Council tables Veterans Advisory Board request to require members be veterans and Oldsmar residents

The Oldsmar City Council on May 20, 2025, considered a unanimous recommendation from the Veterans Advisory Board to revise its establishing resolution (2024-24) to require that all board members be veterans and city residents. The council did not adopt the change and instead tabled the item to obtain additional input from the advisory board.

Kristin Garcia, the city clerk, explained the advisory board recommended the change at its April 28, 2025 meeting. Garcia reported the clerk’s office had received applicant categories including: one applicant who is both a veteran and Oldsmar resident, five Oldsmar residents who are not veterans, and one veteran who is not a resident. The board currently had three vacancies.

Council members expressed concern that a strict residency-and-veteran requirement could shrink the eligible pool and impair quorum or the board’s ability to function, and several suggested revisiting the requirement in a year or adopting a minimum-composition approach (for example, a required number of veteran members). Commander David McKinley of VFW Post 12186, speaking during public comment, urged caution about ‘‘narrowing the eligible pool’’ and noted many potential supporters live in nearby unincorporated areas.

A motion to approve the advisory board’s recommendation was withdrawn; the council then voted to table the item and asked the city clerk to invite the advisory board chair and members for further discussion prior to the board’s next meeting. No change to the establishing resolution was made at the meeting.