- April 18, 2024
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The Volusia League of Cities and the Volusia Council of Governments may be merged by the end of the year into a group called the Volusia League.
The two organizations are not well known, but have a lot of impact, according to Mary Swiderski, executive director of both groups.
VCOG, made up of mayors and representatives of the Volusia County School Board and the Volusia County Council, and the League of Cities, consisting of all Volusia County elected officials, deal with issues important to the entire count, she said.
The person chairing the merger effort is Ormond Beach City Commissioner and Deputy Mayor Bill Partington.
Explaining the function of VCOG, Partington said the group was instrumental in getting state laws passed a few years ago to fight the problem of prescription medical abuse by communicating problems to state officials. They are currently taking a unified approach to the homelessness issue.
The group is also looking at the impact of medical marijuana, which could be legalized after the next election.
“We will discuss unified ways to enforce any new state statutes,” he said.
Ormond Beach Mayor Ed Kelley is chairman of VCOG.
The League of Cities is more education-oriented, Swidorski said, and has seminars and speakers so that officials can learn about current issues and government trends.
“It brings everyone together to build relationships,” she said. “They can work as a county, and not east side — west side.”
Neither group has any legal authority. The officials carry recommendations back to their own government body.
The roles of the groups have been changing in recent years. Swidorski said “smart growth” was a big topic at one time, but the cities have now taken the initiative in sustainability, such as developing downtowns rather than sprawling.
Partington said the new organization will be more efficient, with more communication.
He said the transition committee will hopefully have a proposal for the full membership to vote on this fall.
The mission statement describes the new Volusia League as “an organization of local governments working together to identify common interests and develop solutions to issues by fostering communication, coordination and cooperation to best serve its citizens.”
