Category — Escambia BOCC

If you weren’t aware, the Escambia County Commission recently sent Escambia County Administrator Bob McLaughlin out to Colorado to attend a leadership program at the “Center for Creative Leadership”.  The cost of the seminar?  A cool $10,000.

Is that a waste of taxpayer money?  Of course it is.

I don’t think there’s anyone in the County aside from the commissioners and upper administration that would say otherwise.

This is a great example of “government logic” at work.  You see, in the private sector, companies look for leaders who are qualified and ready to lead on day one.  The Escambia County government, though, opted to hire an inside man and then send him off to leadership school.  Hmm.

More puzzling is Commissioner Gene Valentino’s change of heart on the issue.  Valentino originally opposed sending McLaughlin off to Colorado, balking at the expense, but later reconsidered, according to Mark O’Brien, after “other commissioners and McLaughlin said [McLaughlin] would benefit from the program”.  Valentino also said, “I think Bob’s getting something out of it.”

Whew.  As long as Bob is getting something out of it, I guess us taxpayers can rest easy.

The Escambia BOCC voted last night to cut the millage rate, which determines property taxes, from 8.017 to 6.9755 mils. This will represent a savings of $100-200 for the average homeowner, and a cut to the County budget of $27.7 million. Now, the county will make up some of that — around $13 million — from new revenue, as courts have ruled the County can now levy property taxes against the residents of Pensacola Beach. Even so, that’s still a big budget cut, and while tax relief is certainly welcome, I don’t know that I trust our BOCC to handle any budget cut responsibly.

Links

• PNJ: “County rolls back property tax rates”

A roundup of events for this week:

Monday, July 21

• Pensacola City Council Committee Meetings
  3:15 PM, Hagler/Mason Room, 2nd Floor, Pensacola City Hall

Tuesday, July 22

• Pensacola City Council Budget Workshop
  3:30 PM, Hagler/Mason Room, 2nd Floor, Pensacola City Hall

• Obama “Unite for Change” Organizing Meeting
  6:00 PM, Escambia County Democratic Party Headquarters
  2415 North Pace Boulevard

• Gulf Breeze Area Chamber of Commerce Candidates Forum
  6:00 PM, Gulf Breeze United Methodist Church
  4115 Soundside Drive at Highway 98

• Kevin White (BOCC-5) Town Hall Meeting
  6:30 PM, Gonzalez Methodist Church, 2026 Pauline Street

Wednesday, July 23

• NW Florida Young Democrats Movie/Pizza Night: “Sicko”
  6:00 PM, UWF Commons Conference Center Lounge (2nd Floor)

Thursday, July 24

• Escambia Board of County Commissioners Regular Meeting
  Board Chambers, Room 100, 221 South Palafox Street
  4:30 PM – Public Forum, 5:30 PM – Regular Meeting

• Pensacola City Council Regular Meeting
  7:00 PM, Council Chambers, Pensacola City Hall

Saturday, July 26

• Escambia County Democratic Women’s Club Social
  4:00 PM, Escambia County Democratic Party Headquarters
  2415 North Pace Boulevard

• Claudia Brown-Curry Fish Fry
  5:30-8:00 PM, 914 Panferio Drive, Pensacola Beach