By Meniko Reid, Interning Correspondent for The Apopka Voice
In Summary:
In a 2023 interview with The Apopka Voice, before she was a commissioner, Nadia Anderson criticized arguments from the dais and said she could bring a more neutral perspective to Apopka government. Her comments contrast with Wednesday’s heated exchange with Mayor Nick Nesta, during which she disputed his accounting of festival support and could be heard saying “lies” and “liar.” Commissioners ultimately voted unanimously to replenish Parks and Recreation funds used for police and fire staffing at the Heart and Soul Festival.
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Before she was a commissioner, Nadia Anderson said Apopka needed a different tone at City Hall. In a 2023 interview with The Apopka Voice, she criticized the bickering she had watched from the dais and said she could help bring balance to a government she believed had developed a negative reputation.
“There is no type of collegial governance at all. And that was a major issue for me,” Anderson said then. She also offered a vision for her own approach: “I'm able to bring more of a neutral vote and a neutral opinion to the city of Apopka.”
Related: City Commission suspends discretionary spending after heated exchange.
Those comments offer a striking contrast to Wednesday afternoon’s combative City Commission meeting.
The exchange centered on competing descriptions of festival expenses and the process for authorizing unbudgeted spending. Anderson argued that Nesta’s statements had misrepresented the city’s support and unfairly damaged the festival organizer’s reputation, while Nesta defended his figures and said his concerns involved spending procedures rather than the event itself.
Despite the confrontation, commissioners unanimously approved a budget amendment to replenish Parks and Recreation funds used for police and fire staffing at the festival. The vote passed the amendment, but the debate reflected the discord Anderson once cited as a reason to seek a different approach.
On three different agenda items, tensions flared between Anderson and Nesta. First, during commission reports, next over commissioner discretionary funds, and over funding for the Heart and Soul Festival.
Nesta called for a vote on a budget amendment, stating that the festival had not been included in the budget and that funding for off-duty police officers and firefighters had been drawn from the Parks and Recreation budget. The proposed amendment would replenish those funds. In response, Anderson referred to an earlier statement from Nesta regarding $13,000 in wasted taxpayer dollars.
Anderson said she had asked city staff to break down where that figure came from. She later said she received an amphitheater expenditure report by email that showed she had spent only $1,000 of her $10,000 annual discretionary allocation. She said the remaining $9,000 would revert to the city’s reserves.
“I asked staff, did the City of Apopka cut any financial check to the Heart and Soul? Zero dollars went to the Heart and Soul,” Anderson said. She argued that the city’s expenditures covered staffing rather than a direct payment to festival organizers.
Anderson alleged that Nesta’s statement led many residents to believe the city had paid $13,000 from its budget to the festival, prompting online backlash against Paul Allen Billings, president of the Heart and Soul Music Festival. Anderson said invoices from city staff showed that about $8,000 covered police and fire personnel costs rather than payments to the festival.
According to a report sent to the City Commission and cited by Anderson, the festival attracted thousands of visitors and generated hundreds of hotel reservations. Anderson also cited claims that some businesses had earned enough revenue during the event to remain operational for an additional three months.
“This is what civic engagement looks like,” Anderson said, saying she intends to keep partnering with organizations that contribute to the community. “This is what responsible partnership looks like.” Anderson called the $13,000 figure “made up” and closed with an apology to Billings.
Nesta responded to Anderson’s claims, saying his concerns centered on the spending and approval process rather than the event itself. He disputed her characterization of the $13,000 figure as being inaccurate, saying the city incurred about $8,300 in expenses and provided about $4,500 in discounts while commissioners and staff were participating in budget hearings.
He cited a total of $12,844.
“That’s where the $13,000 comes from. It’s not made up. It’s not, poof, out of nowhere,” said Nesta.
Nesta said the spending was particularly frustrating because department heads had been competing for funding for other priorities during the budget process. He described the handling of the unbudgeted festival expenses as “not in decency or in order” and said it violated a Florida statute governing unbudgeted expenditures. He attributed the dispute to problems in the city’s procedures that his administration was working to correct.
Anderson could be heard saying “lies” and “liar” during Nesta’s remarks. She then added, “For the record, that was a lie, but I’ll leave it there.”
The motion to amend the budget for the Heart and Soul Music Festival passed unanimously without further debate.
Key Points:
- In an interview a couple of years ago, Anderson criticized City Hall bickering and advocated a more collegial approach to governing.
- Wednesday’s festival funding debate brought a heated exchange between Anderson and Nesta, including Anderson’s accusations of dishonesty.
- Anderson said city expenditures covered police and fire personnel rather than direct payments to festival organizers, and she defended the event’s community benefits.
- Nesta defended his accounting of expenses and discounts, saying his concerns centered on unbudgeted spending and the approval process.
- Commissioners unanimously approved the amendment replenishing Parks and Recreation funds used for festival staffing.
Editor's Note: Managing Editor Reggie Connell contributed to this report.
