{"id":407650,"date":"2026-09-22T22:40:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T22:40:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/407650\/"},"modified":"2026-09-22T22:40:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T22:40:15","slug":"op-ed-apopka-to-launch-city-hall-101-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/407650\/","title":{"rendered":"OP-ED: Apopka to launch City Hall 101 series"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I took office, one of my commitments was to improve communication between City Hall and our residents. That means more than press releases, social media\u00a0posts,\u00a0or Commission meetings. It means getting in a room together, talking about the issues and answering questions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That is why we are starting the City Hall 101 Town Hall Series.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Our first\u00a0town\u00a0hall\u00a0is\u00a06 p.m. on\u00a0Monday,\u00a0Sept.\u00a028, 2026, at City of Apopka City Hall, and I want to invite everyone in Apopka to join us.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Become A Member<\/p>\n

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There is a lot happening in our city. We are growing, and with that growth comes\u00a0challenges involving roads, utilities, public safety, development,\u00a0parks\u00a0and the services residents depend on every day.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We also hear\u00a0the concerns\u00a0about taxes, utility rates,\u00a0spending\u00a0and changes inside City Hall.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I understand those concerns.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But some of these issues\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0be explained in a Facebook post or a two-minute answer at a meeting.\u00a0Sometimes we need to sit down and talk about how things actually work.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s\u00a0what these\u00a0town\u00a0halls are about.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Our first City Hall 101 will focus on Apopka\u2019s Strategic Plan and the\u00a0city\u2019s organizational structure.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I know an organizational chart\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0the most exciting topic, but it matters. When you call City Hall with a problem, who is responsible? Who makes sure it gets to the right department? Who follows up? And who is accountable?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Residents\u00a0shouldn\u2019t\u00a0have to call five different departments trying to find someone who can help\u00a0them.\u00a0That\u2019s\u00a0our job.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We will also talk about Apopka\u2019s 2026\u20132031 Strategic Plan and its four main priorities:\u00a0quality of\u00a0life,\u00a0well-planned\u00a0infrastructure,\u00a0operational\u00a0health\u00a0and\u00a0economic\u00a0vitality.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Future City Hall 101 meetings will continue these conversations, including how the\u00a0city budget works, where\u00a0city revenue comes\u00a0from,\u00a0and how your tax dollars are used.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And I want your questions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

You\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0have to agree with me. You\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0have to agree with every\u00a0commissioner or every decision made at City Hall.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Come anyway.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ask the tough questions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If we know the answer,\u00a0we\u2019ll\u00a0give it to you. If we\u00a0don\u2019t,\u00a0we\u2019ll\u00a0get the information and follow up.\u00a0<\/p>\n

My goal is simple: I want our residents to better understand their\u00a0city\u2019s\u00a0government, and I want City Hall to do a better job communicating with the people we serve.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Apopka is changing.\u00a0We\u2019re\u00a0growing.\u00a0And City Hall has to grow and improve with it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u00a0won\u2019t\u00a0happen overnight, and we\u00a0won\u2019t\u00a0get everything right every time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But we can communicate. We can listen. We can answer questions. And we can keep working to make\u00a0city\u00a0government better.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I hope\u00a0you\u2019ll\u00a0join us\u00a0at 6 p.m. on\u00a0Monday,\u00a0Sept.\u00a028.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Come be\u00a0part of the conversation.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

Nick Nesta was elected mayor of Apopka in April 2026, after serving two terms on the Apopka City Commission. He founded Nesta Real Estate Consultants in 2013 and lives in Apopka with his wife and two daughters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When I took office, one of my commitments was to improve communication between City Hall and our residents.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":407651,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[139,141,140],"class_list":["post-407650","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407650","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=407650"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407650\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/407651"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=407650"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=407650"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=407650"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}