Kathy Austrino, one of the Palm Coast City Council Candidates, has submitted her answers to our questions in one of the last interviews to be published before early voting starts on August 10th. You can read our questions in bold, followed by her answers.
- Primaries are right around the corner; you are currently running against Shara Brodsky, Ty Miller, and Jeffery Seib. What reasons should voters choose you over the other candidates? I have been serving the community for the past 21 years through the schools to 9 years ago when I founded a 501© (3) to help children within families facing adversities. Through all these years, I have paid attention to our Commission & Council. I’m here for the community and no special interest group. I’m not afraid of asking difficult questions or making difficult decisions.
- Many people are concerned about electing a candidate with ties to real estate and development; what connections do you have to the real estate and development communities? Residential Realtors do not benefit from Developers; they don’t need us. Developers may need Commercial Realtors, Attorneys, & Home Builders. Home Builders don’t need us as they have in-house sales teams. Additionally, I can promise you – they don’t want me. Speaking out against the rehearing of Cascades and what was attempted in January 2024 – they don’t want me. Certainly, we need to work with developers; however, the focus by the Council should be in the best interest of the community – and not allow the community to feel decisions for our future are being forced upon them. Lastly, I’m not endorsed by Flagler County Association of Realtors.
- Residential development in Palm Coast has been a major concern; in what ways are you planning to balance that out to a manageable level so that the City can catch up on overdue and necessary infrastructure needs? On July 23rd I went to the City Council Meeting with reports from our local MLS showing that as of that morning Palm Coast had 1007 residential units active for sale. Today we’re at 1107 (not included in that number are the 387 that are in contract). I brought a report showing a steady increase of days on the market since November of 2023, and the expired listings have been steadily rising since March 2024. Also, at this meeting, I asked for the number of residential units already approved that have not broken ground yet. Additionally, I asked if they could share the vacancy rates of all the apartments we already have. I’m still waiting for that information.
I’m concerned with the alarmist style messaging (in my opinion) that all the folks looking to move here are coming and we better keep building. We can control this; folks can’t move into a structure that doesn’t exist. I am not interested in a moratorium on building – the infill lots are slated to be built upon. All other buildings: I believe we need more information as to what our actual needs are with all that has already been approved.
One of my fears is that similar to the inner portion of the Town Center, the Westward Expansion will be small offerings and subdivisions long before we see any sports complex. {It has taken over 20 years for the groundbreaking of The Promenade.} I did mention this concern live on the radio and the next morning I had a visitor to my office concerned about me speaking of my “conspiracy theory live on the radio” and then before they left the person suggested that I reach out to the Home Builders Association so they could help me understand how much revenue a home brings in. I said “ok” but thought – I nailed it.
We can work on the Westward Expansion with revenue in mind and while we do we can also welcome folks into all that is already in the pipeline. Perhaps they’ll choose to rent an apartment while waiting for their new home down the road.
- Environmental conservation of our green space in Palm Coast is also a top concern in the community. In what ways are you planning to conserve our green spaces, trees, wetlands, and other natural resources? Again, this comes back to having a person willing to work with the Developers and others with a strong focus on the best interests & desires of the residents. We need to keep in mind that we don’t have to build upon land just because we can.
- Taxes are among the top-tier hot topics this election year. Our tax base is 93% residentially funded with only a small percentage coming from commercial tax bases. What plans do you have to diversify the tax base without hurting the residents with added taxes, fees, or other financial burdens?
This is the very reason we must look to the west with revenue in mind before subdivisions. We don’t need to rezone ourselves completely out of the ability to have space for commercial & industrial areas.
Before speaking of taxing our residents, I would like our staffing dollars examined. I’m concerned that we are top heavy (with just 600 to 624 employees not counting Supervisors in Golf / Construction / Fire Departments there are 75 folks in supervisory or assistant supervisory positions). I’d like to see that our support staff is well supported.
If I had to look at taxing, I would lean toward sales tax – choice items. I am not interested in increasing the bill for essential items.
- Economic development: many claim that to be a successful city, there have to be economic opportunities for residents who live here; meaning quality jobs with higher wages. How do you plan to grow the economic base for Palm Coast and bring in more high-paying jobs for residents?
To start with we must earn the trust of our residents. The lack of trust brings so much hostility into our meetings. The request for a Municipal Forensic Audit was made a year ago, and the RFP window for presentation of what this audit would look like and what it would cost was small. The presentation was supposed to be this month (if I’m not mistaken it may have moved to September). This doesn’t foster trust or good City/Community relationships. Companies with the ability to bring higher-paying jobs are not going to come to a City with unrest & hostility.
Also, we need to look at our processes for businesses – this is not a new concern. For well over a decade folks have complained about their business dealings with the city. I think we have to be willing to look at companies from the past and hear from them regarding their choice to not move forward with the City or the roadblocks they experienced.
I have experienced an employee of the City trying to stop a friend’s company from moving forward based on erroneous information. I went to the City with correct information, and Florida Statutes in hand, and was still met with resistance. This was a racially motivated situation (the person is no longer with the City having nothing to do with this).
Last, we have a new Economic Development Manager. We need to be sure he has the tools & support he needs to accomplish our goals.
- Stormwater, flooding, swales, and canals are considered undermaintained by many in the community. What are your plans to ensure that our unique system of canals and swales gets caught up on maintenance and stays maintained in the future?
I’m always interested in how the swale issues have evolved. In 2003 swales were the responsibility of the homeowner. I’m not sure of the year the City took on the responsibility. All of these concerns are steadily being addressed by the current Council and should continue to be a top priority in the same manner as the plans over the years for our roads.
Regarding flooding from higher-built homes; I am disappointed with how this was handled in the city – some older homes were flooded due to the loss of where their drainage flow was interrupted by clearing the abutting lots. Some of the homes built considerably higher than neighboring properties clearly would not contain their stormwater as it should according to the City Code. This should have been addressed by the City Inspectors and thus the City needs to take some responsibility here.
Just a quick note on newly built developments – when they are a Community Association of some kind (Condo or HOA) they are responsible for their roads & stormwater.
- How long have you been involved in the local political scene? Have you always been active? Why now?
I was 20 years old when I worked on my first political campaign for a cousin running for Governor of Massachusetts. That would make it 34 years ago when I started paying more attention to politics. I had no desire to get into politics (and still don’t). Having watched all that’s happened in and around Palm Coast for 21 years I’ve just had enough. Enough of that feeling that the folks we vote into office aren’t always actually the ones making the decisions.
It’s time to get the City back in the hands of the residents. I think it’s interesting when I hear folks say they’re not into politics and then complain about their tax bill, environment, and traffic flow. This isn’t about politics; this is about taking care of us & our City together.
To learn more about Kathy Austrino and her campaign, you can visit her website here.
