Cape Coral in turmoil
To the editor:
I’ve lived in Cape Coral for almost 25 years. During that time I’ve seen enormous changes and improvements that have contributed to a growth that has served to make the city outstanding in many respects. The city has emerged as a water sports paradise and has the potential to become Florida’s jewel.
Unfortunately, however, in any area with growing pains there will be philosophical differences that serve to divide people, blur visions and impede progress, and so is the case now. But, down turns come and go and during a tough period the key to survival is leadership.
The mayor, the council, the city manager and staff must be able to recognize the situation and be able to deal with it. It’s not an easy task. Citizens are upset and very irritable and a special skill is necessary in order to calm the storm and navigate through the difficult and troubled times.
The first step in rebuilding the relationship between the bureaucrats and the citizenry is the restoration of trust and respect. This will come about if the elected officials are willing to replace pomposity with professionalism and arrogance with a desire to search out those with better and more workable ideas. Sure, there will always be differences of opinion but this is a democracy and elected officials must always stand on the side of the majority, never on the side of the few, no matter how vocal they may be. These actions will always build trust and respect and lead to genuine progress.
The big issue currently is the budget, and this should not be complicated for sincere, understanding and dedicated individuals. Looking back at previous, more affluent years should have no bearing on today’s budgetary considerations. The mayor and council needs to take control and provide the city manager with the income amount for the next fiscal year,and that and only that represents the amount of money available to run this city.
It then is up to the city manager to divide these resources and run the city effectively. That’s the job, tough yes, but that’s exactly what he’s being paid for. There should be absolutely no tax increase, no levies and no trickery. This is the way to demonstrate leadership and restore respect for government.
In the past few weeks, I’ve been asked by a large number of people to run for mayor of Cape Coral. These people have become familiar with my success in building business’s managing budgets and people, and specifically getting the most out of people during tough times. Sadly, we all reach the point where the ageing process lessons our energy and forbids the required level of activity in order to perform successfully.
I would gladly volunteer as an advisor but the leaders of this city, especially now when the challenges are enormous, need high energy, absolute determination, and great wisdom. There’s no substitute for any of the three requirements. I would say to the leaders, stop whining, forget the “pie-in-the-sky” “want” and deal with the realities of today, show a willingness to serve in a take-charge but humble way, and be respectful of the many who have some very good ideas. We have the power to make Cape Coral the finest city in Florida, let’s stop fighting and do it together.
Dick Kalfus
Cape Coral