Mayor Ayoub Meets and Greets Safety Harbor Residents

Mayor Ayoub's idea to meet with Safety Harbor residents in an informal setting to discuss any and all issues affecting the city could have had a variety of outcomes.

But based on the comments of those who attended the first 'Cup of Joe with Joe' session at the Paradise Restaurant on Tuesday morning, the casual meet and greet was a big hit.

Roughly 20 residents attended the 8:15 meeting, and most left with a favorable impression of the mayor and the city.

"I think it was great that the mayor made himself accessible to the residents of our city, and nothing was off limits," local business owner Michael Lauer said afterwards.

"You don't get that kind of opportunity in a lot of other cities."

"I thought it was very informative," Barbara Bickerstaff said.

"I went to Washington for a while and I just came back and I wanted to get involved in what's going on in Safety Harbor. This was a good place to start."

As Lauer mentioned, no topics were off limits at the meeting. 

Mayor Ayoub, who was joined by City Manager Matt Spoor, touched on subjects ranging from trash collection and red light cameras to milage rates and development. 

One subject that got a lot of feedback was the possibility of the city raising the millage rate to help compensate for budgetary shortfalls this year.

Surprisingly, when Ayoub asked if the residents would be opposed to an increase, not one person in attendance raised their hand.

"I wouldn't mind paying more taxes to have all the bells and whistles we enjoy here," Lauer said. "We have a lot of things neighboring communities don't have, and in order to keep those things I'm willing to pay more."

"The residents of Safety Harbor need to take a hard look at why we're here, the services available, and have a full understanding of the costs with the thought that we may have to raise taxes," Patrick Whelan said.

After the hour and a half meeting was over, Ayoub handed out business cards with his email address and cell phone number and told people to contact him with any questions or concerns regarding the city.

He later told Patch he though his first meet and greet was a huge success.

"I think it went great," he said by phone. "It was a good turnout and people were willing to share their thoughts and ideas on the direction of the city."

"I enjoyed the positivity. Everyone seemed to enjoy the opportunity to be heard."

He said of all the issues discussed, he was really interested to hear opinions about the budget.

"I wanted to focus on the budget because the city manager is going to be proposing a millage increase in the budget soon and we will have some tough choices to make going forward," he said.

"I asked for input and people made it clear they'd rather pay a little more than make noticeable cuts. That was interesting to hear."

So will he will host another 'Cup of Joe with Joe'?

"I'd definitely like to do it again," the mayor said. "I like to be proactive and go out and get feedback."