Bankson wins an election and joins a team

The First 100 Days: Many key issues for the new commissioners

100 days ago, Commissioners Doug Bankson and Kyle Becker sat down for their first City Council meeting. They negotiated recreation fees, hired a new fire chief, fired a controversial consultant, put the City Center in motion, and began the budgeting process. It's been a whirlwind tour for the newest Apopka City Commissioners , but both have hit the ground running. The Apopka Voice met with Bankson and Becker to get their thoughts on their first 100 days in office.

Part One: Commissioner Doug Bankson

Doug Bankson

Oftentimes politicians will refer to their campaigns as teams, and use plural words like "we and us" to describe their journey to election day. But once in office, it's rare to hear them talk that way again.

Commissioner Doug Bankson might be the exception to that rule.

During his interview with The Apopka Voice, Bankson referenced the feeling of being on a team several times in describing working with City staff and his fellow commissioners.

"I’ve learned a lot about the way the city runs," he said. "It’s a big learning curve as far as the variances of the budget. But to me it’s teamwork, and that’s the way I like to approach an endeavor. We’re strongest together when you draw on everyone’s strengths. And as far as the city staff and commissioners, everyone is hard working, diligent, and for the most part, there are a lot of similar goals and direction. Now there may be differences in how we want to get there, but I still see a team."

While on the campaign trail, Bankson ran on fiscal principals, and his first 100 days on the council has seen him remain focused on that issue as it relates to the budgeting process. But he would like to work on it in a slightly different method than is currently implemented.

"I'm going to continue to be a strong proponent of the Highland Manor. Lots of people wanted to keep the property as it was, but there is just no way to do that. However I think there are plans moving forward that we can save its historical value, and everyone will be pleased with the outcome."

-Commissioner Doug Bankson

"I would like to approach it in a manner of starting with the priorities first, and once we see what the most important things are... to put those in, then fit in the other things we are able to fit in. My biggest concern is trying to push forward by amassing debt versus building growth. I want to build an economic machine that will begin to fund itself. Probably one of the biggest misunderstandings of the public is that the taxes themselves are a very small portion of the revenue that comes in order to run the city. Raising taxes is not going to cover the things we need. I think we need to do that sparingly. But all in all I think everyone has similar goals as far as how they want to see the city move forward. But I would like to see us approach it in a manner that builds us economically."

Bankson also sees positives in the advancement of the City Center project, particularly the negotiating done by Development Director Mark Reggentin and the city staff.

"Everyone knows because of the economic downturn we lost a lot of value on the property. But we have what we have. So we have to start there. There were certain things already in place before I got in office. So I have the hand that was dealt in that sense. I wish we had been able to get more people bidding on the property. I think it would have helped us in that process. However, I commend Mark Reggentin and the city staff as far as crafting that process to make sure we go back and forth with the developers to get a good deal that wasn’t going to be more out of pocket for the City. That was a big issue I think for all of us. We didn’t want to lose that much value on the property, and then also take a hit out of pocket to see the project go forward. So that and the fact they put a clause in that if something happened on the other side, the property would come back to the city. That gave me the comfort level to move forward."

He also hasn't forgotten about the historical icon stuck in the middle of the property.

"I'm going to continue to be a strong proponent of the Highland Manor. Lots of people wanted to keep the property as it was, but there is just no way to do that. However I think there are plans moving forward that we can save its historical value, and everyone will be pleased with the outcome."

There is a long way to go, and lots more to learn, but Bankson is beginning to feel a certain comfort level on the City Council.

"I’m finding that sweet spot where we can work together helping the community find compromise whether it’s the parking issue, the red light camera issue, all these different things and we’re trying to find out what is best for the majority of people and how is that all in all is going to be best for the city and I think that’s what we’re all striving for."