While it is unusual for an elected official to declare he or she has no plans for major changes in policy or direction for his bailiwick, the newly minted Chairman of the Sumter County Board of County Commissioners, Don Hahnfeldt, has done just that. Why? Because he speaks with pride and satisfaction about the course the BOCC has already set for Sumter County. “We are meeting our current objectives and the county is positioned for a successful future,” he asserts.
Hahnfeldt was elected chairman in November 2014 for a one-year term by his fellow board members — Garry Breeden, Don Burgess, Al Butler and Doug Gilpin — all of whom have chaired that governing body. Sumter County commissioners serve four-year terms
The BOCC operates an annual budget of approximately $175 million (which includes $32 million for the five elected Constitutional officers’ budgets, including the Sheriff) to meet the safety, security and quality of life requirements of its citizens. According to Hahnfeldt, Sumter County has become a model of efficiency and effectiveness among Florida’s 67 counties as it begins its tenth consecutive year. It has maintained taxes at or below the rollback rate, while expanding and enhancing services for its residents.
“There are no great secrets to achieving operational and financial success in Sumter County,” Hahnfeldt stated, “but success has not come without some challenges and hard decisions. Basically, Sumter County leaders have jelled as a team — elected officials, management and staff — that generally adheres to conservative principles and practices, and strives to make good business decisions in the best interest of the taxpayers.”
“It would be easy to claim Sumter’s successes have been solely due to the Villages expanding into the county and providing an economic engine that tripled its tax base over the last ten years,” Hahnfeldt continued, “but the doubling of the population in that time period demanded very substantial infrastructure development, plus police, fire and emergency services expansion — which came with the accompanying challenges of providing appropriate levels of service to a unique demographic that is, by eight years, the oldest population among the three thousand plus counties in the United States.”
Sumter is now poised for the completion of the build out of The Villages by the end of 2016. “The county has worked cooperatively with its cities to develop an effective comprehensive plan for continued responsible growth,” Hahnfeldt specified. “Sumter is already working with the state and regional planners on infrastructure development to meet the projected growth.”
Included in infrastructure development is the maintenance of county roads, and the coordination of transportation links from I-75 and the Florida Turnpike to the linkup of Florida’s coast-to-coast trailway system. Additionally, Sumter will be upgrading its drainage and storm water system and preparing for Florida’s gas pipeline, which will come through a portion of the county.  “The county will continue to seek and support business and industry that is a responsible fit into Sumter’s traditional agricultural community, as well as the needs of its more recent retirement population,” Hahnfeldt said.
The Commissioners’ regular meetings are scheduled the second and fourth Tuesdays of every month at 5:00 p.m. — at the Court House in Bushnell and the Sumter County Service Center (gold dome) on Powell Road in The Villages, respectively. Workshops convene on the third Tuesdays in the Tea Room at Colony Cottage Recreation Center, also at 5:00 p.m. All meetings are open to the public.
According to Commissioner Hahnfeldt, the Sumter County Board of Commissioners started having workshops about five years ago to discuss lengthier issues in open meetings (in the sunshine). This often included presentations or briefings to the board by staff members — to better prepare the board for decision making on major issues and to keep the regular meetings to a more manageable length. The significant difference between regular meetings and workshops is no voting can take place at the workshops.
Some issues which have been discussed in these workshops include county road maintenance and paving plans; adjustment of employee, dependent and retiree insurance plans to incorporate Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirements, and updates of economic development projects.
Chairman Don Hahnfeldt retired from a 32-year career in the U.S. Navy as Commander (Commodore) of the U.S. nuclear submarine fleet in the Pacific. He is a U.S. Navy trained and qualified nuclear engineer and nuclear submarine commander, with master’s degrees in business administration, systems analysis and public administration. He became a City Manager in Washington State, and retired a second time from Northern Virginia to The Village of Bridgeport at Lake Miona, with his wife, Cheryle, during the summer of 2004. He put together a consortium of nuclear experts to deal with radioactive waste disposal from the infamous Chernobyl nuclear meltdown in Russia. He is a past president of The Villages Homeowners Association (VHA) and currently serves as chairman of the Central Florida Healthcare Alliance Board, which oversees The Villages Regional Hospital, Leesburg Regional Medical Center plus a small rehabilitation facility which will move to the fifth floor of the new hospital construction in The Villages in 2016.
“We are meeting our current objectives and have positioned the county for a successful future.,” Chairman Hahnfeldt said with pride. “We believe Sumter County is and, in another ten years, will continue to be, in the right place and on the right path.”
