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Andrew Werner is one of three candidates in the Aug. 20 primary election for Palm Coast City Council, District 3. It’s an open seat, as Council member Nick Klufas is term-limited. Klufas is running for a County Commission seat. The candidates who qualified are Dana Mark Stancel, Ray Stevens and Werner.
This is a non-partisan, at-large election. That means all registered voters in Palm Coast–and only Palm Coast–regardless of party or non-party affiliation–Democrats, Republicans, independents and others–may cast a ballot for City Council. If a candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote, that candidate is elected. If none of the candidates garner more than a 50 percent majority, the leading two vote-getters move on to a runoff to be decided in the Nov. 5 general election.
A city council member is paid $24,097 a year plus a $1,200 car allowance and a $910 communication allowance each year, plus full health care benefits.
FlaglerLive submitted identical questions to all candidates, with the understanding that additional questions might be tailored to candidates individually and some follow-up questions may be asked, with all exchanges conducted by email and on the record.
The Live Interview’s aim is to elicit as much candor and transparency as possible. We have asked candidates to refrain from making campaign speeches or make lists of accomplishments. We have also asked candidates to reasonably document their claims. It’s ultimately up to the reader to judge the quality and sincerity of a candidate’s answers.
The Questions in Summary: Quick Links
The Basics: Andrew Werner
Place and Date of Birth: Nov. 14, 1978.
Current job: Not disclosed.
Party Affiliation: Republican.
Financial Disclosures: Not turned in.
Resume: Not turned in.
Flagler County School Board Flagler County Commission Palm Coast Mayor Palm Coast City Council |
1. How have you specifically prepared yourself to be ready to succeed from day one? Tell us about the character flaws and unique perspectives you bring to the council. Who do you admire most in office today among elected officials in Flagler County—the person you’d consider a model of leadership? Who in the world at large (beyond Flagler), and among the living, do you consider a role model of political or intellectual leadership?
I specifically made it a priority to meet and dialogue with as many different community stakeholders and residents as possible throughout my campaign experience. This has given me the opportunity to immerse myself so that I can truly understand what those invested in our community want and need from their elected officials. I have served my community in different capacities both personally and professionally for over 25 years. Despite the occasional, and not so occasional disagreement with their positions, all of our Flagler County elected officials possess unique leadership qualities. I have many political role models but I believe Doug Broxson, the Florida Senate Appropriations Committee Chair, is one that I would hope to emulate. He leads by example, loves his district, and advocates for long term solutions to the challenges in our state. His farewell speech on February 28th, 2024 was very inspiring for me.
To what extent have you followed or attended council meetings in the last couple of years, and how familiar have you made yourself with the budget and key documents such as the city’s land development code? Since most voters are likely unfamiliar with the Tallahassee senator, who among the local leadership, on elected boards (and with the exclusion of Sheriff Staly), would you cite as a model of leadership, or close to it?
I have attended or watched all of the city council meetings over the last 18 months. The city’s land development code is a key document and should be a priority for any city or county candidate to get familiar with. I met with the city’s Planning Director, Ray Tyner, months ago and was given a presentation and participated in a dialogue with him and the city’s chief of staff.
Among local leadership, I would like to take the time to recognize former County Clerk of Courts Gail Wadsworth. She has such a unique and rich understanding of our area, has a wealth of knowledge on our city’s history, and has dedicated her life in service to Flagler County. She was one of the first area leaders I reached out to when I filed to run for the district 3 city council seat. I admire her dedication to serving in so many different capacities and her longstanding commitment to keeping Flagler County true to its history.
2. Give the council a letter grade on its performance in the last two years. Explain with specific examples where it has been lacking and where it has excelled, and what specific experience and qualities you will bring to improve its effectiveness.
One thing that I have learned in life is that it’s hard to truly understand many situations until you’ve had the experience of being in that situation. Being an elected official has many challenges, and while our current council is certainly not perfect, I look forward to integrating my own experience and perspective in advocating for our city’s residents. During the current council’s two-year tenure they have brought decorum back to the city meetings and much of the deliberation done on the dais is done respectfully. An area that I would like to see improvement upon is resident communication, especially during the city council As the number of public comments grow, many of the resident voices are lost. I believe we need to develop a system on public comment that can be reviewed for follow up at each meeting to ensure that our residents feel heard and supported.
Walking in council members’ shoes is certainly valuable, but from your perspective–the question goes to your analytical understanding of the council you seek to join and your willingness to seek accountability–what actual grade would you give the council as a whole?
The city council is a governing body that votes on city policy and governing. A city council member is responsible to represent the city’s residents and is accountable to the people who call Palm Coast home.
3. What are two goals where you are most aligned with the current council’s “Strategic Action Plan,” two with which you differ, and two you would seek to add, and explain how you intend to convince the council to follow your lead.
