COMMENTARY
MARK SCHUMANN
With gratitude to the community, I am pleased to report that InsideVero.com’s readership continues to grow. With more than 14,000 pages views last week alone, this seems an appropriate time to restate Inside Vero’s editorial policy and mission, and to address questions I have received about the recent attempt to coordinate an advertising boycott of Inside Vero.
Written and edited by journalists experienced in covering community news who are also long-time residents of the county, Inside Vero presents thoughtful and balanced reporting, analysis and commentary on a wide range of local issues.
Beyond the headlines and public policy debates, InsideVero reports on the lighter side of life in our community, offering personality profiles, lifestyle features, business news, coverage of the local social scene, a calendar of events, and more.
Indian River County’s pioneers carved out of the Florida wilderness this beautiful community by the sea. Through their hard work and wise and selfless stewardship, these early settlers laid a solid foundation for the community we all enjoy and cherish today.
Going forward, the central question is not whether our county will grow, but how it will grow. In the spirit of our early pioneers, Inside Vero is dedicated to exploring and better understanding important issues affecting the quality of life in Vero Beach and Indian River County. At the same time, InsideVero chronicles the countless ways Vero Beach and Indian River County residents enjoy and celebrate life in one of Florida’s most beautiful coastal communities.
Our readers have come to expect that Inside Vero will offer a variety of perspectives and differing points of view from other local publications. After all, the Press Journal has become Stuart-centric, while the barrier island weekly has nothing good to say about the city or its employees. While we do not support extremism on either the conservative or the liberal side, we feel an obligation to present information not filtered by party affiliation or special interest.
Unlike some other publications, we label as “commentary” any articles where we express our opinion.
Why the attempted boycott of a news outlet?
Some who would like to see the city disincorporated in order to dispense with its “archaic” zoning codes and building height restrictions, and others who have made the sale of Vero Electric the consuming passion of their lives, are at the very least inconvenienced by Inside Vero’s efforts to report both sides of the larger story.
The detractors of the city, and a small group of anti-municipal-utility activists, including Glenn Heran, Charlie Wilson, City Councilwoman Pilar Turner and County Commissioner Bob Solari, are determined to see the city sell, not only Vero Electric, but also its water and sewer system. This group knows all that stands between a financially viable city, protected by prudent zoning codes, and disincorporation, are the revenues of the city’s utilities.
The city can and will be able to make adjustment to revenue and expenses in order to survive the sale of Vero Electric, but the sale of the city’s water and sewer utility would be the final nail in the city’s coffin, which is why Heran, Solari, Turner and Wilson are hammering away.
The purpose of Inside Vero is not to champion the city so much as it is to report the larger story. This reporting is, of course, a great inconvenience to those who have for several years gotten something like a pass from the island weekly and the local daily.
If Inside Vero was not effectively reporting the larger story, the likes of utility activist Charlie Wilson would be directing their venom in some other direction.
I am pleased to report that neither our advertising support, nor our readership has been diminished in any way by Charlie Wilson’s recent efforts to orchestrate an advertising boycott. In fact, advertising revenue and readership continue to grow, not because advertisers necessarily endorse our commentary, but because they know of Inside Vero’s broad readership, because they value freedom of the press and freedom of expression, and, presumably, because they do not appreciate being told what to do.
Indian River Guardian 
Well said and congratulations on your continuing and growing success Mark.
Congratulations, Mark! Keep up a good work!
You seem to be hell bent on ruining Tracy Carroll and apparently have some sort of vendetta against her. She’s a part of 75% of your stories. Exactly who is funding this project?
We are not, as you say, “hell bent” on ruining anyone. To quote none other than Vero Beach 32963, Carroll’s problems are of her own making.
If you find our reporting so offensive, Natalie, why do you abuse yourself by continuing to visit the site? You seem to be one of our most avid readers.
The 9/19 issue of the Island magazine (page 1) “County opts to let Vero keep providing South Beach water”. However, the very first sentence qualifies that by saying “…the county appears to be dropping its bid…” It also mentioned this decision was contingent on the City bringing down rates to county people and reducing it’s ‘equalization fee surcharge’ from 6% to 3%. The county would also reduce its franchise fee from 6% to 3 percent. Which brings up my question to the county – why not reduce its electric power franchise fee (collected by Vero Beach & turned over to county) in half just to show it is thinking of its county residents? Love Inside Vero.
Cathy, one clarification: The county is, in fact, asking the city to provide water and sewer services to the approximately 3,000 residents in the unincorporated area of the south barrier island at county rates, rather than city rates. However, this would NOT be a matter of “bringing down rates.” The city and county rate structures differ, but in the aggregate are revenue neutral. In fact, according the City Manager Jim O’Connor, the city will actually earn an additional $140,000 or so from its south barrier island customers by switching them to the county’s water and sewer rate structure.