Jay Musleh believes the city has managed its growth well, that first responders have the appropriate level of funding, and that “good jobs” have been created during his tenure on the Ocala City Council.
Musleh, who is being challenged by Ty Schlichter and Russell Juergens for his District 3 seat, made the remarks during a candidates’ forum at the Brick City Center for the Arts on Tuesday, August 10.
“Growth is going to happen. I think we’ve managed growth well in the time that I’ve been on Ocala City Council. We’ve had several annexations basically in the southwest quadrant where we’ve expanded,” said Musleh, noting that many of those subdivisions will at some point be “built out.”
“I welcome new growth, but it’s got to continue to be controlled growth,” said Musleh.
He noted the jobs created by FedEx, Chewy, AutoZone, and Amazon during his tenure and cited his role representing the city in negotiations with AutoZone.
“I believe all of these businesses are well above what they promised to hire. We’re very fortunate to have these type of businesses locate in our community. They’re providing good jobs for our community,” said Musleh.
“As far as the proper funding of our departments, right now, I would say that we are right at the funding level we need to be at. However, I have had conversation with Chief Mike Balken and he makes very valid points that, as we grow and some of these new neighborhoods come online, particularly in the southwest quadrant, we are going to need to add boots to the ground” said Musleh, citing the council’s recent approval of new positions for the police department.
“As far as I know, they’re not wanting for anything at the Ocala Police Department that they absolutely have to have. And I will continue to have those dialogues with Chief Balken,” said Musleh.
Musleh highlighted the city’s fire ratings and said that because they are so high, residents are able to receive reduced rates to insure their homes.
To close his remarks, Musleh cited his decades of relationships in the community and emphasized his experience in dealing with a variety of issues while on council.
“I’ve been here my entire life. I’ve been a banker for 43 years, I helped start Gateway Bank on Silver Springs Boulevard. I’ve been through vendor management, employee retention, employee hiring. I’ve been on city council now for nine and a half years. I’ve dealt with several negotiations with our labor unions, and also dealt with bringing new businesses to Ocala,” said Mulseh.
The Ocala City Council election will be held on September 21, 2021.
Over the coming days, Ocala-News.com will publish stories to summarize talking points from local candidate forums.
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