The process of following and participating in the Strategic Planning has been enjoyable for me. I appreciate the commitment the city has taken to establish goals and publish data to track progress. I align most with the goals around civic engagement and establishing a strong resilient economy. If the city of Palm Coast’s goal is to deliver exceptional service by making citizens their priority, then a fluid relationship and clear communication should be established between the city and its residents. The city council and city manager should always be focused on improving efficiencies in operations with the goal of providing our citizens with outcomes for their quality of life. Economic vitality should also be a top priority over the next 5-10 years in Palm Coast. As our city grows, the needs also grow, and we need to do what we can to attract businesses and light industry to provide our youth and young families with careers that can sustain them where they live, work, and play. This will also diversify our tax base to relieve the current burden placed on our residential property owners.
4. Taxes and revenue: Where do you stand on property tax increases, including adopting tax rates that are not at rollback (which amounts to a tax increase under Florida law)? Where do you stand on supporting a countywide increase in the sales tax, on adopting a public service tax, or adopting a utility franchise fee? Short of new sources of revenue, and if you intend to stick to a rolled back tax rate, which nearly limits any growth in the budget, what city programs would you eliminate and what service levels would you reduce to achieve that?
The city of Palm Coast has been relying on residential property tax for too much of our city’s budget. If we continue to raise taxes on our homeowners, we will not solve the root cause of having an unbalanced tax burden on our residents. As a fiscal conservative, I will work hard to find cost savings and operational efficiencies so that I can hold the line on taxes and other fees. I will make it a goal to eliminate wasteful spending and protect our quality of life by prioritizing infrastructure and public safety first, while leveraging impact fees to fund projects related to growth.
Recent homeowners aside, homesteaded homeowners have actually seen their property taxes fall, when adjusted for inflation, over the years. Where do you see increasing taxes on the homesteaded? The county has asked Palm Coast to support an increase in the half-cent sales tax: where do you stand on that? Can you cite a current, ongoing example or two of wasteful spending, and an example of efficiency the city is not implementing?
As previously stated, I am a fiscal conservative and would need significant and targeted data suggesting that a tax raise was the city’s only option before considering tax increases. I think the better term to use would be prioritizing budget expenditures. Prioritizing expenditures may require making cuts in the department, but it does not necessarily mean those items were wasteful.
5. Palm Coast’s population continues to grow rapidly, absorbing most of the net increase of 16,000 people between 2020 and 2022. Evaluate the quality and quantity of development in the last few years. What sort of land use or development would you oppose, if it were to come before the council for approval, and why? What percentage of our housing stock should be single-family houses on traditional lots as opposed to apartments or other multi-family complexes? Would you approve raising the density and height of multi-family, or apartment, structures in select areas of the city zoned for the purpose?
I believe everyone in our community should have the opportunity to live, work, and play in Palm Coast. We need more good paying jobs and a spectrum of housing products to enable. If we are able to bring in good paying jobs, our median income will increase, and more people will have the resources to purchase a home in our community.
However, we still need to ensure we provide a spectrum of housing products for people at different stages or their lives including teachers, first responders, and young families. My focus will be to find ways to implement this housing spectrum without sacrificing the integrity of the Palm Coast we currently love. Any new proposals should meet city requirements and be a benefit to the surrounding community.
Your principles are clear, but your specific approach a bit less so. As you look for that housing spectrum, can you address the matters of ratio between single-family houses and multi-family, and the question on density?
As mentioned previously, I think discussions like this can be community-led and will depend on stakeholders to negotiate and make these decisions.
6. The City Council created an arts district in Town center in 2020, but the district has been moribund, and more recently may be further elbowed by a planned YMCA on land previously dedicated for an arts center. What role should the city have in facilitating (not creating, to be sure) arts and culture? Is the city doing enough? Would you favor dedicating a permanent source of revenue from the Town Center CRA to the arts, as had been the original intention in 2020?
Arts, history, culture and are important elements to any community. The arts district in Town Center appears to be an available place for any group to utilize for arts and culture to meet this need for the community. The space has sat empty for almost four years and the recent appropriation request for funding a YMCA in the area was not approved in Tallahassee. I see this as a great opportunity for non-profits or the private sector to utilize Town Center for their goals of promoting arts and Flagler County is known for being one of the highest veterans per capita areas in the whole state of Florida. This would be a great thing for our community to highlight and be proud of. Part of our local culture is respecting and honoring those who have served our country. I would love to see that area turned into a space where we honor, celebrate, and remember those who served our country through military service, law enforcement, first responders, and other community leaders that are important to our city. The area could be used as a patriotic arts and culture district to celebrate our American heritage, highlight our city’s unique history, and celebrate our culture.
The City’s Heroes Park, which continues to grow, was designed as something you describe here. Is Heroes Park either failing or not sufficient in that regard? Taking your approach in Town Center, would you favor dedicating a source of revenue to it out of CRA tax revenue?
Hero’s Park has been designated a place for honoring those who have paid the ultimate price while serving our country. The area in the Town Center I was referencing could be a place where we celebrate our veterans and service community both past and present. We could also add some of our city’s founders, discuss our history, and make this a Palm Coast Hall of Fame.
