Friday, June 10, 2005
Good ol' boys outsmart their sophisticated city cousins
Slats has told you before how Oviedo is much like a more cosmopolitan version of Longwood in terms of their city commissions. Despite the surface differences in appearances of sophistication and finesse, commissioners in both cities have a long history of intramural feuding, fussing and fighting.
Slats has also never been hesitant to point out their deficiencies, especially in Longwood, which is much akin to Green Acres in the style and substance of their meetings. In fact, Arnold Ziffle always occupies a front-row seat as the Longwood City Commission conducts its business, and is often most appreciated when sitting there fat and happy and keeping his snout from going where it does not belong.
This week, Slats is happy to report that Longwood's commissioners one-upped their country cousins through the application of good ol' common sense and plain sensibility. In fact, three of Longwood's five commissioners actually went on record in doing so.
Thus, to show that Slats can give credit where it is due, it is time to give a tip of the hat to Mayor Butch Bundy and Commissioners Dan Anderson and Brian Sackett. At this week's meeting, they each separately addressed the recent passing of Oviedo's child offender ordinance, applying a much-needed dose of collective country wisdom to the issue.
Referring to Oviedo's ordinance as the knee-jerk, "sounds good but really does nothing" action that it is, the three commissioners spoke of the need for a countywide consensus on how to deal with the issue, but only after giving it serious study and seeking sensible solutions that actually address the problem.
Their comments echoed those of departing Casselberry City Manager Frank Clifton from several weeks ago, and provided a much welcome alternative to Oviedo's feel-good pretension of having done something while actually having accomplished nothing, other than possibly starting a domino effect of such legislation that could actually drive offenders underground and make them more difficult to track.
To the good ol' boys of Longwood goes a rare but well-deserved "well done."
Slats has also never been hesitant to point out their deficiencies, especially in Longwood, which is much akin to Green Acres in the style and substance of their meetings. In fact, Arnold Ziffle always occupies a front-row seat as the Longwood City Commission conducts its business, and is often most appreciated when sitting there fat and happy and keeping his snout from going where it does not belong.
This week, Slats is happy to report that Longwood's commissioners one-upped their country cousins through the application of good ol' common sense and plain sensibility. In fact, three of Longwood's five commissioners actually went on record in doing so.
Thus, to show that Slats can give credit where it is due, it is time to give a tip of the hat to Mayor Butch Bundy and Commissioners Dan Anderson and Brian Sackett. At this week's meeting, they each separately addressed the recent passing of Oviedo's child offender ordinance, applying a much-needed dose of collective country wisdom to the issue.
Referring to Oviedo's ordinance as the knee-jerk, "sounds good but really does nothing" action that it is, the three commissioners spoke of the need for a countywide consensus on how to deal with the issue, but only after giving it serious study and seeking sensible solutions that actually address the problem.
Their comments echoed those of departing Casselberry City Manager Frank Clifton from several weeks ago, and provided a much welcome alternative to Oviedo's feel-good pretension of having done something while actually having accomplished nothing, other than possibly starting a domino effect of such legislation that could actually drive offenders underground and make them more difficult to track.
To the good ol' boys of Longwood goes a rare but well-deserved "well done."
hy