- April 17, 2024
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Volusia County Council Chair Ed Kelley and Sheriff Mike Chitwood don't share the same stance on Amendment 10, but they do agree on one thing: It all comes down to who the voters think should be in charge of a local office's budget.
Amendment 10 is stacked, meaning it is a package of four separate constitutional amendments, requiring Legislature to provide for a state Department of Veterans Affairs, create an Office of Domestic Security and Counter-Terrorism, and change the state legislative session start day on even-numbered years. It would also prohibit counties from eliminating the offices of the sheriff, tax collector, property appraiser, supervisor of elections and clerk of court, as well as require elections for all these offices.
A "yes" vote would enact all as laws.
Kelley and Chitwood weighed in on their views about Amendment 10 at the Eggs and Issues program by the Daytona Regional
"If I feel we are being underfunded and I feel that public safety is in jeopardy, I should have the right to appeal that budget to Tallahassee.”
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood
Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, Oct. 11. Their point of contention? The revisal of authority that would result regarding those local level offices should the amendment pass.
“Under our system, all the power rests in one person’s hands," Chitwood said, referring to Kelley. "One person. And as we know, that one person can lead the council in whatever direction it wants to lead it.”
Chitwood, who is advocating for a "yes" vote on the constitutional amendment, believes the best person to be responsible of all aspects of an office, including human resources and finance, is the person elected to the position. He said a sheriff should be able to present a budget to the council and be able to work autonomously once it is approved.
"If I’m not responsible for my budget, you vote me out of office," Chitwood said. "If I feel we are being underfunded and I feel that public safety is in jeopardy, I should have the right to appeal that budget to Tallahassee.”
Kelley sees things differently. He believes the County Council serves as the checks and balances, providing a measure of accountability on final budget decisions. If the amendment is enacted, Kelley said voters will be taking that away from the local elected officials and handing those powers to the state.
“We the elected council represent you and your will. We’re the ones that determine where your money is spent.”
Volusia County Council Chair Ed Kelley
“Don’t take away Home Rule," Kelley said. "Don’t let 66 other counties tell us how to run Volusia County.”
Kelley said state control of local budgets could affect taxpayers, as the state could approve a budget not fiscally sound for Volusia and cause the county to raise taxes to be able to afford it. He said he's open to changes but expressed he didn't believe this could be beneficial.
“We the elected council represent you and your will," Kelley said. "We’re the ones that determine where your money is spent.”
Creating individual human resources and finance departments for all the offices in the amendment, as well as creating a tax collector's office (Volusia hasn't had one since the 1970s) would cost the county an estimated $10 million, Kelley said. Chitwood countered that it would cost the county that much because "the county wants it to" as Kelley shook his head.
Kelley said that 100% of the sheriff's budget requests were approved. Chitwood said while that is correct, and while the budget was raised for the sheriff's office, the bulk of the funds are going toward "long overdue" pay raises and office improvements — infrastructure and technology.
Chitwood agreed with Kelley that this was an issue of Home Rule: Does a local vote count when hiring constitutional officers?
“No, it doesn’t count, because you heard the chairman; I need to come to him," Chitwood said.
