Commissioners can’t cut pay

The Bay County Commissioners are finding that they can’t cut their salaries. The News Herald reports that the Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to take a 10 percent pay cut starting this October.

Sounds great, right? Escambia County Commissioner Grover Robinson tried a similar move last year. Unfortunately, County Commissioner’s salaries, like those of other constitutional officers (Sheriff, Clerk of Courts, Supervisor of Elections, etc.) are determined by population-weighted formulas set in Chapter 145 of Florida statute.

A legal opinion written by Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum in May 2008 affirms that county officers can not control their salaries. Read more.

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Author: Rick Outzen

Rick Outzen is the publisher/owner of Pensacola Inweekly. He has been profiled in The New York Times and featured in several True Crime documentaries. Rick also is the author of the award-winning Walker Holmes thrillers. His latest nonfiction book is “Right Idea, Right Time: The Fight for Pensacola’s Maritime Park.”