A letter from Rebecca
Dear voter,
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A campaign for public office is like a long grueling job interview. Voters should look to see if the candidate’s knowledge and skills line up with the major issues Citrus County is facing.
We are at a critical juncture, and we are growing at a rapid pace. New homes and businesses are sprouting up all over, the major chains have discovered us, and the Suncoast Parkway is open and slated to be extended to US 19. With this comes benefits but also major challenges. How do we ensure that growth pays for itself? How do we fund critical infrastructure needs and see to it that EMS, Fire Services, and the Sheriff are adequately funded to keep us healthy and safe? How do we make sure that we grow in a way allows us to maintain what is so special about Citrus County and the Nature Coast? How do we attract a qualified administrator and fill critical vacancies within county government? How will we maintain our assets, pave our roads, and attract businesses that pay higher than average wages?
We have many serious issues, and they are piling up on a weekly basis. We cannot continue going from budget to budget and meeting to meeting allowing our problems to exacerbate.
I am proposing that we modernize our Comprehensive Plan and a complete review of our codes that will protect our community standards.
I will seek to set up 5-year strategic budget projections that set our priorities and avoid underfunding public safety and other vital services. I will propose budget reforms that allow for greater transparency and accountability. I will make sure that tax monies and fees collected go for what they are intended, and gas tax goes to roads, not salaries and other expenses. I will invest money created from new growth into infrastructure that has been long neglected.
I will work with local businesses, retired executives, and business organizations to put together a world-class economic development team that will focus on the assets we have that make us unique to attract good jobs. I will work to keep us affordable for our seniors on fixed incomes and working families.
There is a long list of needs to get our county on track and time is of the essence. My whole professional career has been in the stewardship of monies. I have served in the private sector at the highest level in administering trusts, risk management, and the insurance industry. I have been responsible for large staffs and hired managers. I started my own firm in 2009 right here in Citrus County which I recently sold to Acrisure, the 7th largest global insurance broker in the world.
I have developed strategic plans and budgets and managed over a billion in assets. I currently own a tree farm south of Inverness where we have customers all over the Southeast United States.
I previously served as one of your commissioners during the most difficult economic downturns in a generation which was exacerbated by the closing of the nuclear power plant, millions in losses to the tax base, and the 600 high-wage jobs it took with it. We made the tough decisions to keep essential services intact, stabilized county government, and set us on a path to success.
I have spent my time and treasure on boards and causes near and dear to me. I participated in raising and contributing funds to saving Three Sisters Springs from condo development, a debt-free YMCA, and along with a dedicated group, working on the Veterans Village project.
I have been a board member and past chair of the Citrus County Chamber of Commerce where I currently serve on the Governmental Affairs Committee, Chair of the Duval House Trust, Big Brothers Big Sisters, the American Cancer Society, the Florida Wildlife Corridor, and fundraised for the United Way of Citrus County.
I served on numerous state and local boards during my previous tenure as your county commissioner including the I-75 Task Force appointed by Governor Rick Scott, as the Vice Chair for the Board of County Commission, Chair of the Tourist Development Council, Secretary of Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority (TBARTA) and Chair of Legislative Committee, Vice Chair of the Citrus/Hernando Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), the Vice Chair of Florida Association of Counties Legislative Policy Committee Growth Management, Agricultural, Environmental, and Transportation, the Withlacoochee Regional Water Supply Authority, the Florida Medical Examiner District 5, and the BP Oil Spill Gulf Consortium.
I hope you agree that I have the skill set to oversee a nearly 400-million-dollar county budget, create a strategic plan for our future, protect what is special about Citrus County, recruit and supervise top talent, bring transparency and accountability to our budgeting process, reward our first responders, make job creation a priority, and be a good steward of your tax dollars. I am a proud conservative that will give everyone equal representation. Experience matters now more than ever. Our issues are complex, and the challenges are real. You have trusted me before; I ask that you trust me again. If you agree that I am the best candidate to hit the ground running on day one, please vote for me by mail, at an early voting site, or on election day August 23rd.
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Sincerely,
Rebecca Bays
Republican Candidate for Citrus County Commission