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District:
COUNTY WIDE ELECTION (CTY)
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Candis Harbison Candidate For:
COUNTY COMMISSION,
DISTRICT 2
Democrat
Defeated
120 East 2nd Place
Panama City, FL 32401
Phone: 850-872-8260
Fax: 850-872-9972
Email: candis1@comcast.net
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Note: The candidate's statement is
supplied by the candidate and is not endorsed by the County Supervisor of
Elections! The statement must advance the candidacy of the candidate and
not attack the opponents or issues in the election.
| Comments : | My platform has as its goal bringing the benefits of growth to all citizens of Bay County. Growth can bring prosperity, jobs, shopping, recreational and cultural activities, and diversity. Growth brings increased tax revenue, but it also increases demands on government to provide the services that people expect and depend upon. How do we share the benefits of growth in Bay County and ensure that growth is sustainable?
1. Promote quality growth.
Follow our Comprehensive Plan to build communities that provide a good quality of life to those living in them. Adhere to zoning categories so that homeowners can depend on their neighborhoods staying the same as when they purchased their homes. Ensure that densities and intensities of use are appropriate for each land use.
Require buffers between competing uses and keep trees, wetlands, and “green space” in the landscape. Stop the routine permitting of development in wetlands, flood plains, and high hazard areas. This is what has caused our insurance rates to become so outrageous!
2. Relieve punitive tax consequences of rapid growth.
It is important to keep county services and reserves well-funded, but I agree that the 47% increase in property tax caused by inflated property valuation gives leeway for the reduction in the millage rate set by the County Commission.
County officials should also be working with the state to increase property tax exemptions and caps, especially in regard to extending some protection to small business and small rental operations.
Recent county decisions have added to the problem by encouraging the over-speculation that led to such high property valuation and taxation. When limits on density, height, and side setbacks were removed, builders and investors flocked to our area to cash in on the boom. Now, we are all paying the price.
3. Protect the natural resources that attracted people here in the first place.
Our Comprehensive Plan calls for protection of wetlands, seagrass beds, and groundwater and surface water quality, but Land Development Regulations don’t fully implement that protection. Beach sampling reports are showing more and more degradation of our water quality. We must guide development in the Sand Hills, our drinking water recharge area, to protect our fresh water supply.
One good example of protection of resources and encouragement of growth is the Ecosystem Management Area in Bay and Walton counties developed by the Department of Environmental Regulation. This agreement plans ahead to prohibit the filling of highly functional wetlands and set aside mitigation areas that can be used to compensate for the filling of less-functional wetlands, thus speeding up the permitting process for appropriate development.
Another example is the West Bay Sector Plan that sets out the allowable uses of a 74,000 acre area, balancing areas for preservation and areas for development. The bay buffer included in the Sector Plan would protect West Bay from many development-related impacts. This plan is good, but is subject to future amendments. I pledge to protect this plan from future changes that would degrade its purpose and functioning.
Properly guided, growth will bring opportunity to Bay County. Attracting new residents to Bay County does not require sacrificing the desires of the citizens who have been living here and paying taxes for years. People will continue to move to Bay County because it is a beautiful place to live. All we have to do is keep it that way. As a resident of Bay County for 33 years, I am both concerned and hopeful. I am concerned that many of the things I loved have disappeared, such as the sand dunes at the beach and the scallops in the bay. I will work on better stormwater pollution control, which could bring back our scallops.
I have been working to improve our county for a long time. In 1973, I helped form an organization that applied for state purchase of the west end of Shell Island. It took 10 years, but that goal was achieved, and I support efforts to keep the rest of the island open to the public. In 1998, I helped found the Bay County Conservancy, which has worked with land owners to conserve 170 acres of land for people and wildlife.
4. Provide affordable housing and better jobs.
A study by the Work Force Board determined that Bay County suffers
from a reduced industrial base because workers cannot find homes that they can afford. If all Bay County governments worked together to utilize the federal and state programs that are available, progress could be made in this area of much-needed growth. We need to attract more industry so that our children do not have to leave town to find work! I pledge to make this a priority, by ensuring a reasonable incentives package, and doing better marketing of all we have to offer industries shopping for locations.
5. Better fiscal management.
I believe that when government officials spend the citizens’ tax money, they are performing a sacred trust. They have an obligation to scrutinize every dollar spent to be sure that it is being spent wisely, but saving money does not always mean taking the cheapest option. The County Commission that built the incinerator “saved” a million dollars by not installing air pollution control devices, and when the EPA finally required those devices be installed last year, it cost us $18 million.
Covering the sewage pipeline with rock mattresses rather than burying it, as promised, was also a short-term savings, but we must all cross our fingers in hopes it doesn’t cause an expensive disaster in the future.
Who should pay the costs for development? New development should cover its own costs, rather than depending on the existing taxpayers to fund it. I will ensure that impact fees are fairly applied.
There should always be a bid process for large contracts, and we should not pay more than appraised value for county property, such as the $13 million that the commission considered paying for swampy land that was appraised at less than $1 million.
6. Create a healthy community.
Four generations of my family live here. My son and daughter-in-law own a restaurant, so I am concerned with the struggles of small businesses. For 13 years I worked with abused children, so I understand social service needs.
I want Bay County to be a safe, affordable community. I want to use my experience to work towards a good quality of life for all citizens. I am hopeful because I see an opportunity to grow into a livable community for all residents. With your help I will work to create a county that is not only bigger, but better!
Bay County is growing up and we need a grown-up government!
EDUCATION:
B.A. University of Tulsa 1963
J.D. Florida State University 1982
EXPERIENCE:
Elementary school teacher, 1963-1967
High school substitute teacher, 1983
Charter Member, Bay County League of Women Voters, 1977
Bay County Charter Study Commission, 1978
Shell Island Acquisition Project 1973-1986
Governing Board of Northwest Florida Water Management District 1981-89
President, Auxiliary to Bay County Medical Society, 1988-89
Guardian ad Litem Volunteer of the Year, 1989
Panama City Planning Board, 1990-94
Bay County Ad Hoc Recycling Committee, 1993-94
Chair, Bay Environmental Study Team, 1994-95
Bay County Parks and Recreation Board, 2003-present.
Bay County Library Board of Trustees, 2005-present.
President, Bay County Conservancy, 1998-present.
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As stated in section 106.011(14), F.S. the candidates running for State,
Multicounty, District or Judical office must file with the Department of State
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