PUBLIC SAFETY IS OUR #1 PRIORITY
Michael believes that city government exists primarily to safeguard citizens.  Budget cuts to fire and police will hinder emergency response, increase homeowner’s insurance rates and endanger our citizens.

EUSTIS MUST BE BUSINESS-FRIENDLY
Unless we can create and maintain a strong commercial tax base, citizens will continue to feel the largest tax burden, while having to leave our city to find jobs.

But business won’t come to Eustis if we remain a city of red tape and bureaucracy.  To attract business and create high-quality jobs, we must reduce the paperwork, permitting and red tape we force new businesses to navigate.

BETTER PLANNING AND FORESIGHT
As a Eustis-born resident of the city, Michael has seen our community change immensely.

The hospital where Michael was born has been replaced by an empty lot.  The downtown businesses that relied upon doctors, nurses, patients and visitors to fuel their growth have withered, with many closing shop and heading out of town.

The new hospital, situated on the North side of Highway 441, was allowed to annex into Tavares, meaning a loss in tax revenue for Eustis.  Michael would not have allowed the hospital to leave our city without a fight.

ANNEXATION & ELIMINATING ENCLAVES
Large pockets of unincorporated areas still dot the Eustis map.  These Lake County residents enjoy many of the services (water, fire response, recreation facilities, road service, etc.) while depriving the city of hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue because they do not pay city taxes.

Meanwhile, our friends in Mt. Dora, Tavares, Leesburg and Umatilla have begun aggressively annexing land all around Eustis.  Mt. Dora has already annexed all the way to S.R. 44 to the East of Eustis.  Umatilla is annexing more land to our North, while Tavares has already crossed the railroad tracks on Highway 441 all the way to David Walker Drive.

If our city is going to encourage intelligent growth and guide the way commercial and residential developments shape our community, we must have those areas under our jurisdiction.  Michael believes that annexation is the key to controlling the types of development and method of development in your area.

UTILIZING A WHOLE CITY APPROACH
It’s easy to focus our attention on Downtown or the 441 Corridor, but many of the failed attempts to revitalize our city have ignored other communities in Eustis.

Any effective revitalization effort must encompass ALL of Eustis, including the more-challenging areas.  Years of blight cannot be reversed overnight, but ignoring them or hoping that the citizens “won’t notice” is hardly a worthy solution.

We must continually engage all the citizens of our City to make any real changes.

FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY
While safeguarding citizens lives and property is government’s #1 priority, a close second is responsible stewardship of the public’s money.

During an economic downturn, lowering or maintaining taxes can help stimulate a local economy.  But any tax plan must also include a reduction in the amount of money spent on unnecessary projects.

Recent drops in tax revenue, precipitated by a quieter economy and Amendment 1, make superfluous expenditures on new property and vanity image projects even more foolish.  It is the responsibility of city leaders to tighten city hall’s belt during difficult times.