The bill, HB 479, would prohibit state employees drawing both a salary and pension from the same agency. The loophole, which requires only that the employee be “retired” for thirty days before being rehired, has been utilised by more than 225 elected officials and 9,000 state employees, including several in Escambia County such as Tax Collector Janet Holley and Clerk of the Circuit Court Ernie Lee Magaha.

Links

• The Buzz: “Double-dipping passes Senate”
• The Buzz: “Double-dipping ban’s next stop is gov’s desk”

Rick Outzen: “Holley retires, comes back in Jan.”

As Rick reports, Escambia County Tax Collector Janet Holley will “retire” for the month of December before starting her next term of office on January 6.  Doing so will allow her to collect her state pension and salary at the same time.  She will earn a yearly pension of $81,600 and a yearly salary of $132,000.

This is just ridiculous.  I’ve got a pension plan too, but I can’t “retire” for a month and start cashing in on it.  The loophole that permits this needs to be closed.  I’ll note that this isn’t a partisan issue;  Holley is a Democrat, but Republicans Ron McNesby and Ernie Lee Magaha have done the same thing.

Rick Outzen: “Downtown Library switcheroo”

Rick reports that Miller Caldwell will try to persuade the City to locate the new downtown library on the east side of downtown, near Aragon and the proposed technology park.  While I feel like Rick’s concerns about moving the library away from the African-American community are somewhat mitigated by the nearby Westside Branch (only about a mile away), I don’t want to have a white library and a black library.  I’d prefer a central facility, like the current site.  That said, Caldwell’s plans of doubling the library size are appealing.  I’ll defer judgement until I hear more about the plan and hear more from the community.

Jamie Page: “Former Save Our City head man has formed a new watchdog group”

The PNJ‘s local government reporter tells us that Charles Fairchild, formerly of the anti-CMP group Save Our City, has formed a new group, “Citizens for Constitutional Integrity”, which will help raise money for the Keesler and Boyd v. CMPA lawsuit.

The Buzz: “A frantic exchange to protect Sansom’s $25M”

Alex Leary of the St. Petersburg Times continues his excellent reporting on the ongoing Ray Sansom sweetheart deal scandal.

The following candidates have been elected by default:

• Ernie Lee Magaha
  Escambia County Clerk of Circuit Court
• Chris Jones
  Escambia County Property Appraiser
• Janet Holley
  Escambia County Tax Collector
• David Stafford
  Escambia County Supervisor of Elections
• Patty Hightower
  Escambia County School Board District 4
• Anne Bennett
  Escambia Soil & Water Conservation District Group 1
• Richard Pope
  Escambia Soil & Water Conservation District Group 2
• Richard Freisinger
  Escambia Soil & Water Conservation District Group 3
• Thomas Campanella
  Santa Rosa Island Authority