Fiscal management and the future of South Apopka were a couple of the topics that the three mayoral candidates discussed in a roughly 100-minute mayoral forum Monday at Victory Church.  

Apopka Involved Voters hosted the forum, which was moderated by Dr. Hank Dunn, at Victory Church, where about 30 people attended. The organization will present a forum for the City Council candidates at 7 p.m. Thursday at Victory Church, 509 South Park Ave. 

Orange County Commissioner Christine Moore, incumbent Mayor Bryan Nelson and City Commissioner Nick Nesta are running for mayor in the March 10 election. Other races are for Council seats 1, 2 and 4, and voters will also decide whether to adopt eight proposed City Charter amendments. A possible runoff is scheduled for April 14.  

The mayoral forum was livestreamed on the Apopka Chief YouTube channel. The channel will also livestream the City Council forum.  

Budget management 

One segment of the night focused on Apopka’s budget priorities and process, including the city’s recent history of frequent budget amendments.  

Nelson defended his “tight ship” approach, arguing that starting with a lean budget and adjusting for specific needs – such as emergency repairs – is a transparent way to manage public funds. He also said the city’s recovery from debt and growth in reserves is proof his fiscal approach is working.  

“I’m going to give you an $800,000 budget, and if we need to come back for the next 200, that’s what we’ll do,” Nelson said. 

Nesta said that frequent amendments are a sign the city is “budgeting incorrectly,” not practicing the “fact-based budgeting” he favors.  

He proposed a “bifurcated” budget model that separates essential services like public safety and infrastructure from amenities like parks and events, while introducing a resident-led advisory committee to help guide those quality-of-life spending priorities. 

“I can see where residents come up a few months later, even the first meeting after our first budget started, and we have to do a budget amendment,” he said. “It means we did it wrong.”  

Moore said budgeting should be a year‑round, infrastructure‑first process tied to a measurable strategic plan, with maintenance prioritized and resident “sounding boards” reviewing spending instead of ad‑hoc, short‑term decisions. 

“Maintenance should always, always come first,” Moore said. “You have to protect, you have to preserve, you have to maintain what you have first before you build anything else.”  

Annexing South Apopka  

On the South Apopka annexation and whether the issue should be put on one or two ballots – one for city residents, the other for unincorporated residents – Nelson said he doesn’t want the city to mass annex the area. He contrasted himself with his opponents, whom he said had “dodged” the issue when asked about it at the Feb. 3 Apopka Mayoral Debate, which The Apopka Chief and WESH 2 News hosted at the Apopka High School.  

“My answer is, no, I don’t want to annex South Apopka, period,” he said.  

Nesta argued that the decision should not be made by the City Council but by residents in a referendum. He said the city is “gatekeeping” by not putting annexation on the ballot and proposed a negotiated, multi‑year, phased approach if voters approve it, emphasizing partnership with homeowners and avoiding heavy‑handed code enforcement. 

“It needs to go to the residents, and from there, we can discuss what that looks like for each resident,” Nesta said.  

Moore said she supports the South Apopka annexation and pushed back on the idea she’d dodged the question, noting her years of work in the area on sidewalks, safety and cleanup.  

She said any annexation should involve two referendums — one in South Apopka to join and one in the existing city to accept — and argued for a broader, citywide strategy so new areas help generate revenue to cover services and infrastructure. 

“I would love to work on annexing, maybe a street on the east side, the north side, the southwest, and just keep really working on annexing all over the county, so that we have a balanced approach to those annexations,” she said.  

Other topics covered at the forum included economic development, staffing vacancies and use of reserves, ethical leadership and campaigning, communicating with residents, and the decision-making process a candidate would use if elected mayor. 

To watch the full forum, visit The Apopka Chief YouTube channel.