Winter Springs to review purchasing policy in wake of hotel card use

The Winter Springs City Commission made early moves Monday to formalize a travel spending policy after it came to light that elected officials had to repay the city for unauthorized expenses. 

The issue stemmed from the Florida League of Cities conference in 2025, after which commissioners Cade Resnick, Sarah Baker and Mark Caruso had to repay the city for inappropriate expenditures. That included spending on room upgrades and alcohol purchases.

Separately, Mayor Kevin McCann also repaid the city in 2025 for accidental Uber charges on a city credit card. 

Baker said she wants the city to create a clearer policy of what’s allowed for elected officials.

“We were given no guidelines on the expectations of use,” Baker said about when she was given a city credit card. “This year, we got a staff document that outlined how staff [are] supposed to use their cards. But a lot of the things on there were not applicable to commissioners’ use. So I would like to find out: How can we change that for future commissioners and ongoing for ourselves?” 

City Manager Kevin Sweet said the city’s current review system to flag inappropriate expenditures worked. 

“Any of those charges that were identified were reimbursed immediately,” Sweet said. “The city’s been made whole on any of those charges. And yeah, I mean, it happens, mistakes happen.”

Commissioner Victoria Bruce said that at the League of Cities conference valet parking was the only option. She said she wants commissioners to get into the specifics. 

“How much can we utilize for meals per day if we are at a conference?” Bruce asked. “How much can we utilize on transportation? Is there a cap? Is there a maximum amount of room nights that we can stay at these conferences? Self parking versus valet, things like that? Guidelines that say yes, this is okay, and no, this is not okay.”

Baker agreed. 

“Gas versus mileage, or, you know, Ubers versus the bus,” Baker said. 

“I think you need a policy,” City Clerk Christian Gowan offered, to agreement from elected officials. “It’s probably a resolution or an ordinance. … Basically a commission travel policy.”

Resnick has caught the most criticism online for the spending. He said a big part of where the issue comes from is social media. 

“There’s a big part of this that comes out of social media that’s trying to make several of us look bad,” Resnick said, adding that people are calling for commissioners to repay the money spent. “I don’t see anybody here saying we didn’t do that, right? So a lot of this comes from people who are trying their best to ruin reputations.”

Winter Springs City Manager Kevin Sweet said there are state guidelines for how much municipal elected officials should spend at conferences, but the guidelines don’t reflect 2026 hotel rates. 

“It’s just antiquated, it hasn’t caught up with the reality of today’s costs,” Sweet said. “It’s always booked under the block rate, which is going to be the best rate and does not meet decades old actual dollar threshold.” 

Commissioners agreed it was time for a more formal policy on what would be allowable spending for conference and travel for elected officials. That policy would come at a later meeting.

“It was a needed solid reminder: this is not our money,” McCann said. “Those are not our credit cards. This is the people’s money, and that’s a very fair thing for (residents) to give us a really strong kick.” 

Caruso went a step further.

“I don’t even want the card,” he said. 

Resnick, Bruce and McCann are up for reelection in 2026. Resnick and McCann both have drawn two opponents each. 

City approves $38M in penny sales tax projects over next decade

Winter Springs also finalized how to spend $38 million in infrastructure sales tax over the next decade. 

Seminole County voters approved another decade of an additional county-wide penny sales tax in 2024. In total, 75% of that money goes to the county and the school board, and the remaining 25% is split among the cities by population. 

In Winter Springs, that will include $38 million total, including $10.5 million for roadway repaving, $14.2 million for stormwater projects, $6 million for bridges and $4 million for parks. View a list of that budget here, and a list of the possible projects here. 

“Bridges are a big part of this infrastructure,” Resnick said. “We actually have aligned … $6 million for an assessment plan of our bridges to see where we’re at and put a plan together to make sure they are all safe.”

The Winter Springs City Commission also had an unexpected windfall: An extra $9 million in funding from the third generation penny sales tax. 

In other news, the Winter Springs City Commission:

• Received notice that Winter Springs City Clerk Christian Gowan had accepted a new position in Volusia County. 
• Approved spending $195,000 to repair a sewer main line near the intersection of Sheoah Boulevard and Galloway Drive
• Accepted the final checklist for Sea Hawk Cove’s extension in the Winter Springs Town Center.

Abe Aboraya is a Report for America corps member. 

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