WAFC Local News – August 27, 2026, 8:06 AM
Transcript
I’m Charles Murphy reporting. The city of Clewiston continued their budget workshops. The commission looking at their electric budget. They defended the rates they charge. Some claiming they’re much lower than the rates charged by Florida Power and Light. This Mayor Jimmy Pittman. I will show you that we’re cheaper than FPNL. They’re not gonna come because they would rather use fake book to keyboard warriors. The city also discussed the increases each year that comes in health and other insurance. Congressman Scott Franklin says he’s disappointed his district boundary was rewritten taking Henry County out. He now will represent more northern districts in Polk County and some of Osceola County. I’ll always be taking y’all’s interest to heart as we contemplate things here in Congress. Franklin says he enjoyed representing this area. I really am sad to not be directly representing now so much of the Florida Heartland. The city of LaBelle discussed property tax reforms and recent comments by outgoing Senator Kathleen Pasadena worried about the impacts on rural areas. Commissioner Bobby Spratt wonders how the city will make it. She is worried about small counties that don’t have a lot of frills and how we’re gonna make it if this thing passes. The big counties, they’re not worried about. Hugo Vargas has other views. He says we don’t keep paying taxes on other things that we buy. We all own our home. I don’t think any of us love to pay taxes on something that we own. So, you know, there’s a balance and there’s a conversation to be had. A Clewiston man, R.J. Armstrong Jr., charged Senator Ocaciobe with illegal harvesting of palm edelberries without a permit and petty theft. His bond was $3,500. The incident in the area of Northwest 284th Street. Deputies found a car sitting at the end of a dead-end road on 280th Street and a female sitting in the vehicle and saw Armstrong in the palmetto trees with a garbage can and tree-trimming shears. The berries were worth $226 and weighed 113 pounds. A Felda man is charged in an incident of road rage. 60-year-old Rafael Gonzalez, facing aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, he allegedly collided with another vehicle on State Road 82 as the two were merging into a single lane. He then chased after the other vehicle and caused some damage to it, injuring the driver who was taken to Lehigh Medical Center for treatment. A financial advisor recommends the city of Pahokee do a forensic audit on their finances. Angela Perez proposed some 10 changes to city policy and answered 14 concerns raised by the Palm Beach Inspector General about Pahokee’s books. Reyes says they need a closer review. The city would benefit from a forensic audit. A forensic audit would allow the city to examine specific transactions, financial activity transfers, and areas of concern at a much deeper level. She says the goal is to avoid future problems. The objective is straightforward. Reduce risk, establish accountability, document responsibility, and create a clear process that employees can consistently follow, which will limit future audit findings. I’m Charles Murphy, WAFC News.
Recorded from the WAFC daily newscast (Glades Media).