Matthew Benton

Elected to the Winter Springs City Commission in November 2020, Matt Benton has been a resident of Winter Springs for more than 28 years. Benton graduated from Daytona Beach College with an associate in arts degree and attended the University of Central Florida for computer science and business management. 

Before his experience on the dais, he said he spent more than eight years regularly attending and speaking as a resident at Winter Springs meetings. He was appointed to two terms on the Winter Springs’ Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee and served more than 10 years on the Winter Springs’ Police Department Citizens Advisory Committee. 

His website emphasizes that he voted against property tax increases and his platform includes implementing wastewater treatment system improvements and standing “firm on future development that doesn’t not meet our current zoning. I will continue to maintain green space and trees in Winter Springs.” Learn more. 

According to Voter Focus, Benton has raised $7,027.93 across his campaign with $6,727 being self contributed, and has spent $1,630.54. 

Benton did not submit a video.

OCN Q&A

OCN created a profile for each candidate and sent each candidate a list of questions that we created based on input from residents of Greater Oviedo and Winter Springs. Each candidate within a specific race got the same list of questions at the same time and had a 50-word limit per question. Answers were only edited for grammar and clarity.

Taxes

Q: With Oviedo having a tax hike on the ballot, some residents worry that taxes being raised might be used to fund unnecessary projects. That’s a fear residents have in Winter Springs, where some have questioned the need for a pickleball facility while the city tackles water issues. What would you do to add public input and transparency to these decisions by the City Commission?

A: Commission agendas are posted five days in advance on the city website. There are two opportunities during regular meetings for public input. Public hearing issues have a public input element to speak on that particular item and are advertised in local newspapers. Residents can call/email commissioners. 

Q: What do you say to longtime residents who see continually rising fees for services in the city (which some call hidden taxes) and higher proposed millage rates making it harder to stay in their homes? Some service fee increases that Oviedo Community News has covered recently include water rates in Oviedo and Winter Springs.  

A: I voted NO on the millage rate. The cost of everything has gone up due to the rates of inflation, affecting the cost of the city to provide services. The city had ignored the upkeep of facilities for decades and costs of materials, maintenance, and employee salaries have risen. 

Traffic and transportation

Q: Some residents are concerned that development is outpacing the capacity of the area’s roads, leading to congestion problems. Construction at the east end of Winter Springs Boulevard has been a particular concern. What will you do to ensure that population growth does not overburden local roads, and to ensure Winter Springs can handle traffic from outside the city? 

A: I do not support changing zoning for development. There is an existing conservation easement that would stop traffic from Oviedo on to Winter Springs Boulevard. I recently initiated Ordinance 2024-14, which would now take a supermajority vote (4-1) to lift the conservation easement to allow the road to go through. 

Housing

Q: Some residents say they’re being driven out of the Greater Oviedo and Winter Springs area by a shortage of affordable housing. According to the University of Florida’s Shimberg Center for Housing Studies’ 2023 annual report, the statewide median single-family home price hit a new peak of $400,000 in the first half of 2023. Seminole County was in the third most expensive housing price range in the state with $400,000 to $499,000 as the median single-family home price. The graph below compares the statewide affordable/available housing supply to renter households for six income groups, divided by how much they earn relative to the area median income (AMI): 0-30%, 0-40%, 0-50%, 0-60%, 0-80%, and 0-120%. For example, if the area median income is $50,000, somebody earning $25,000 would be at 50% AMI. Somebody earning $60,000 would be at 120% AMI.

How, if at all, would you address that problem?

A: Affordable housing is a problem everywhere. Winter Springs is a unique community where folks want to live with trees and green space. That is the No. 1 reason people move here. We have a comprehensive plan and zoning laws that are followed to maintain this way of life.

Public safety

Q: Rising costs for police protection have residents worried about the city’s ability to fund its public safety. What will you do to ensure the city has adequate police funding in the future?

A: Maintaining a fair pay scale and retirement program, this will keep officers from leaving after two years of training. Winter Springs does not have a high crime rate. Officers now have body cams. 

Q: What do you say to residents who argue that pedestrian safety is poor in Greater Oviedo and Winter Springs and that the local governments need more uniform signage and safer crosswalks? 

A: Roads like S.R. 434 is a state road, and adjustments would have to first go to the state for evaluations and action. That would be the same for county roads, request and wait for response. Local roads have improvements for safer crosswalks but more are needed.

Q: As local roads widen to cope with more traffic flow, will you push for more aggressive policing of speeders in the area? If yes, how will you make that happen? 

A: Several communities have approached the commission on dealing with the speeding issues.  Besides policing during certain times, there are traffic calming devices such as speed tables or bumps to install on streets. Winter Springs has narrowed some traffic lanes and decreased speed limits.

Q: With increased instances of heavy rain and flooding in the area, what will you do to ensure that local government is taking the necessary steps to keep people, their homes and roadways safe, including improving stormwater drainage?

A: On 9/9/24, a report was presented to the officials and residents. I pushed for and Winter Springs now has the most strict Water Retention policy in Seminole

Working conditions 

Q: Tension has been high among the members of the Winter Springs City Commission often leading to arguments on the dais and split votes are commonplace. What will you do to encourage civility among commission members? 

A: Spirited discussions are part of government. Our mayor has control of the dais and he has the ability to maintain decorum. All should respect each other’s opinions and presentation of the facts.

Q: In the recent past, staff turnover has been unusually high among city staff. What will you do as a commissioner to contribute to a more stable environment in the city?

A: Employees have been the victims of harassment by some in the community who spread misinformation and disinformation about them. They have been accused on social media, where their character is called into question, they leave. The dais can’t control this harassment

Infrastructure

Q: Hurricane Ian in 2022 exposed numerous infrastructure issues in Winter Springs, as aging stormwater systems, bridges and roads showed their vulnerability to heavy storms. What will you do locally to make sure Winter Springs fixes those vulnerabilities?  

A: Refer to LINK  

Q: What will you do to improve the safety of Winter Springs’ water system and to help clarify, and increase transparency into, how the city is handling those water problems? 

A: Winter Springs water report is prepared by staff and is made available every year to every home. Our most recent report shows drastic water quality improvement due to work performed by staff and contractors.

Q: With increasing resident concern about the availability of potable water, what will you do to help cut the city’s reliance on potable water for irrigation, ensure that we have an adequate supply of reclaimed water in the future and improve the quality of the potable water we have?

A: Reclaimed water is being supplied to many more homes, recently and in the future. I want to see even more emphasis to using native plants, and grasses that require much less water.

Growth and development 

Q: Once land is zoned for development, local governments cannot downgrade that zoning, meaning that local government has little power in the development of zoned land not owned by them. What do you think the local government can do, if anything, to preserve as much of the green space and charm of the area as possible?

A: I do not believe in changing zoning of land to appease the developer. I presented an ordinance 2024-14 which requires a supermajority vote (4-1) to better preserve park lands and conservation easements from being developed.

Q: Some residents are concerned about a lack of notifications for key votes on development. What will you do to increase transparency in the development proposal process?

A: These are advertised in the newspapers, agendas are available on the Wednesday before the Monday meeting on the city website.

Environmental

Q: What do you say to residents who think that local parks are being mismanaged with chemical use, weed-whacked shorelines, etc.? If change is necessary, what would you do if elected to office?

A: These decisions are made between the department heads and the city managers.