Residents consider incorporating Pine Hills as own municipality
PINE HILLS, Fla. — Pine Hills residents gathered Monday at the Orange County Multicultural Center to discuss the possibility of incorporating their community as its own municipality.
The meeting was hosted by the Pine Hills Community Council (PHCC). It examined the potential benefits, challenges, and necessary steps for incorporation.
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“Municipality may not be our best option. We don’t know yet,” said Dr. LaTonya Nichols, PHCC president. “There are some pros and cons we have to look at and identify what the residents want to see come out of this.”
Attendees expressed a desire for improved services such as law enforcement, sanitation and fire protection. Proponents argued that incorporation would allow residents greater control over these services rather than relying on Orange County.
“Residents would have direct control over services and policies instead of being governed by Orange County,” said PHCC member Sandra Fatimi-Hall. She also pointed out a significant drawback, “Let me go over some of the cons… higher taxes.”
Several steps must be taken to move forward with incorporating, including assessing population size, conducting a feasibility study, gathering public input and establishing local leadership.
Pine Hills resident Cheryl Soriano said, “I see both positive and negative aspects. The biggest concern, of course, is finances—being able to earn and sustain the community. It’s important that we know ahead of time, as much as we can, about how much it will cost us. A lot of people say they want it, but when it comes to the pocketbook, that’s another story.”
Orange County Commissioner Mike Scott, who represents parts of Pine Hills, said he supports ongoing discussions about the future of the community. “A lot of this work is going to happen at the local level, but once the local work is done, they’ll have to lobby the legislature for it,” he said.
The Pine Hills Community Council plans to continue discussions in future meetings as residents weigh the potential impacts of incorporation.
Article Linked Here: https://www.wesh.com/article/residents-incorporating-pine-hills-municipality/64357919
