Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Hendry Planning Director Gets New Job

Vincent Cautero Heading To Citrus County - Rebuts Critics

LABELLE, FL. -- Hendry county's planning director has been hired by Citrus County today by a 4-1 vote of the County Commission. Local newspapers in Inverness had been running numerous stories about Cautero's bid for the new Development Service Director for Citrus County.

In a rebuttal from last week's news stories critical of Cautero and his years in Collier county, Cautero denied responsibility for Collier county's mess-ups regarding golf course developers not paying impact fees during Cautero's reign there.

In an email communication from Mr. Cautero on September 13 to the Sunday Morning News, he clarifies that he has been a member of APA since 1981 and certified by their certification division AICP in 1991. (The 1986 membership date in the Sunday Morning news article was provided to the News by the APA office.) Defending himself from a quote by a Collier commissioner, that Cautero was a "darling of the developers,'' Cautero said that Commissioner Frank Halas was elected after Cautero resigned his job in Collier county.

In the same email Cautero denies responsibility for the failure to collect developer impact fees while he worked for Collier County, ''I did not have the responsibility to assess impact fees in Collier County. Three members of the Engineering Dept. were responsible for assessing these fees on golf courses.''

This statement, however, seems contrary to the findings of a special audit report ordered by the Collier County Commissioners in 2001, investigating county official's failure to collect golf course developer impact fees.

The report (on page 9) says: ''Once an impact fee ordinance was enacted, the responsibility for assessing and collecting and impact fees lay in the Community Development Division and the Revenue Department, respectively.'' Cautero was the head of the Development Division, charged with assessing the fees.

3 comments:

  1. Anonymous6:57 PM

    Three down and how many to go before county commissioners wise up and remove the stumbling block to Hendry County moving forward
    Along with her yes people.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous5:45 AM

    You guys must not have enough free golf or impact fees to finagle to keep Vinnie!

    Citrus County Resident

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  3. Do not know where these rumors have appeared. I do not think are true. I know and believe he will do a good job there.

    ReplyDelete