Retired economist vies for at-large seat

Armando Linde
Age: 71
Family: Wife, Felicity; four children; and four grandchildren
Former occupation: Economist
Hometown: Born in Havana, Linde left when he was 16 and lived in Washington, D.C. until retiring to Longboat Key three years ago.
Hobbies: Tennis, walking, swimming
Interesting Fact: Linde has worked with more than 60 countries on four continents. He lived in India for two years and in Liberia for two years.

Country Club Shores resident Armando Linde performed financial work for governments in more than 60 countries for 33 years, leading missions with teams of economists and lawyers that needed financial assistance and economic management structures.

Now, in retirement, he wants to tackle the town of Longboat Key’s measly General Fund of approximately $4 million as an at-large town commissioner.

Linde is running against challenger Irwin Pastor.

“I’ve been asked how I can adjust from all those large numbers I used to calculate for countries to our little town’s budget,” Linde said. “My answer is: All of the same policies, issues and tradeoffs are the same with just smaller numbers involved. This is my community, and I’m ready to help anyway I can.”

Linde moved to Longboat Key three years ago after retiring from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

When he saw a story in the Longboat Observer last year that explained the town’s Investment Advisory Committee was looking for a new member, he applied and got the position. He took that responsibility on after already receiving an appointment to the town’s new Longboat Key Firefighters’ Retirement System board of trustees.

As an investment committee member, Linde urged staff and committee members not to attain a bond to pay off the town’s $27 million pension debt, noting the town can continue to budget for the annual required contributions and plan for making more than the annual required contributions to pay down the debt over time.

The committee and the commission agree with that approach.

Linde said he just wants to use the knowledge he’s attained over the years to help the town.

Although Linde says he is happy with the commission’s work to freeze the unfunded pension liabilities, he said there is much more work to be done.

“The commission did a great job stopping the bleeding, but I’m worried about the unfunded liabilities,” Linde said.

Linde also suggests the town can continue to cut its budget and look at outsourcing certain services to either Manatee or Sarasota counties.

“My experience on fiscal issues and the need to maintain fiscal discipline can help,” Linde said. “I’m ready to try and hold a public platform to discuss the issues with residents to see if they like my ideas of fiscal prudence.”

QUESTION AND ANSWER WITH ARMANDO LINDE
Was the ULI study worth $125,000? What has it accomplished so far?
A similar study was done before. It was called the Vision Plan. Perhaps we should have revisited that study. On the other hand, there’s a lot of interest that stems from this study about a town center concept. Overall, the money was not spent well, for the simple reason there are many other budget priorities in the next fiscal year. We may look back and believe it was money not well spent. Time will tell.

Do you support a town center concept for the Bay Isles area? How much of a player does the town need to be to make it happen?
Where is the money coming from for it? If you want to do it all in the Bay Isles area, it’s mostly all private land. Prices of that land are rising. I’m open to considering a town center because a large segment of town would like to see a center of activity. I’m not sure there is enough money. There should be a lot of private sector money involved. If there is interest for a cultural center, I wouldn’t spend a single penny from the town budget. It would have to come from private donations.

What amenities should Bayfront Park Recreation Center offer? Do we need something better than the current rec center?
I’m open to considering a limited size community center in Bayfront Park, provided the money comes from Sarasota County. The tennis courts may have to go. Money can be used from the Hilton project open space fund and funds for a rec center could come from a mix of private donations and county parks/recreation money.

Should the town pursue an offer from Sarasota County to take over emergency dispatch services?
Absolutely, but after we make sure our service will remain the same or enhanced. The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office has offered to provide a concierge service where we would determine what kinds of calls should be serviced…We could save more than $400,000.

The commission voted in December to extend the Colony Beach & Tennis Resort’s grandfathered tourism use for the third time. If you don’t see signs of progress before the current deadline of April 30, would you vote to extend the deadline again?
Longboat Key is a premier resort destination and it’s a wonderful retirement community. You need a balance of both. We lost a lot of tourism units when the Holiday Inn closed. The last thing we need to do is lose more tourist units and revenue if we force the hand of the Colony Association and remove the grandfathering of that property. There’s not much the town can do unless it wants to engage in lawsuits for three years. Developers are salivating at developing that property. At some point, they are going to put money down to take care of all of these issues.

Is the town overstepping its boundaries by holding a hearing to consider tearing some of the buildings down?
The town is doing the right thing. The town is not about to let the property decay and become a healthy nuisance.

Do you support eliminating the Zoning Board of Adjustment? If so, how would you reassign the board’s duties?
If people don’t show up for meetings, then the board should be eliminated. The commission is doing the right thing by handling this problem. The duties should be transferred to the Planning and Zoning Board if this board can’t meet.

Now that all three town pension plans are frozen, how should the town address the plans’ unfunded liabilities?
The last thing the town should do is ask voters to issue a bond or buy an annuity. It’s not necessary. I’m on record saying we should set aside money every year to pay down the debt.

Town employee benefits: Do you think they’re too high, too low or about right?
They are generous, even now. The town was able to cap extremely extravagant pension benefits that now we have to deal with for a while to pay off. I wouldn’t reopen benefits right now. The town’s finances are not in terrible shape, but they can get that way if we aren’t careful.

Residents of the Longbeach Village and Country Club Shores disagreed strongly about the issue of boat and trailer parking. With that in mind, would you support the general concept of creating overlay districts so that restrictions could be made for certain communities without creating a town-wide ordinance?
I’m not sure why we got into that. It wasn’t a burning issue. It’s a non-issue and there’s no need for overlay district.

What, if any role, should the town play in encouraging wireless carriers to improve their service on Longboat Key?
It seems obvious no one wants a tower. There’s alternatives available. Maybe later the town can play a role, but not now.

What, if any role, should the town play in encouraging commercial development on the north end of Longboat Key?
The town has many functions, but if the private sector wants to do something, the town should not stand in the way. Whitney Beach Plaza looks nicer than it did two years ago. The town has the commercial that is needed. A few more restaurants would be nice.

Is the town heading in the right direction with its beach management plan? What kind of beach project do we need?
Beaches need to be maintained. Rather than issue a bond, we should set money aside in the budget for beach renourishment. The town has built permeable groins and will build two more soon. But the town shouldn’t spend $4 million just to have sand wash away until a permanent solution is in place.

What, if any, changes should the town make to its codes and Comprehensive Plan?
In general, the comp plans and zoning codes need to be revitalized. They are 30 years old. We need revised codes and a balance between clarity. The Key’s property stock is getting older and needs to be updated.

Is the town operating as efficiently as it should be?
The town manager and finance director are taking a hard look at how the town budgeted in the past. What they have found is revenue projections were poor. The budget was run shoddily in the past. We need to take a hard look at the expenditure side. Some things don’t need to be spent.

If you could change any one thing about Longboat Key, what would it be and why? What’s your vision for the Key?
We live in a happy place and for the most part, the quarrels that people talk about aren’t that big of a deal. The Key is a vibrant retirement community. The town’s founding fathers for the town had a vision. That vision was not to become Fort Lauderdale. That was then. But now we have an aging capital stock. I don’t have a vision, per se, other than to work and make sure the island remains what it has been and that properties are improved with a proper zoning code. I don’t see the island changing other than remodeling and revitalizing as needed.

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected]