Magel Asks for Constituents’ Concerns

It’s a humbling experience to realize that over 3,700 voters (61% of the votes cast) on Marco Island supported my campaign to bring fiscal responsibility to Marco Island.  The easy part was communicating my values and vision during the campaign, and now the hard part begins.  My promise to you is to ask the questions of the City Manager and Staff making sure their recommendations are sound, fiscally responsible, and maintain the service levels we enjoy and have come to expect.

It will not be an easy task.  I believe we can expect to see decreasing tax revenues over the next several years while costs for goods and services will continue to increase.  Add to that the increasing debt our city carries, the aging infrastructure of our utility, roads, and bridges, and the competing requirements to improve our social/recreational programs.  The City Council will have some tough decisions to make and my first priority will be to see how much money we can save from the current fiscal 2010 budget to minimize a more difficult 2011.

I have other priorities including reviewing the Legal Budget and Capital Improvement Budget, and getting a head start on the Fiscal 2011 Budget, but I want to hear from you the silent majority.  Too often, the City Council only hears from a strong vocal minority who believe they speak for all of us.  I want to know what you think.  I will not take office until March 15th, and would like to use this interim period to find out what are your concerns.  Please email me at magel4marco@gmail.com either to give me your thoughts via email or arrange for us to meet in person so we can have an in-depth discussion of the issues.

To those who did not support me, my hope is my actions, working in your interests on the City Council, will change your opinion over time. 

Thank you again and I look forward to hearing from you,

Larry Magel
Councilman Elect, City of Marco Island