Fiscally Conservative & Fair – we shouldn’t ask people to give the government their hard-earned money unless and until the government shows that it is being wise stewards of what it is already collecting. Whether it is inventing new fees (like the Street Light Fee in 2018 or the Fire District Tax in 2022), Megan consistently voted AGAINST collecting more. Megan believes all user fees should be base on empirical data and be 100% transparent. When it comes to fees, Megan believes that property owners and residents who consume more services should be required to pay more for those services, and those who consume less should not have their fees artificially increased to subsidize those who choose to consume more.
Environmentally Conservative – clean air, clean water, wildlife, and trees are important. So are property rights. There absolutely IS a way to require more environmentally sustainable development as we move forward without violating property rights, and Megan is a fan of getting really creative to make that happen. As an attorney by training, Megan understands the relationship between Oviedo’s code and the rules of the SJRWMD and FDEP and how these well-intentioned governing boards inadvertently result in clear-cutting every project. We can, and should, do better.
Treat Everyone Equally & Respectfully – everyone deserves a level playing field. The outcome of your interaction with City Hall shouldn’t have anything to do with who you are or who you know. Megan believes the rules in Oviedo should be clear, easy to find, easy to access around the clock, and they should apply the same way to EVERYONE.
Let the Private Sector Do Its Job – the government should not be in the business of picking winners and losers or competing with businesses or nonprofits who are willing to enter the marketplace. If there is a business or nonprofit willing to provide a nonessential service to the citizens of Oviedo, Megan believes the government should stay out of it. Megan believes the primary role of local government is to provide for police, fire, roads, water, sewer, stormwater management, and building services.
How Megan Makes Decisions
Here is how Megan analyzed issues while serving on City Council in the past (2016-2018), and how she approaches them as mayor.
If an issue gets some “NO” answers in this test, Megan will ask a lot of questions and potentially oppose the proposal. If the answer to all 4 questions is YES, Megan will support it.
1) Is this an appropriate role of government? Megan believes the primary role of local government is to provide for police, fire, roads, water, sewer, stormwater management, land use regulation and building services.
2) Can we create a policy to solve this problem that will result in having the same rules for everyone instead of deciding it on a case-by-case basis? Megan believes the rules should be applied equally to everyone.
3) Can we pay for this in a way that is fair and mathematically justified? Megan likes when you can prove the fairness of a taxing or fee structure using numbers. Megan also wants to keep Oviedo on a trajectory to get out of the $69+ million of debt it had acquired by the time she took office in 2019. (In the 3.5 years since Megan was sworn in, Oviedo has reduced its debt by over $15 million.)
4) Will this positively impact our environment and long-term quality of life? If not, are we legally required to do it anyway? Megan believes that we should do everything possible to protect the CURRENT residents’ quality of life before accommodating new development.