“Ocala Gazette” Q&A with candidates for County Commission
This is the third week in a nine-week project to ask questions of and hear responses from those seeking office.
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There are three candidates running for the District 2 County Commission seat (Matthew Cretul, Mike Crimi and Brien Weidemiller) and six for the District 4 seat (Randall Alvord, Jeff Bairstow, Clint Barkley, Anthony Barriner-Massa, Wanda Wimberly Lasher and Sherri Meadows).
The “Gazette” will email a different question each week to all of the candidates, for a total of nine questions over nine weeks. The candidates are given a week to respond in writing and we do not edit their answers. The answers from those who chose to participate are presented below in the order in which they were received.
QUESTION THREE: The Marion County budget continues to grow alongside population and service demands. What areas of county spending do you believe deserve greater investment, and where — if anywhere — should spending be reduced or reexamined?
I’d like to see more of our budget go towards infrastructure mainly for our pedestrian safety. We need more investment in street lighting, sidewalks, bike lanes and maybe a county bike trail system to ensure residents can travel safely. We should also install pedestrian signals with audible features, allowing visually impaired residents to navigate crossings safely and independently. These improvements would enhance and strengthen overall public safety.
—Anthony Barriner-Massa
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Marion County’s budget should be considered with a clear, disciplined focus on priorities that protect our residents and support responsible growth.
Having recently attended the county’s public budget workshop, it is clear we are entering this year with real fiscal pressures, including rising costs for public safety, employee health insurance and essential services. We must maintain a balanced budget while making disciplined, priority-driven decisions. That makes accountability essential.
I believe we must prioritize investment in public safety, infrastructure and essential services — including fire rescue, law enforcement and emergency response — as well as road improvements, solid waste planning and maintaining facilities that serve our growing population.
At the same time, we must continue to invest in protecting our natural resources, including our aquifer, springs and the parks and recreational spaces that are so important to our community and quality of life.
Growth also demands fiscal discipline. We should regularly review spending to identify areas that can be streamlined or restructured — particularly in non-essential programs or administrative costs — to ensure taxpayer dollars are used efficiently.
New development must also pay its fair share, helping fund the infrastructure and services it requires, rather than shifting that burden to existing residents.
Marion County does not need more spending — it needs smarter, more disciplined spending. With the right priorities, we can meet today’s needs while protecting our community for the future.
—Sherri Meadows
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The entire budget needs to be re-examined for fraud, waste and abuse. The mindset of “if you don’t use it, you lose it” needs to be eradicated. If funding is not completely expended, there should not be a threat that the funding will be lost. This generates irresponsible spending.
First responders, law enforcement and infrastructure deserve greater investment. We need to support the residents we currently have and invest in meeting the demands on our infrastructure due to growth.
—Brien Weidemiller
***
I believe if we asked the Chief of Police, the Fire Chief, the Tax Collector, the Supervisor of Elections, the Head of the Road and Bridge department, the head of the Animal Services department and all the other department heads, if they wanted a greater investment in their respective departments they all would say yes. It would not, however, be fiscally responsible to act accordingly.
Of course, we all want to be safe, our taxes collected fairly, elections run responsibly, our roads maintained and animals be treated humanely. Priorities must be made. Everyone is not going to agree on these priorities. We must do what is needed and not wanted.
I believe that all department budgets need to be examined. Are we using the funds allotted wisely? Is there an opportunity to improve efficiency? There should and will be many hours of debate on this. Growth and the management thereof loom large on most people’s minds these days, as it should. Sustainable growth and the safety of our citizens need to be the key. Building on a solid foundation, laying the groundwork and preparing for the future will all need to be accomplished so all Marion County residents have the ability to live the American dream.
—Wanda Wimberly Lasher
***
This is a position I believe Marion County shouldn’t find itself in. Keeping the millage flat would not have put the board in this position. Now, instead of taking advantage of a growing local tax base, the county is effectively climbing out of a hole of its own making.
There are two main paths the county can take to get out of the $27 million hole. First, raising the general millage to 3.78, or second, reducing services to match the revenue generated by the current millage rate.
A deficit‑reduction plan that deliberately links budget cuts to decreased service levels is feasible if the county:
(1) Isolates the expenditures that can be safely postponed or trimmed.
(2) Engages transparent metrics that quantify the anticipated service decline (for instance, staffing levels, response times, or program outreach metrics).
(3) Provides a clear communication strategy that explains how the shortfall will be addressed while safeguarding essential public services.
Such a plan must also respect existing legal obligations (e.g., debt‑service coverage, reserve requirements and statutory service-level mandates) and be guided by a phased implementation schedule that periodically re‑evaluates both fiscal and service‑level outcomes.
As to where the cuts, if the millage stays flat, should come from…I believe citizens should have some say in that process, as they would be the ones seeing the reduction of services.
Do we cut capital projects? Resident services? Public safety? Personnel?
None of the selections are great options, but we cannot underfund our public safety or our road infrastructure.
—Matthew Cretul
These candidates did not reply by the stated deadline of 5 p.m. April 14: Mike Crimi, Randall Alvord, Jeff Bairstow and Clint Barkley.
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