Q: As the new chair of the Board of County Commissioners, what is your vision for the upcoming year?
A: My vision is, and has always been, to be as transparent and informational as possible. It’s important for the public to know what the county is spending taxpayers’ dollars on, with safety and quality of life as priorities.
Q: You made the decision to move non-agenda item public comment to the beginning of the meetings. Can you explain your thought process?
A: My most important task is to represent the people of St. Johns County in everything that comes in front of me. The best way to do this is to listen to the people and what better way is there to do that than to prioritize their comments at the beginning of each meeting? So I put public comments at the beginning of the meeting, right after the agenda is approved. Everyone needs to be heard.
Q: Can you share your thoughts about the consent agenda?
A: If there is a multi-million dollar item for us to consider, I don’t think generally it should be a consent agenda item. These items should be out in the open and part of the regular agenda, which promotes discussion and the sharing of information. Over the years, I have learned a lot by having items moved to the regular agenda and I think the public did, too. It is important to note, too, that online, if a reader wants more information about a consent or regular agenda item, they can click on the paragraph and that will bring up supporting documentation.
Q: What are your plans going forward into this new year?
A: I hope to bring forth to the board items I ran on when I was elected, such as the tree ordinance. I like to keep my promises and so far, the way I’ve voted, I think I have kept my promises. I’m really excited to be working with this new board.
Also, I’d ask anyone with questions or comments to please call me. I answer my own phone and I return calls.
Q: What is the best way for our readers to contact you?
A: Readers can email me at bcc4kjoseph@sjcfl.us or call me at (904) 679-2620.
