Name: Tracy CarrollAge: 47How long living in Vero Beach: 5 ½ yearsPlace of Birth: Los Angeles, Calif.Occupation: Office Manager, Twenty First Century Engineering, Inc.Marital/Family Status: Married to John Carroll, Jr, PE; 2 daughters ages 16 and 14.
Please list Civic and Volunteer Leadership Experience including title & position and Organization including dates and locations.
Over the last 5.5 years in Vero Beach:
City of Vero Beach Recreation Advisory Board: past Vice-chair, current member
Rotary International: Past President of the Treasure Coast Vero Beach Rotary Club, current Board of Directors; Chair of the Rotary District 6930 Youth Exchange Programs, Board of Directors of Rotary Youth Exchange Florida
Leadership Indian River County: Graduate of Class II of the Chamber of Commerce program
Junior League: Sustaining member
Homeless Family Center: current Board of Directors
Treasure Coast Builders Association: Past Board member
Beachland Elementary: Chair of the first ever “Mardi Gras Social” to raise funds for improvements to AV needs at the school.
Girl Scouts: Currently delegate from GS of SE Florida on the National Council of GS USA, 10-year troop leader, Council roles including trainer, coach, recruiter
Mental Health Association: Tracy spearheaded the inclusion of her corporation in sponsoring a “Turtle Trax” sculpture.
Riverside Children’s Theater: volunteer
Relay for Life of the Beaches: volunteer
As a 15-year resident of Fort Lauderdale:
Leadership Broward: Board of Directors, Class XIX, co-chair of 2004 History, Urban and Environment Day.
Junior League: 2001-2002 President (during which we presented a gift to the City of Fort Lauderdale of the $200,000 Playground at Holiday Park), many years on the Board of Directors, various committees’ chair.
City of Ft. Lauderdale Parks and Recreation: Coach: Girls softball – 5 years, soccer – 3 years.
Girl Scouts of Broward County: Leader of two troops, Nominating Committee for Council, Recruiter and Coach
Friends of the Park at Stranahan House: Vice President, Co-chair of the team that developed the conceptual design through a city-wide consensus building project in 2001
SPARK of the Museum of Discovery and Science (past board)
Hospice Hundred (past board)
Friends of Jack and Jill Nursery, 1000+ Club of the American Cancer Society: member
Museum of Art: docent
Fort Lauderdale Children’s Theater volunteer
What issues motivated you to run for this office and what do you hope to accomplish during your term?
My education and business experience will help me restore financial responsibility and competence to the City Council. My primary focus in accomplishing this goal will be to sell the City Electric system to FP&L, to explore regionalization of the City Water/Sewer/Irrigation (WSI) system with the county, and the revitalization of our Riverfront, including the City properties at the base of the 17th Street bridge.
What is your position on the potential sale of the Vero Beach electric utility? If the price and conditions were right, would you support selling? What would keep you from supporting a possible sale?
I endorse selling if an offer is brought to the table of financial benefit to the City. FPL provides the cheapest electrical rates in the State, and the rates are regulated by the PSC. The price negotiated must also be approved by the Public Service Commission – they simply cannot offer less than value! Selling to another municipality (muni) would result in unregulated rates, theoretically putting us in a worse position than now. We are fortunate among Florida munis in that FPL surrounds our City Electrical Utility, providing ease of transition. The financial analysis that we as ratepayers are better off with a sale to FP&L is clear and indisputable. City voters are begging for relief from the high bills. Our City Council promised rates equal to FPL in 2009 – and now say there is no way to deliver on their promise. And we as City residents continue to write checks each month with no relief in sight.
Do you support considering the possibility of merging the city’s water and sewer system with that of the county’s? What factors would you consider in making a determination whether or not such a merger should happen?
Due to the City’s inability to compete with IRCU, IR Shores and South barrier island County customers have discussed leaving the City WSI operations in 2016 and 2017 respectively. Without them, the City would need to drastically increase rates to maintain their business model. Regionalization with the County may be the only path forward that does not result in City residents being forced to pay vastly increased rates.
The city is currently looking for a new City Manager to replace out-going Jim Gabbard. What qualities would you look for in a viable candidate? . It is clear that, going forward, the City manager will need significant financial and analytical ability to succeed in analyzing and providing necessary reports to the City Council of complex financial data. An unchecked bureaucracy by definition will grow in size. A role of City Council is to serve as a check and balance on the recommendations of staff. The new City Manager must be able to make the hard decisions necessary to reduce the size of City government in these trying financial times.
How do you plan to work with Councilman Heady if elected to the dais?
Mr Heady has spoken to me many times, and seems to respect me, a feeling he does not have for the current Council members. A new attitude on Council of civility and competency is my goal as a Councilwoman.