how they ignore the citizens at the meetings, raising taxes, leasing high end SUVs (why do they need vehicles anyway?), and all the other pet projects that costs us tax payers, then vote for change. Vote for the two challengers and send a message. We also need a new city manager who won’t turn our city into GNV.
Replace those who can’t listen to the people. They are ant to spend our hard earned money. All those homes they are adding should help bring in income. What happened ?
The need for change is self-evident.
Ross Ambrose, the incumbent, has led a pack of very weak Commissioners on a “block voting” expedition for three years. Every vote has been 4-1. Why even have a City Commission? No wonder nobody even wants to go and participate. It’s over before it even started.
Silent Gloria James says, “I was about to say that”! They often check to see if she is even breathing or awake.
We need change on this City Commission.
Andrew Miller and
Steve Tapanes
Honest men who want to be fair and have a lunch box mentality for going to work.
Need to send Mr. Ross back to his business.
As one of our remarkable City Commissioners loves to input into the meetings, “We can do better than this”! Certainly defines this situation perfectly. I can only hope the national news doesn’t pick up on this story. Tourist will be flocking here for not only the “Wall Dog Murals” gracing our Historic district but to take photos in front of the police station. Chief Shepherd put out an excellent statement took full blame of an overzealous department that normally does phenomenal work. I known the City Attorney can tell them all about the 1st Amendment and numerous examples for at least an hour.
You consider Steve Tapanes honest after defaulting on loans and filing for bankruptcy? Putting him on the commission, when the city is already struggling financially, would be detrimental.
Ambrose and Weitz usually come to the meetings prepared and ready to work. They have good questions and comments. But that alone doesn’t excuse either of them if they don’t have the best interests of the community at heart. With that pretext, we’ve seen Ambrose act as if he cares about the community, but he single handedly shoved the Wall Dogs murals down the throats of the citizens. Regardless of your opinion on the murals, the citizens showed up in force and said NO. Very few actual citizens spoke in favor of it. But since he controls the commissioners who are never prepared and never provide any useful input, it got approved despite his clear conflict of interest on the voting block.
The City Manager frequently praises Ambrose for his work, but she doesn’t do the same for Weitz. Why is that?
Remember, with the 27% tax increase, Ambrose lied to the people by saying “we have to approve a budget”. In reality, they didn’t because they would have just reverted to the previous budget. Weitz brought forward legitimate cost savings opportunities, which the commission (including Ambrose) scoffed at.
It’s pretty clear that Ambrose is the bully on the commission. He literally railroaded a former commissioner so that she would get booted in favor of his personal friend at the last election. And we should carefully recall what this new commissioner, Grunder, did when voting on their salaries. He stated that they shouldn’t get a raise. However, this proved he hadn’t even read the agenda item and was totally unprepared, because they weren’t even proposing to get a raise. Open mouth, insert foot! This kind of unpreparedness is due to Ambrose needing to maintain his voting power.
Now all you commenters need to run for office! You all have an interest and are concerned! Go for it, be the change you want to see, right? I live in Alachua and am off the hook on this one.
I wonder if they decided to raise property taxes at the same time they were spending taxpayer money to paint the unwanted murals around town?