Windermere receives clear budget audit, swears in new officer

The town of Windermere received a clear audit for the 2025 fiscal year.

Tammy Campbell, an audit partner with McDirmit Davis, gave a presentation on the audit findings to Windermere Town Council during its meeting Tuesday, May 12.

She said the town received an unmodified audit opinion, which is the best type of audit the town can receive. 

Although the town’s General Fund balance decreased $1.7 million, Campbell said a large portion of the decrease is because of the town’s numerous capital projects. Some of the decrease is expected to be refunded with grant monies this coming fiscal year, she added. 

Campbell said the stormwater fund balance increased by $101,600, and the town had $401,000 in payments on existing debt. The town also had a $2.9 million increase in capital assets due to the infrastructure construction throughout town.

The town also was subject to a federal single audit to ensure it was in compliance with grant requirements from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and other federal grants, and there were no issues.

2045 Comprehensive Plan

Windermere Town Council unanimously approved the town’s 2045 Comprehensive Plan. 

The Town Council previously adopted the plan in October 2025 after the Florida Department of Commerce said there were no objections to the plan. 

However, the Florida Department of Commerce in December 2025 sent a letter to town staff stating because there was a word change in one policy and one objective in the plan, the town was in violation of Senate Bill 180 and Town Council would need to readopt the plan after removing or changing the verbiage.

Brad Cornelius, Windermere’s town planner, said the word “discourage” was changed to “prohibited” in a transportation policy. He paraphrased the policy as “the town shall discourage the conversion of residential properties to commercial properties on your major highways, thoroughfares, mainstream,” and the adopted plan in October 2025 changed “discourage” to “prohibit.”

The other portion of the plan with the same objection was “the town shall prohibit the conversion of residential properties to commercial properties on Main Street and Sixth Avenue.”

“The reason why we changed that was there’s other policies within your comp plan that already did the same thing,” Cornelius said to the Town Council. “You had a policy that says the town will prohibit strict commercial development along your major roadways. That’s saying the exact same thing.”

Ultimately, town staff agreed to go back to using “discourage” and have Town Council re-adopt the Comprehensive Plan. 

Cornelius said he will send the plan to the Florida Department of Commerce for review, and the department will have 30 days to review it. 

New officer

Windermere Police Chief Dave Ogden swore in the department’s newest officer.

Officer Phillip Polan was a retired police corporal with more than a decade of law enforcement experience before taking an oath to serve for the Windermere Police Department. 

“Phillip brings a wealth of experience and heart of service that aligns perfectly with our mission,” Ogden said. “What stands out most about Phillip, I think, is his continued commitment to service. Even in retirement, he has chosen to step back into the profession to give back, and we are better for it.”

Polan has served in areas such as crisis intervention, hostage negotiations and behavioral threat assessments. 

During his tenure with the Clermont Police Department, he held key leadership roles within the crisis unit, and he also played an instrumental role developing programs focused on public safety and mental health support.

Polan is the recipient of the Rocky Pomerance Law Enforcement Excellence Award, as well as other awards, and he currently serves as the community liaison officer for Central Florida Behavioral Hospital.

“This is a really good starting point with a new agency with a continued passion for mental health and a continued partnership with the individuals in this town so we can help raise awareness for mental health, reduce the stigma, help people that are struggling that we may not know are struggling and just be able to work together to start something new,” Polan said.