By LEGION TAYLOR
Reporter
The first of three political forums was held last week, with candidates for property appraiser and sheriff coming out to answer questions about themselves and their campaigns.
The forum, sponsored by The Wakulla Sun, was held Tuesday, July 9 at the public library.
The candidates for property appraiser are incumbent Ed Brimner and former Property Appraiser Donnie Sparkman.
When asked why he was coming out of retirement, Sparkman listed a few reasons. One of those reasons, he says, was the $300 million error in the tax roll.
“I’ve never seen in my 20-some years (working in the property appraiser’s office) a mistake as large as was made.” Sparkman said.
He also mentioned the letters that the Department of Revenue issued in 2022 and 2023, which found “selective reappraisal” – otherwise known as sales chasing, where properties that have been sold have their values changed significantly, while other unsold properties don’t have the same criteria applied to them.
Sparkman said while he was property appraiser he never had these same issues, and that by getting a few more people to look over the tax rolls these mistakes could be prevented.
Brimner responded, stating that the reason these mistakes happened is because there wasn’t a system in place to check over every single item. He also added that the $300 million error was caught quick enough that the county was able to adjust its budget and didn’t actually cost any money, it was just very inconvenient and embarrassing for him and his office.
“I assure you there are multiple layers of oversight to prevent it from happening again,” Brimner said. “No single person now will be able to make a change without someone else being part of the process.”
Brimner’s statement on the DOR letters is on page 4. (It was released after the Sun’s deadline last week and so was not in the July 11 newspaper.)
Brad Harvey, who embezzled more than $200,000 from the property appraiser’s office and was sent to state prison for 12 1/2 years, was brought up at the forum. Sparkman said that Harvey was already working at the Property Appraiser’s Office before Sparkman was elected, and that the tax roll he was producing was satisfactory both due to his experience and the experience of the staff who worked alongside him in the office.
“What he was doing…He wasn’t doing it while I was property appraiser,” Sparkman said. “I know that.”
Brimner said that while Sparkman didn’t hire Harvey, he did help get him promoted and overlooked issues prior to Harvey’s election to property appraiser that could have shown something was up.
“I think that it was the culture of the office that bred Mr. Harvey… When he became the property appraiser he just continued the same culture,” Brimner said. “The office is more than just putting out tax rolls, the office is protecting the money of the citizens of Wakulla County.”
Brimner was asked about a contract his office had entered into with Vision, a Computer Assessment Mass Appraisal system (CAMA), which had to be abandoned in favor of a contract with GSA, another software company. Brimner said that he wanted field appraisers to be able to take an iPad into the field, but when contractors from Vision were supposed to come in and convert the old system into the new, they were unable to, so that contract had to be abandoned and a new one entered into. Brimner said that the conversion cost the county $50,000, but it was well worth it.
“I think you were advised by qualified employees and personnel not to go to that first system,” Sparkman responded. “Two other counties, I think, in the state tried and were not able to convert… If other counties’ property appraiser’s offices were having problems with them, you don’t want to go there.”
Brimner said he was advised to go with GSA at first, but that at the time GSA didn’t have a field appraiser app that he was looking for.
“There were multiple counties in Florida that had used Vision, they just hadn’t made the transition from the old CAMA system we were using,” Brimner said.
The candidates were also asked about any specific initiatives they had in mind to educate property owners about their rights.
Brimner discussed his efforts to reach out to the public, particularly about his efforts to educate homeowners about their eligibility for homestead exemptions, which reduce the amount that homeowners pay in property taxes. He added that his office was reaching out to homeowners directly as well as holding events to achieve this end.
Sparkman talked about how he used to write articles for local publications, as well as communicating with and educating Realtors associations as well as homeowners.
SHERIFF’S RACE
The candidates for Sheriff are Incumbent Jared Miller and Army Reyes.
Sheriff Miller has been in Law enforcement since 1993, and he listed some accomplishments such as getting Wakulla County accredited before many other rural counties in Florida.
Reyes was a medic in the military, before becoming a neurosurgical physicians assistant for a while, and then transitioned into a career in law enforcement in 2000 in New York state.
After introductions, Reyes was asked about comments he had made at a previous event about having deputies trained as Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs), the questions involved things like whether or not deputies would be removed from their positions if they did not pass EMT school, and if a medical director position would be added to supervise the new EMT deputies. Reyes stated that he wouldn’t fire deputies if they could not pass EMT school, but that having deputies trained to render basic life support is a necessity. Reyes also said that he would be giving part of his salary back to pay for the improved training, and it wouldn’t cost the deputies anything.
Sheriff Miller responded that the EMT training would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and asked if the EMT deputies would respond to crime scenes by giving medical aid first or by responding to the crime itself as the deputies do now. Miller also brought up that having deputies trained to render medical aid would disrupt the work of the county’s Fire Rescue department.
“You stated in the last debate that New York does that (train deputies as EMTs), we’ve contacted New York, we’ve got your personnel file, and they do not do that, that’s not true, none of them are EMT certified,” Miller said.
