Key Issues

Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!

Of course the topic on everyone's lips these days is local employment. Our county has hemorraghed jobs at a faster rate than Florida on the whole and faster than the national rate and we must work hard to bring employers back to Polk County. Melony has been an active member of the Central Florida Development Council who recently brought up to 1,000 jobs and nearly half a billion dollars of economic improvement to the US-27 corridor with the Legoland deal. She has extensive contacts with all local Chambers of Commerce and as Mayor of Fort Meade has engaged in open dialogue with the job creators of Polk County small and large. Melony will promote good governance through responsible incentives to new commerce development and work to remove unneccessary barriers and regulations that stifle small business start-ups.

Balanced Budget & Cutting Waste

As a City Commissioner for 13 years and employee of the State of Florida for nearly 30, Melony knows a thing or two about waste in government-and how to eliminate it. The fact is that any government agency will spend to the limits of its budget, if not beyond, especially when administrative pay is based on the amount of money managed. A bureaucracy always "needs" the money it gets so it is up to those that set the budget to determine the needs of the community and rein in wasteful expenditures. In Fort Meade, Melony led the effort to reduce city expenditures by contracting with the Polk County Sherriff's Office for local crime prevention and law enforcement. This agreement is saving the city hundreds of thousands of dollars per year while not adding to the burden of Polk County as a whole. Fort Meade retained all of the officers familiar to the local citizens, the PCSO outfitted them with new equipment and the crime rate was cut by more than 25%! Melony knows a balanced budget is best served with spending cuts, not increased taxes.

Community Building and Personal Interaction

Melony is a Polk County native born in Winter Haven who has raised two daughters who are themselves building strong ties here. She has built strong networks of community leaders through her participation in Leadership Polk and her leadership on the Executive Boards of The East Polk County Committee of 100 and Ridge League of Cities which encompasses portions of Highlands, Hardee, Polk and Pasco Counties. At the same time, Melony maintains rapport with individual citizens and has a reputation of being an accessible commissioner who will take the time to listen to and solve her constituents problems.