County government built on greed

screamAfter reading the PNJ’s feature news article on property assessments (Property-tax increases leave businesses reeling ), one yould believe that the problem with people being taxed out of their homes and businesses is the assessed values.

No, the Escambia County Commission is the problem. They could have cut the tax rates to lessen the impact of the homeowners and businesses. Remember Escambia had $31 million increase in tax collections. Their greed made them ignore that they are kiliing a local economy that is still recovering from Hurricane Ivan.

Instead, they keep feeding the beast (county bureaucracy) and ignoring the taxpayers. Expect an uprising soon and County Administrator George Touart’s job is on the line….talking about someone fiddling (hunting?) while Rome burns.

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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.”