Joe Neunder explains the decision that led up to his resignation as a City of Venice Council Member

An Unexpected End to an Incredible Chapter

I am Dr. Joseph Neunder, former Venice City Councilman running for Sarasota County Commission seat four, and here’s what I have come to understand. The candidate qualifying period for the 2022 ballot ends this week on Friday. I was recently made aware of incompatible language in the Venice City Charter and a Florida statute that would involve both elected positions running concurrently. After consulting at length with our Venice City Clerk and receiving various legal opinions, my team concluded that I needed to resign immediately.

I have great admiration for my former colleagues and the citizens of Venice. Our City Council is strong and will continue to serve our City well into the future. I want to encourage our community leaders to be bold in the areas about which I’m passionate.

Government revenues are at an all-time high, and Venice’s millage rate is the highest in Sarasota County. As the price of gasoline and groceries continues to climb, I tend to think about our families and residents living on a fixed income. Now is a great time to return money to the taxpayers through meaningful tax relief.

As the Venice City Council finalizes the budget for FY 22-23, I encourage my former colleagues to sharpen their pencils and cut taxes for all of Venice’s residents.

As County Laison, I was proud to play a role in negotiating the partnership between Sarasota County and the City of Venice to move Venice’s solid waste department off Seaboard Avenue to a new County/City waste facility off Knights Trail Road. Our Council should be bold and creative in determining how to revitalize the Seaboard Avenue area into the shining community feature it can be in the near future.

Finally, our Council should continue supporting Venice’s first responders strongly. Our exceptional Venice Police Department has done a suburb job at maintaining a shallow crime rate, which I believe is one of the main reasons why Venice is such a desirable place to live. Maintaining a low crime rate is not an accident, and our elected officials should never stop supporting public safety. The newly founded Venice EMS service is on track to provide the highest quality care and the best life-saving services. Additionally, the heroes that work at our fire department deserve full support in their facilities, equipment, benefits, and treatment of work-related illnesses and injuries.

The state of our City is strong, and I’m grateful to the citizens of Venice, who allowed me to play a role in making our City an even more desirable place to live, work, and play.

Respectfully,

Dr. Joe Neunder,

Former Venice Councilman & Sarasota County Commission Candidate Seat 4