Desoto Sun Herald - 08/28/08 -
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Published on: 8/28/2005
Last Visited: 8/28/2005
Heine seeks re-election to City Council
DESOTO COUNTY -- Robert Heine Sr. is looking toward what will be his fourth bid for an Arcadia City Council seat.
"I've been encouraged to run for re-election because of the things we on the council have done in the past," Heine said."Evidently, many people think we've done a fairly good job with what we've had to do with."
One of the longtime veterans of municipal politics, Heine has been a member of the council since 1993, when he first campaigned for a seat and won office in a runoff with an incumbent.Heine was then re-elected to the council in 1997 and 2001.
"I've served people pretty much all my life," Heine said, who has also served on the Zolfo Springs City Council.
A 43-year resident of Arcadia, Heine was born in Wauchula.He graduated from Wauchula High School, now Hardee High School, and married his high school sweetheart Catherine Lowe.The Heines have four grown sons and numerous grandchildren.They are members of the First Baptist Church in Arcadia.
During the Korean War, Heine served in the U.S. Army in an anti-aircraft battalion and was stationed in Japan near Toyko.After mustering out of the service, he returned to Florida and settled in Zolfo Springs.
It was in Zolfo Springs that he first got involved in public service.He ran for and won election to the Zolfo Springs City Council and served two, two-year terms.He also served as a volunteer fire chief.
In August 1963, the Heine family moved to Arcadia, where he was employed by Gulf Life Insurance for five and half years.
In 1968, he became involved in law enforcement when he began working part time as a city police officer in Arcadia.Not long thereafter he went to work for then-sheriff Frank Cline as the officer in charge of the front desk and as the officer in charge of the jail.He later became a member of the sheriff's road patrol.He was with the Sheriff's Office for 13 years.
In time, Heine became involved with the Arcadia Fire Department as a volunteer firefighter and served as a volunteer firefighter for 22 years.
Heine is currently an associate with Ponger-Kays-Grady Funeral Home in Arcadia.
"This last year has been a tremendous strain on the city's finances and on the city's employees," Heine said."We're running behind on our repairs because of Hurricane Charley and because of the city's money shortage.
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"We're trying to get that switched to where we can put that into repairing the water and sewer lines," Heine said."We've got to do that.But that means you have to tear up your roads.It's just a process that takes time.Those pipes have been in the ground for 60 to 70 years.
Heine said it's impossible for the city to do major projects right now."Ad valorem taxes," he notes, "bring in about $1.1 million to the city.Our budget, on the other hand, is about $13 million."
According to Heine, a lack of revenue plagues the city.
"We've had the nursing home being down now for over a year," Heine said.
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