Bartow Amendment 3 Meeting: Why City Manager Mike Herr Spent 45 Minutes on “Old Bartow” Versus “New Bartow”
The Oct. 15 public meeting on the issue of Amendment 3 was markedly different from the previous sessions of Aug. 25 and Sept. 24. One way it differed was turnout. Between 25 and 30 people showed up at the Carver Recreation Center. The previous two meetings garnered between 20 and 25 people. A second difference was the tone displayed at the second meeting, in which some people were confrontational. This meeting was not like that.
The major departure came from City Manager Mike Herr. Unlike the previous meetings in which he had made it a point to emphasize the purpose was to educate, not advocate, Herr instead devoted the majority of the approximately 45 minutes he held the floor to responding to comments made to a post the city had earlier posted on social media.
It appears to have struck a raw nerve, to the point that a number of people’s comments were negative to the post placed on the city’s Facebook page, in which he detailed the changes made.
“I drafted a letter to ‘Dear Bartow citizens and Bartow business owners,'” said Herr, who said he had framed the post about property tax relief as a “Tale of Two Cities.” From there, he cited his career in public service at a number of Polk County municipalities and why he came to Bartow in 2023 after having served as Winter Haven city manager for almost six years. “I felt that I had the skill set that could help the City of Bartow move forward.”
He then spoke about what he said he found the condition of the city to be.
“So then that’s where I sort of drew the parallel between the Tale of Two Cities,” he said, then shifted to speaking about his predecessors. This was a result of the fact the “Tale of Two Cities” post was interpreted by those who commented as a disparagement. Herr clarified that was not the intent. “I would say that the city managers that came before me did a really good job for what they had to work with.”
(Reporter’s Notebook: This reporter, in my capacity as a private citizen, was among those, which will be elaborated upon in the accompanying sidebar article.)
He then spoke of his immediate predecessor, George Long, and Long’s management style.
“I think that George was very prudent. Thanks to George, and I thank the city commissioners he was working for or working with, he was able to put back 15-and-a-half million dollars in reserves,” said Herr, who then expressed the why-and-whereabout of “Old Bartow versus New Bartow.”
As Herr took stock of the city’s condition, which included both staffing and infrastructure, what he found was that some areas, from his experience in public works, were in a state of deterioration, possibly the result of Long’s keeping a tight rein on expenses, perhaps too tightly.
One example provided centered around the city parks. Another example was the Mill Avenue maintenance facility. Yet another was road maintenance. All of these were talking points at the first two public meetings.
A matter of opinion
One point Herr confronted from comments made on the city’s Facebook page was the issue of salaries. Quite a few comments posted complained that salaries were way too high. Herr disagreed. However, the Facebook comments about salaries focused more on the high salaries of those in upper-echelon positions. Instead, Herr’s comments focused on the rank-and-file.
“Public sector people, just like private sector people, should be able to make it a career, not just a job,” he emphasized. He then explained the action he took once his tenure got underway. Herr got together with now-retired Assistant City Manager David Wright. What was uncovered was that, on average, city employees were being paid 16% to 20% below market. Salaries have since been adjusted upward.
Herr’s subsequent comments focused on the positive impact. In doing so, he praised the dedication city workers bring to their responsibilities. He provided an example of an emergency in which a crew worked overnight, from about midnight until nearly 9 a.m., remediating the situation.
“That’s the kind of commitment that our employees have to the people we serve,” he said. “That’s a really good story, because nobody even knew there was a problem, and that’s the way it should be.”
From there, Herr cited other examples of what constituted “Old Bartow” and what had already been undertaken or accomplished under “New Bartow.” He took pains to ensure this wasn’t being dismissive of Long’s management, as for a major portion of the time Long was city manager, the local and national economy was going through a recession, including a housing market collapse.
“David Wright and George Long kept the city running under the worst of times,” he said. “We have them to thank because we started spending down the $15-and-a-half million in reserves,” he said.
After Vice Mayor Laura Simpson interjected that time was running short to take questions and comments from the public, Herr wrapped up his presentation. He then turned it over to Deputy City Manager Pete Lear, who offered up the same talking points from the two prior meetings.
Q&A
At first, it appeared no one in the audience had questions or comments, until Jorge Sevilla, who recently moved from Miami to a subdivision in an unincorporated area off Lyle Parkway, asked about the possibility of sidewalk improvements in his neighborhood. The answer was that the subdivision would install sidewalks only if it had a homeowners association (HOA).
He would later ask what the procedure was to have his neighborhood annexed into the city.
Bertram Bates questioned a fuel surcharge on the electric portion of his latest utility bill. That surcharge was 100% of his usage fee. Why was that? (In a brief interview after the public meeting, Bates said there had been occasions when the fuel charge exceeded the usage cost.) Electric Utilities Director Michael Poucher answered.
“So, the fuel surcharge is a straight pass-through for the costs of our purchase power and transmission,” said Poucher. The city has a contract with Florida Power & Light, which provides the electricity, and it is at a good rate, Poucher added. “Our total power cost is about $16 million, and all of that is just passed through straight to the customer.” He said the past several months have seen temperature and weather conditions beyond the norm. He predicted costs would return to lower levels. “By the end of the year it should start coming back down.”
In conclusion
Starting with Commissioner Gary Ball, then on to (in order) Commissioner Trish Pfeiffer, Mayor Tanya Tucker, Commissioner Leo Longworth, and finally Vice Mayor Laura Simpson, each said the same thing: The purpose was not to advocate, which the city could not legally do, but to educate.
Vice Mayor Simpson, who chaired this public meeting, summarized the evening’s meeting.
“I want to talk about Nov. 4. We need to vote by Nov. 3, but what is Nov. 4 going to look like,” said Simpson. “The city is still going to be here. Our staff is still going to be here. But we’re going to be operating a little differently if Amendment 3 passes.”
She added that the city would not return parks and other facilities to the shape and condition they were in before Herr took the position of city manager.
“So, you have a commitment from our city that we are still going to be here,” she said. “And we’re still going to be here to serve it the best that we can.”
Steve Steiner can be reached at steven.steiner@
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Frequently Asked Questions
When was Bartow’s last Amendment 3 community meeting?
The third and final meeting was Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, at 6 p.m. at the Carver Recreation Center, 520 Herbert Dixon Blvd., Bartow.
When do voters decide Amendment 3?
Amendment 3 is on the Nov. 3, 2026, general election ballot.
How many votes does Amendment 3 need to pass?
Like every Florida constitutional amendment, it needs at least 60% of the vote.
Why is there a fuel surcharge on Bartow electric bills?
Electric Utilities Director Michael Poucher said the fuel charge is a straight pass-through of what the city pays for purchased power and transmission, about $16 million in total.
Who is Bartow’s deputy city manager?
Pete Lear is Bartow’s deputy city manager.
Sources: City of Bartow, Community Meeting agenda, Carver Recreation Center, Oct. 15, 2026; City of Bartow, Community Meeting agenda, Polk Street Community Center, Sept. 24, 2026; City of Bartow, Community Meeting live stream notice, Aug. 25, 2026; City of Bartow, City Commission Regular Meeting agenda, Oct. 5, 2026; Bartow City Commission meeting video transcript, Oct. 5, 2026; Steve Steiner, reporting at the Oct. 15, 2026, community meeting
