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Homelessness dilemma grows
Mayor Guinn will not seek reelection Staff report
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t the close of the Ocala City Council meeting on Tuesday, April 4, Mayor Kent Guinn announced that he would not be seeking reelection. Guinn has served 12 years as mayor, and before that served 12 years on the city council. Thus far, Ben Marciano is the only person who has filed to run for the mayoral seat. Marciano reports that he has raised $107,000 for his campaign to date. In addition to the mayoral seat, the city of Ocala will have two city council seats up for election this year. Incumbent Ire Bethea has already filed to run again for the District 2 city council seat and has drawn one opponent, Reginald E. Landers Jr. Incumbent Kristen Dreyer has already filed to run again for District 3 city council seat and has drawn no opponents. The city elections are nonpartisan and open to qualified candidates registered under the district they live in, regardless of their party affiliation. This election, the city will be using new district boundary maps, redrawn after the 2020 census. The mayor’s seat is a two-year term, while the city council seat is a four-year term. City Clerk Angel Jacobs oversees qualifying candidates, and interested candidates can reach out to her for more information about what that entails. Jacob’s email is ajacobs@ocalafl.org. Jacobs said that the qualifying period for candidates begins at noon on July 10 and ends at noon on July 14. The general election is scheduled for Sept. 19. If needed, the runoff election is set File photo: Mayor Kent Guinn on March 26, 2022. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] for Nov. 21.
Cletus Gibbs of the Department of Homeless Prevention talks on his cellphone as he tries to locate other places for homeless people to stay as a homeless camp on the private property of Khalid Mirza is broken up off Northwest 38th Avenue in Ocala on Tuesday, March 7, 2023. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2023.
As the numbers of the unsheltered increases locally, area agencies try to meet the need. By Andy Fillmore Correspondent Editor’s note: In coming weeks, the “Gazette” will explore other aspects of this subject, such as the role of nonprofits and barriers to shelter.
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teve C. compares his homelessness to being trapped in a dark tunnel. “There’s no way out,” he said. Steve, 53, a native of Pennsylvania who says he’s been homeless for “quite a while,” said things began to unravel for him when his wife died and he “overdosed twice.” He was most recently living in a tent in a camp in the 700/800 block of Northwest 38th Avenue that he said was a “peaceful” place. Around 30 other people and three RVs were on the 68-acre parcel out of view from the main road—until the owner came to town to check on his property with a possible sale pending. Law enforcement officials issued
trespass warnings to those living at the site. Many of the homeless have since struggled to find somewhere else to live in the aftermath. This is just the latest example of a growing problem in Marion County and elsewhere, where communities are trying to help the less fortunate meet a basic human need: shelter. Field workers from the Office of Homeless Prevention (OHP), the local agency that provides critical outreach efforts to connect the homeless with available services, had visited the encampment as far back as September, a city spokesperson said. OHP returned to the encampment after the police ordered those living there to leave. There are a number of services available in Marion County, both government-related as well as private or through church-based organizations. There also is a project expected to be finished later this year that will create a day center providing everything from meals, laundry facilities and showers to
resources to locate birth certificates and other records. In some instances, however, there appears to be a disconnect between these services and the people they are intended to help.
Infrastructure
To gain an understanding about how government, private, and charitable groups are involved, the “Gazette” reached out to several local groups for an update on a major undertaking that started in 2017 to address the homelessness in Marion County. That year, the not-for-profit Marion County Public Policy Institute, or PPI, began a study called “Homelessness: The Long Way Home.” The PPI published recommendations two years later in the areas of leadership, comprehensive planning and funding. One recommendation was to eliminate the Marion County Homeless Council and form the Ocala/Marion See Public, page A5
House, Senate get ready for budget talks By Jim Turner Florida News Service
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he Florida House and Senate are positioned to begin negotiations on a record state budget, after the House on Tuesday unanimously passed a $113 billion proposal. The House vote came after the Senate on Monday approved its $113.7 billion spending plan for the fiscal year that will start July 1. The two chambers will need to reach agreement on a final budget before the scheduled May 5 end of the annual legislative session. “Members we have a lot of work left to do before we can land the final budget,” House Appropriations Chairman Tom Leek, R-Ormond Beach, told House members after Tuesday’s vote. The first step in negotiations will involve House and Senate
leaders reaching agreement on what are known as “allocations” — overall amounts designated for different areas of the budget, such as education and health and human services. Conference-committee members then will negotiate differences in spending details. “There’s a lot of similarities (in the budget proposals). But there are some differences,” House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast, said Tuesday. “So, we have to go through the allocation process. I see a place to land, but you know … it can get bumpy.” Lawmakers are flush with cash this year, in part because of higher-than-expected tax revenues. But House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell, D-Tampa, said Tuesday’s unanimous vote wasn’t a sign Democrats agreed with every element of the House spending plan.
“We all have to do the best that we can to provide for our communities and make sure that critical resources reach them, that there’s funding for the arts and the environment and so many different things,” Driskell said. As examples of issues that will be in play during negotiations, the Senate has proposed a 3 percent acrossthe-board pay increase for state employees, while the House has proposed 6 percent raises. Also, the House does not want to fund the businessrecruitment agency Enterprise Florida and the tourismmarketing agency Visit Florida. The Senate, for instance, wants to spend $80 million on Visit Florida, an increase of $30 million from the current year. The Senate also would provide $75 million for the Job Growth Grant Fund, which Gov. Ron DeSantis can tap
for regional infrastructure projects and workforce-training programs. The House has proposed spending $25 million on the program, while DeSantis has asked for $100 million. Meanwhile, in one of DeSantis’ priorities, the House has proposed spending $107.9 million on the recently revived Florida State Guard. The money would allow the state guard’s ranks to jump from 400 to 1,500, while adding aviation and maritime components. The House offer is about $13 million more than DeSantis has requested. The state guard is funded at $10 million this year, and the Senate spending plan does not include an increase. Inactive since 1947, DeSantis made reviving the civilian guard a priority in 2022 to assist the Florida National Guard during emergencies. On Monday, House
Energy, Communications & Cybersecurity Chairman Mike Giallombardo, R-Cape Coral, said more than 3,600 people have applied to be members of the state guard, with about 465 identified as “good candidates.” A stand-alone bill (HB 1285) on the state guard was the only issue that drew opposition from House Democrats on Tuesday. “My concern is we’re increasing the number, we have vague language (on the state guard’s duties backing up the Florida National Guard), and we’re increasing the ability for the guard to interact with Floridians without having an established framework already in place,” Rep. Ashley Gantt, D-Miami, said. While they voted for the budget proposal, Democrats also called for added oversight of school vouchers, additional funding in areas such as the See State, page A2
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