BY MARK SCHUMANN

Speaking to a group of friends and supporters gathered at a home in Old Riomar last week, Vero Beach City Councilman Richard Winger announced his bid to seek reelection in November.

Winger told his supporters the decisions the Council must make about staffing, services and taxes in the wake of the pending sale of the city’s electric system could very well determine if the city will survive as an independently incorporated municipality.

“If we are smart and make careful choices, we can transition through the sale of the electric system and the loss of that revenue without surrendering what is unique and special about Vero Beach.  I am running to keep Vero Vero,” Winger said, echoing one of his campaign themes from two years ago.

When the former Finance Commission member first ran and was elected to the Council in 2011, he also stressed the importance of selling Vero Electric at a fair price.  Though the debate continues in some circles about whether the city has made a good deal with Florida Power & Light, Winger told his supporters he prefers to focus now on how to make the deal work for the city.

“The electric rate differential is costing the community some $2 million a month, and that is not good,” he said.

When asked about a partial sale, Winger said the city could operate a smaller system and offer lower rates, but he again stressed the importance of finding a way to complete the sale to FPL.  “As a community we have made a decision and we need to move on.”

In the face of a $3.5 million shortfall from the loss of electric system revenue, Winger said the only way for the city to survive financially will be to make smart decisions about how to run city government more efficiently, while at the same time remaining open to a “slight” tax increase.  “If you save $100 a month on your electric bill and pay an additional $25 a month is city taxes, you are well ahead,” Winger said.

Winger drew a contrast between the level and quality of county services to those offered by the city, contending city residents do not want to settle for sharp cuts in services, such as police protection, guarded beaches, park maintenance and recreation programs.  “The county does the bare minimum and at the lowest possible price.  Vero Beach residents want better,” he said.

When asked about the county’s unwillingness to share in the cost of some city services used by many county residents Winger said, “We cannot worry about what the county does or doesn’t do, and I am not in favor of charging county residents extra to use city parks and services.  Two wrongs don’t make a right.”

“We are all one community, and the survival of the city is as important to county residents as it is to the citizens of the city,” he added.

Winger is the first candidate to announce for the November city council election, though it is widely presumed Vice Mayor Tracy Carroll will also seek reelection.

Winger said he announced early in order to begin raising money for what may be a hotly contested election.