Reyes fired back by saying that he understands the cost of EMT training, but that not everyone would be going through the training and he would be covering the brunt of it by giving his salary back.
“My biggest fear is you’ve got the southern area of Crawfordville, St. Marks, Panacea, Sopchoppy, where you’ve got an aging population,” Reyes said.
Miller was asked about deputies who had been given Giglio memos, which is where the state attorney has determined that a particular officer has a history of lying and is no longer a reliable witness in court. In particular, one deputy had been lying about serving in the military, as well as about other things while under oath, and he was fired from the sheriff’s office. Another deputy, who was the subject of an internal affairs investigation for questionable traffic stops, was let go.
Reyes brought up that another deputy at the sheriff’s office had been fired for “inappropriate dealings with a minor” which caused Miller to immediately fire back.
“Yeah, we put ‘em in jail. What do you want me to do?” Miller says, “He’s arrested and in jail, still.”
“That was under your watch,” Reyes said. “He should have been vetted better.”
Miller brought up that a few donations to Reyes’ campaign were from people who were either charged or convicted of a crime, including a small donation from a man facing murder charges in Wakulla. Reyes responded that he took those donations in good faith, as neither of those people had been convicted with a crime at the time they donated to his campaign. “I am not a judge, I am not a jury,” Reyes said.
Reyes was then asked about the difference between managing sworn-in officers and civilian staff at the sheriff’s office. He commended the current staff at the sheriff’s office, but admitted he didn’t know who works for the sheriff’s office, and he doesn’t know the number of deputies, civilian staff, or administrative staff.
Miller countered that Reyes has been trying to run for sheriff since 2016, and that during the time since then he should have done research to know these details so that he’s better prepared for the job.
Miller was asked about strategies to retain deputies, and he brought up that Wakulla is a fiscally constrained county according to Florida law. What this means is that a 1 mill tax levy brings in less than $5 million in tax revenue. Miller noted that it makes hiring and retaining deputies more difficult.
Reyes said he believed the sheriff’s office was a “mushroom department” – top heavy with overpaid brass – which was the root of some of the financial issues. He also mentioned that Sheriff Miller had previously said the county was “cash-strapped” at the Palaver Tree candidate forums.
Reyes was then asked about initiatives to build trust between the community and the sheriff’s department. He talked about the rate of growth in Wakulla, citing the hundreds of building permits that had been approved in the county over the last couple of years.
“We need to be able to actually talk to the public,” Reyes said. “One person at a time, one problem at a time.”
Miller said when he took office in 2016 there was very little relationship between the sheriff’s office and the community, and that he and his staff have worked to build up that relationship.
“If you look, I’m at every event on every weekend, every night, I’m somewhere at an event,” Miller said. “Community engagement is what keeps us going in Wakulla County.”
Miller was asked about strategies for dealing with the drug epidemic, and he talked about the multijurisdictional drug task force which combines law enforcement agencies from around the region to better handle drug problems both in Wakulla and in other counties.
Reyes said that proactive policing is the best way to fight the drug problems in Wakulla, but that the sheriff’s office doesn’t have the manpower to do that adequately just yet. Reyes also brought up that he has a Drug Enforcement Administration certification from an introductory course.
Miller refuted these claims by stating that he and other officers go through similar training every week.
“That little three-hour certificate you’ve got, I’ve got 200 of them,” Miller countered.
Reyes was asked about the efforts he would take to handle mental health crises that his deputies encounter in the field, and he deferred to Miller, asking what Miller’s deputies do when they respond to an individual in crisis, or if the deputies just Baker Act them, which means taking them to a mental health facility to be assessed to see if they’re a danger to themselves or others.
Miller explained the contract his office has with Northwest Florida Health and with the Apalachee Center, which give the deputies a hotline they can call to get the distressed persons in contact with a trained mental health professional immediately, without needing to Baker Act them.
Miller was also asked about the youth outreach programs that his office participates in, and he discussed the Law Enforcement Against Drugs and Violence (LEAD) that effectively replaces DARE and SAVE to educate elementary school students about the dangers of drugs, as well as the Citizen’s Academy, the Explorer’s program, and the Teen Driver Challenge.
Reyes commended the sheriff’s office on its outreach programs, and stated that he would add a partnership with Mothers Against Drunk Driving as well as continuing existing programs.
When asked about strategies for crime prevention, Reyes said that the most important thing is to get more deputies out on the road.
Miller responded by saying that he’s done his best to get as many deputies on the road as possible, but because Wakulla is fiscally constrained, it’s difficult to find the money to pay for additional deputies.
“We’re doing the best we can with what we have,” Miller said.
Miller was asked about efforts to protect the schools, and he noted the sheriff’s department has provided for more deputies as School Resource Officers and the school board-funded Guardians to be put in every school to better protect students and staff.
Reyes said he liked the Guardian program and that every school has an SRO, and that he wants to work with the schools to get a grant for electronic passes and locks so that the front doors are the only ways into the schools.
