News Update for 5/23/22

The Avon Park city council will take another step in getting in synch with the general election cycle this evening when they review a proposed charter change amendment that would lengthen the council’s terms of office from three to four years.
Avon Park Mayor Garrett Anderson has been pushing for the change, along with provisions that would limit council members to just two terms.
Any such charter change would ultimately need to be approved by voters.
In other action this evening, the council will review a new measure that would establish foreclosure proceedings for code enforcement liens and hear an update on how American Rescue Plan monies might be spent in the City of Charm.

The US Bureau of the Census show this area racked up some pretty impressive safety numbers in the past. Authorities say burglaries were down 39-percent in the Sebring-Avon Park metro area between 2019 and 2020. According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports, the total number of burglaries fell from 546 in 2019 to 333 in 2020.
The resulting decrease in the area’s population-adjusted burglary rate was one of the largest of any U.S. metro areas. The reported burglary rate in Sebring-Avon Park during that time period declined by about 205 incidents for every 100,000 people from 2019 to 2020.
Due in part to the decrease, the metro area’s burglary rate of 312 reported incidents per 100,000 people was slightly lower than the national rate of 314 burglaries per 100,000 people.