Today, the Escambia Board of County Commissioners meets at 9 a.m. County Administrator Janice Gilley has placed on the agenda:
Recommendation Concerning the Escambia CARES Act Plan and Implementation – Janice P. Gilley, County Administrator
That the Board: discuss and approve the Escambia CARES Act Plan.
BACKUP TO BE DISTRIBUTED UNDER SEPARATE COVER.
Once again, the administrator has failed to give the community time to review the details of her plan, treating it as a backroom deal that she doesn’t want the public, business community or media to see until the commissioners vote on it.
When she took over the county in July 2019, Gilley promised transparency. Distributing the plan (“backup”) the morning of a meeting isn’t transparency. The city of Pensacola has its agenda materials available for public review a week before the meeting.
We’re talking about $14 million that should be circulating in our local economy, helping households and small business owners pay their bills. Another $43 million is expected to be given to the county.
Meanwhile, other Florida counties have been taking applications and sending out checks to individuals, families and small business owners.
Yesterday, Seminole County rolled out its $10-million assistance program for small businesses that have been hurt by the coronavirus pandemic. Business owners, depending on their number of employees, can receive up to $15,000 in federal CARES Act relief by applying at SeminoleCARES.com.
Pretty simple.
Other stories:
Still no CARES budget for the public to review
Escambia lags behind other Florida counties in CARES Act planning