District 2 race pits Commissioner Victoria Bruce's infrastructure record against Ken Spalthoff's push for lower utility bills

Water bills, aging pipes and flooding top the agenda for both people running for Winter Springs' District 2 city commission seat, but they differ on the state's property tax amendment and on what has gone wrong with the city's finances.

Commissioner Victoria Bruce, who holds the seat, faces Ken Spalthoff on the Nov. 3 ballot. Their positions come from written answers to a candidate questionnaire the Orlando Sentinel published Oct. 13 in its voter guide. The city ballot also includes the mayor's race and the District 4 seat.

Water and utility costs

Bruce lists water as her top issue. She wants old pipes and lift stations replaced on a "worst case first" timetable guided by data, paid for before discretionary spending, and keeping wastewater capacity ahead of new development.

She also wants water test results and compliance records published in a place residents can find them, and wants the city to chase grants and cheap state financing to hold down what ratepayers pay.

Spalthoff's first priority is lowering utility rates through tighter budgeting and extending reclaimed water lines to more neighborhoods for irrigation. He suggests studying reverse osmosis filtration and deeper aquifer wells to improve drinking water.

He blames poor financial planning over the past decade for a doubling of wastewater costs and says the city should refinance the debt on its new wastewater plants once interest rates settle.

Amendment 3

Spalthoff says he will vote yes on the property tax amendment and that the city can find the money by revising its budget.

Bruce called it a "tough question." She wrote that the city would lose about $2 million in year one and roughly $4 million annually afterward, which could mean higher fees, more sponsorships, or cuts to events and travel. She noted she voted this year for the rollback millage rate and said residents need tax relief, but she is "unsure if this is the right vehicle."

Growth and flooding

Both say they oppose rezoning land that is not already zoned for development and want to protect Seminole County's rural boundary.

On flooding, Spalthoff would raise impact fees on developers, require larger retention ponds and coordinate with Seminole County and nearby cities to cut runoff flowing through Winter Springs creeks to Lake Jesup. Bruce says older neighborhoods built before modern stormwater rules need pond and pipe retrofits and steady maintenance money.

She wrote that the stormwater fund had been running a $500,000 deficit and leaning on general fund money before the city moved to phased rate increases.

On data centers, Spalthoff says he is against them, while Bruce says large industrial power users should cover the full price of the grid upgrades they trigger.

Sources

orlandosentinel.com

orlandosentinel.com