Inaugural Issue
JULY 6 - JULY 12, 2020 | TWO DOLLARS
New City Manager
Wilson faces challenges of pandemic, economic downturn By Brad Rogers Executive Editor
I
f there is one thing Sandra Wilson is certain about in her new job as Ocala’s city manager, it’s that the days and months ahead are filled with, well, uncertainty. Wilson, a 20-year veteran of City Hall, was named city manager by the Ocala City Council on June 2, after serving as interim in the post for six months. She is the first African American to hold the city manager’s post and succeeds John Zobler, who abruptly resigned late last year after a half decade marked by significant progress in the city, particularly downtown. Wilson served as Zobler’s No. 2 for most of his tenure. Now that she is at the helm of city government, however, Wilson faces some serious challenges. Last month a court ruled that the city’s fire fee was unconstitutional and ordered the city to reimburse those who had paid it. Since the city began collecting the controversial fee in 2007, Ocala pocketed $103 million from city residents – money
used for fire department operations and equipment purchases. The city is appealing the ruling, but if it has to reimburse fee payers, it will put a strain on city finances, to say the least. Of course, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic presents a separate set of financial and social pressures. The pandemic has slowed the economy and, in turn, the city will see lower tax revenues from the state. While Wilson said her immediate to-do list incudes finishing up capital projects that are under way – the Mary Sue Rich Community Center on the city’s westside and the first-responder campus on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue (the third such facility) – she also knows that lower tax revenues likely mean fewer city projects. “We’re probably going to have to be reviewing every capital project out there,” Wilson said. “We’re probably going to have to be pumping the brakes until we know where that (the fire fee issue) is going to take us.” City Council members agree with Wilson’s assessment of what lies ahead.
“Sandra’s got some significant challenges in front of her,” Councilman Matt Wardell said, “but I think she’s measured enough to handle them. There’s always a person for the time. I think she’s the person for this time because we have some tough decisions.” Councilman Justin Grabelle, the only council member not to support Wilson’s hiring, nonetheless praised her and noted that when Zobler started he had a significant advantage compared with where Wilson is starting. “John had money,” he said. “John was riding the wave (of a booming economy) … We saw really unprecedented economic expansion while John was there.” Wilson, on the other hand, faces so much economic uncertainty, he said. Maybe Wilson’s staunchest supporter on the council from the outset was Councilman Jay Musleh. He believes Wilson is best equipped to keep the city moving in the positive direction it enjoyed under Zobler’s lead-
[Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2020.
“Everyone says, ‘You have some big shoes to fill.’ Well, I have my own shoes to fill and they’re different.” -Sandra Wilson
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