From Staff Reports
In Summary:
Apopka Mayor Nick Nesta said the city will host an unhoused resource provider forum Sept. 24 to better coordinate nonprofits, churches and others already assisting residents. He said the city's temporary hiring pause is intended to provide time to develop a broader reorganization aimed at improving accountability, efficiency and employee support, with a proposal expected in mid- to late September. Nesta also discussed reviewing the city's approach to legal representation and pursuing audits of impact-fee credits and water billing.
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Apopka Mayor Nick Nesta used his mayor’s report Wednesday night to outline several initiatives that could change how the City works with community organizations, structures its government, obtains legal services and reviews utility billing.
Related: Developing Story: Commission votes 4-1 to expand public comment time, eliminate 30-minute cap.
During the August 19 City Commission meeting, Nesta announced plans for a September forum bringing together organizations that serve unhoused and housing-insecure residents, offered more details about the City’s recently announced hiring pause and proposed reviewing the City’s legal representation.
He also called for audits of impact-fee credits and the City’s water billing system, saying residents' questions and changes in utility rates warrant closer examination.
Forum will bring together organizations serving unhoused residents
Nesta announced that the City will host what he described as an “unhoused resource provider forum” at 6 pm September 24 at The Well.
The goal, he said, is to bring churches, nonprofits, individuals and other organizations already assisting unhoused and housing-insecure residents together to determine where services overlap and where gaps remain.
Nesta tied the effort in part to the City’s financial limitations, saying Apopka is approaching a budget in which it cannot continue contributing financially to certain needs at previous levels.
“We have so many non-profits in the area and churches and individuals that want to help and are helping the unhoused or those that are housing insecure in whatever capacity that looks like,” Nesta said.
Rather than duplicating efforts, Nesta said he wants participating organizations to identify the services they provide and find ways to work together more efficiently.
“What I want to do, and we really need to start to make this big push, is to have all these groups come together, build efficiencies together, kind of check off the box of where they fit in the need of resources to where there’s not duplicative efforts,” he said.
Nesta said additional information about the forum will be released ahead of the September meeting.
Hiring pause intended to provide time for City reorganization
Nesta also provided additional context for the temporary hiring pause he recently instituted for most vacant City positions. He apologized to commissioners for how they learned about the decision, explaining that he believed an email sent to “all” recipients had reached commissioners. He said an information-technology safeguard designed to prevent potential Sunshine Law issues prevented that from happening.
“Please blame that on me exclusively,” Nesta said.
Nesta emphasized that the hiring pause is not primarily a cost-cutting measure. Instead, he said it is intended to give City leaders time to examine Apopka’s organizational structure and determine whether departments and employees are positioned appropriately for a growing city.
“The hiring pause itself is really going to help give time for us to build out the proper organization for this growing and updated community,” Nesta said.
Nesta said he deliberately avoided immediately restructuring city government after taking office because he first wanted to understand what was working, what was not, and where improvements could be made.
“What are we doing well? What are we not doing well? How can we do better? And how do we update this to a modern city that truly serves its residents in a super efficient way?” Nesta said.
He said one conclusion already reached was the need for a community development director, a position exempted from the hiring pause.
Nesta also said departments are operating too independently of one another.
“We’re working in a lot of silos right now, which creates islands, which everybody doesn’t kind of see the full vision,” he said.
The objective of reorganizing, Nesta said, is to increase accountability, efficiency and responsiveness while ensuring employees have adequate support and resources.
Nesta rejected the suggestion that the pause was driven by the City's financial situation.
“Again, it’s not a financial-based pause by any means,” he said. “It’s just that there needs to be reorganization.”
He said he hopes to present a proposed City reorganization to commissioners by mid- to late September. Commissioners would then have an opportunity to review the proposal and provide feedback.
Nesta acknowledged that any new organizational structure would likely require adjustments after implementation.
“It’s not going to be perfect,” he said. “I want feedback.”
City may reconsider how it obtains legal services
Nesta also raised the possibility of seeking proposals for the City's legal representation as City Attorney Cliff Shepard prepares to retire.
Nesta said he had discussed the matter with Shepard and believes the transition provides an opportunity for the City to examine alternatives.
Shepard's firm could compete for the work if the City ultimately issues a request for proposals.
“If we don’t, then we can stay with Attorney Shepard, but this will provide that opportunity,” Nesta said.
Because of changes to Apopka’s charter, Nesta said the decision belongs to the City Commission rather than the mayor alone.
“I can’t make that executive decision,” he said. “It’s up to the board.”
The discussion broadened into whether Apopka should continue using an outside firm, establish an in-house legal department or consider a hybrid arrangement. Nesta said an in-house model would need adequate staffing rather than relying on a single attorney.
“I think one attorney cannot service all the needs of our community,” he said.
Another possibility, Nesta said, could be a hybrid model using an outside firm while having an attorney physically available at City Hall for a set number of hours each week. Commissioners indicated they wanted a more detailed discussion before proceeding with an RFP. A workshop was suggested as the appropriate setting.
Nesta agreed.
Nesta calls for closer examination of water billing
Nesta concluded his report by discussing audits, including one involving impact-fee credits and another focused on the City's water billing system. He said he wants a review of water billing, tracking, back bills and overbilling because of continuing questions about customers' bills.
“Just a lot of question marks there, and our residents are also very frustrated,” Nesta said. “I see the social media where they just have a lot of question marks with the bills that they’ve been provided.”
The review takes on added importance, he said, as the City considers changes to utility rates. Nesta said he is not yet sufficiently confident in the underlying numbers and wants the City to be able to assure residents that any rate changes are justified.
“I’m not yet solid on those numbers,” Nesta said. “So I want to make sure that we are confident we can tell the residents if we are changing rates at any capacity, it makes sense that we’re solid in this, that, yes, it impacts your wallet, but we are confident that this is the best for the city.”
Nesta said city officials will discuss whether to handle the impact-fee and water-billing reviews through two separate RFPs or combine them into one solicitation. Any proposed language would be brought back for review before moving forward.
