Deltona Mayor Santiago Avila Responds to Misspending Allegations

Deltona Mayor Santiago Avila Jr. Has issued a statement responding to allegations that he used taxpayer dollars to fund personal expenses in January. Mayor Avila denied any wrongdoing, and claimed the only expenses paid by city funds were legitimate. In recent weeks Avila has come under criticism for allegedly staying in Washington D.C. for President Donald Trump’s inauguration using payment methods that transferred money from city accounts, particularly hotel bills. He’s accused of spending $1,700 on a Hyatt Hotel stay for him and his family with taxpayer money. But Avila is now saying that the hotel expenses he had the city pay for were for official business. “The City of Deltona paid for a hotel expense that covered only the dates of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and not the inauguration ceremony,” the statement said, with the word ‘not’ underlined. “Further, no city funds were spent spent on any of the celebratory galas attended by the Mayor.” The statement also described a meeting between Avila and Senator Rick Scott, the senior-most of Florida’s two senators. It described a prospective meeting with Florida’s other senator, Ashley Moody, which would purportedly bring in $44 million in funding for the city, a point which doesn’t inherently address the alleged misuse of funds. As for Avila’s usage of a city vehicle to travel to Washington D.C., the statement says this move ultimately saved taxpayers money. It compared the cost of a flight for some $850 per ticket to the costs of Avila’s drive, although the particular notion that the city would pay for his family members to accompany him by plane would likely have landed the mayor in even more hot water than he’s already in. It’s also not clear whether the mayor explored low-cost flight options or connections for less than the exorbitant $850-per-ticket figure, nor is a breakdown of fuel costs provided in comparison to the potential cost of a lone ticket for Mayor Avila. A quasi-judicial hearing is slated for February 17th by the Deltona City Commission, with Avila’s colleagues already voting to suspend his usage of city transportation. He was not present at the meeting in which this was approved. As of Friday, Avila has still not responded to a request for comment by NewsDaytonaBeach. His full statement reads as follows: “Mayor Avila has been falsely attacked for representing the City of Deltona in Washington D.C. last week, and responds with the following statement.Mayor Avila attended the U.S. Conference of Mayors in D.C. last week, which occurred January 17-19. During the same period, with the background of the non-partisan inaugural events taking place, Mayor Avila met with U.S. Senator Rick Scott and his staff regarding the crucial $44 million expenditure that passed the U.S. House last year for the benefit of the City of Deltona, in order to ensure his continued support when it arises this year in the U.S. Senate. “Mayor Avila is also officially trying to schedule a future meeting with now U.S. Senator Ashley Moody to build a relationship with her and gain her assurances of support for the future vote on the $44 million for Deltona. This meeting is pivotal for the city’s future. “Further, Mayor Avila did not charge any expenses related to clothing, shoes, dry cleaning, or rentals for himself or his family during his official travel. Importantly, in an attempt to save city funds, Mayor Avila chose to utilize the official city vehicle for travel, because it was a more cost-effective option compared to a flight, which was upwards of $850 per ticket during that time period. This decision alone saved the City nearly $1000+ in funds. “The City of Deltona paid for a hotel expense that covered only the dates of the U.S.Conference of Mayors and not the inauguration ceremony. Further, no city funds were spent on any of the celebratory galas attended by the Mayor. Lastly, Mayor Avila also does not possess a ‘City Credit Card.’ “With these important facts now public, Mayor Avila is confident that his fellow city commissioners will rescind the motion for an unnecessary and very costly quasi-judicial hearing regarding the legal authority of he, or any other city leader, to travel to important events on the city’s behalf. This travel authority is essential to communicating Deltona’s needs and future requests.”