And Your Out!

This week Osceola County announced that County Manager Mike Freilinger asked Fire Chief Frank Montes de Oca Jr. to resign because of "philosophical differences". It seems that Freilinger and the Fire Chief had a difference of opinion on how the department should be run.

On the surface that seems like a fine explanation, but with the way our county operates, you have to take a look at the big picture. Last year, shortly after Freilinger was hired and in response to the state working to cut property taxes, several Osceola County employees were fired. At about the same time, county departments began to be shifted around on an organizational chart like marbles on a playground. What we find interesting is that the county government has increased its overall payroll by adding in more and more managers to oversee shifting departments. County government is now a top heavy organization that is costing the taxpayers more than it was before the shifts began.

This leads us to a couple of questions. How many levels of management are required to handle the day to day operations of the county, and how many fire chiefs does it take to put out a fire in Osceola County?

While we do not want to enter the debate on whether or not the Fire Chief needed to be shown the door, we have to wonder if the problem stated was accurate. The firing came as a surprise to many directly involved with the department, so it seems that the difference of management excuse was something relatively new, or that past issues had not made it to the light of day.

Regardless of the reasons for the termination, we believe that more people need to take a look at the down line management system that is being pushed by the county commission. Osceola County government looks more like an Amway multi-level marketing system everyday, and we, the taxpayers, are paying for it.