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See Member Benefits<\/a>Join Our Newsletter<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t believe residents should be unfairly burdened by a problem they didn\u2019t create, and that\u2019s why we at the city of Apopka created an updated back billing policy,\u201d Nesta said in\u00a0the video. \u201cWith the support and approval of our great\u00a0City\u00a0Commission, $365,000 has been allocated to provide credits back to affected customers on their water bills.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Nesta\u2019s sit-down interview with the Chief came as his administration pivots from a transition footing to\u00a0long-term planning.\u00a0He said he expects a meeting Friday will be his last official\u00a0one with his full transition team, although some will continue wrapping up projects.\u00a0<\/p>\n While many projects\u00a0remain\u00a0in process,\u00a0Nesta\u00a0pointed to\u00a0some that have already been\u00a0accomplished, including more\u00a0open lines of communication and\u00a0increased transparency\u00a0at\u00a0city hall.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOur agendas are out a whole week early now, which was a big change from last time,\u201d he said. \u201cAccess to\u00a0city\u00a0hall is becoming easier and better, which I love, and I want to make sure that this building is something that residents know is theirs.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n He said key to building transparency in city hall is the new role of\u00a0the incoming\u00a0public information director<\/a>, which will be filled by WKMG News 6 news anchor Steve Montiero, known as\u00a0\u201cTrooper Steve.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Montiero\u2019s salary of $180,000 has\u00a0sparked\u00a0criticism, with\u00a0news outlets comparing it to other\u00a0area\u00a0PIOs who earn less. Some\u00a0speculatedthat\u00a0other candidates would have accepted the role for less,\u00a0but\u00a0Nesta said the salary would\u00a0have\u00a0remained\u00a0the same regardless of who was chosen\u00a0among the more than 50 applicants.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s going to be at schools, at churches, at nonprofits, at businesses, marketing all of that, because the whole goal is to create a package of what our city is,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s\u00a0not just a 40-hour work week and going home. That is nights, weekends, emergencies, hurricanes, all that.\u00a0He\u2019s\u00a0going to be here, and his team is going to be here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Montiero is set to start Monday,\u00a0and\u00a0Nesta\u00a0plans to hire\u00a0a chief\u00a0of staff\u00a0in the near future.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou have the city administrator that runs\u00a0the day-to-day stuff,\u201d he said. \u201cThey should know every employee, have a personal relationship as much as possible, be meeting with them,\u00a0having\u00a0that kind of time. But then also on the chief of staff side, it\u2019s really helping with a higher-level vision setting, making sure that things are getting done, having the meetings that I can\u2019t have, making sure that a vision that was set is now also being implemented as well.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Nesta said the\u00a0biggest transition challenge\u00a0has been\u00a0starting from scratch, clearing out outdated equipment, and\u00a0\u201cno kind of handing on the baton or showing the keys.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe previous administration \u2014 and I didn\u2019t find out till weeks after I had gotten sworn in \u2014 had kind of gone around and directly told people falsely that I\u2019d created a list of people I was going to fire,\u201d Nesta said. \u201cProbably the\u00a0first 30 to\u00a045 days\u00a0was just making sure I can rebuild that trust. Let the employees feel safe in their jobs. Let them know that\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0supported.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Nesta\u00a0also said he is\u00a0working\u00a0on\u00a0reviewing financial data so a forensic audit can\u00a0be completed in the future.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m spending a lot of\u00a0time on\u00a0making sure that\u2019s done properly,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat\u2019s\u00a0happening is\u00a0we\u2019ve\u00a0been artificially,\u00a0and politically motivated,\u00a0keeping\u00a0the\u00a0millage rate low, because\u00a0it\u00a0[benefits]\u00a0property owners.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
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