7. The West Side, west of U.S. 1, is poised to potentially double Palm Coast’s size, or close to it, with the development of the acreage through which the city secured substantial funding for the connector road from Matanzas Parkway to Palm Coast Parkway. Is the city capable of handling that expansion even as its existing infrastructure—stormwater, roads (think congestion), parks—east of U.S. 1 experiences shortfalls and draws residents’ complaints? How would you balance that expansion with the needs in east Palm Coast—or change infrastructure management?
We really need to establish that perfect balance between taking care of current infrastructure needs while investing in the economic sustainability of our future. Any future growth project should be done with a focus of improving our economic vitality while also remaining committed to our capital projects with a focus on water needs improving storm water drainage, and maintaining safe roads.
No question: you are describing residents’ wishes. But the question goes to how to achieve that within today’s constraints and demands on infrastructure: can the city expand westward and still assure proper services to existing residents? How, for example, do you see the city addressing congestion in the existing party of Palm Coast even as it expands westward, bringing more residents overall that will cross between the two sides and add to the congestion?
Priority. I think that we need to be very strategic and intentional about our plans as the city continues to face challenges with growth. I like the terms managed and community-led growth because it creates a collaborative atmosphere to prioritize our stakeholder needs . This means focusing on our immediate issues while also being proactive about problem solving we face in the years to come. Priority should be placed on maintaining and updating our existing infrastructure to ensure we are upholding our promise to provide an excellent quality of life to our residents.
8. Palm Coast’s saltwater canals may need dredging. It’s never been done in the 50-year existence of the city and its ITT antecedent. But the canals—like those recreational amenities mentioned above–are limited to a few neighborhoods. If and when it comes to that, who should pay for the dredging, and through what taxing mechanism?
Our saltwater canals provide Palm Coast with a unique amenity and are consistent with ITT’s original plan for this area to be a golfing and boating community. I have made this a point of discussion throughout my campaign so I can better understand the concerns and hear different points of view. For those who live on the canal, this issue has become more and more urgent every year this goes unattended. Some have reported their boats running aground or having to specifically time the tides to avoid low spots. I would advocate for a discussion with the community to come up with a solution that benefits everyone.
Based on your understanding of the situation so far, and your principles on taxation, what would be your starting point on a funding mechanism, assuming grants are not available (as the city’s consultant has made clear) and existing revenue is not sufficient (as city finances make clear): would you look to a property tax increase or a special taxing district, and would you levy the charge evenly across the city, or would residents around the canals shoulder a larger of the cost?
The saltwater canals are a fantastic amenity for our whole community. I would like to see more opportunities to promote the use of the canals for all of our residents. I would advocate for a discussion with the community to come up with a solution that benefits everyone.
9. Describe in one paragraph the principal qualities you will seek in the new city manager you will be responsible for hiring, and what expectations you will have from that manager from day one.
At first, I believed it was the responsibility of the current council that voted to fire the city manager, to hire someone to take her place before the new council was seated. After meeting with the current interim City Manager Lauren Johnston, I became very confident in her ability to provide city leadership until a permanent City Manager can be onboarded. The new city manager should possess some or all of the qualities that will be needed to hit the ground running.
-Education
-Experience
-Commitment to Data Driven results
-Dedication to our community
Upon hiring the new City Manager, I would like to see an updated analysis of each department and the development of SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound) goals to meet the needs of our community.
10. Palm Coast relies on the sheriff for policing. Evaluate that relationship as it stands today. What is your analysis of the latest method of hiring what would amount to five additional deputies a year for the next three years, based primarily on call volume, and how would you pay for it? Do you favor an independent police department for the city, now or in the near future?
As a candidate that plans to focus on our quality of life, there is no greater issue that is attributed to this than our You cannot have quality of life if you do not feel safe in your community. Any city service provided to the city should be held responsible for the goals they set and the results of their effort. Our Flagler County Sheriff’s Department, under Sheriff Staly’s leadership, has brought crime down by 50% on the way to being named the 2nd safest city in the entire state of Florida. Those are the ambitious results we should be striving to achieve for our residents. In regards to the need for additional deputies, the city of Palm Coast would not be required to completely fund all of those additional positions as share of them may be funding through the county commission. If safety is a priority for our quality of life, then we need to give it priority within the budget. Due to our recent growth, the Sheriff’s Department is already operating well below the recommended deputy/resident ratio and these additional positions will get us closer to compliance. The sheriff’s department has demonstrated a commitment to proactive policing and keeping our service costs low giving us a great return on our investment.
I do not see a need for Palm Coast to evaluate the option of establishing it’s own independent police department. The start-up costs of just a basic department would likely require 30-40 million in new revenue from the city and would then need the capitol start up for police cars and other needed assets. The Flagler County Sheriff’s Department’s operating costs are significantly lower than an average police department for the size of a city of around 100 thousand people. We are getting a great service at a great cost, and getting results that our resident’s deserve. Why fix what isn’t broken?
11. Have you ever been charged with a felony or a misdemeanor anywhere in Flagler, Florida or the United States (other than a speeding ticket), or faced a civil action other than a divorce, but including bankruptcies, or faced any investigative or disciplinary action through a professional board such as the bar or a medical board? Have you ever been demoted? If so, please explain, including cases where charges or claims did not lead to conviction or disciplinary action.
No.
