The Escambia Children’s Trust held its regular meeting on Tuesday evening, with significant discussions focused on a potential partnership with Escambia County regarding tax increment finance (TIF) dollars.
Background
Trust Attorney Meredith Bush provided an update on the Trust’s recent appearance before the Escambia County Board of County Commissioners. The Trust has requested an exemption for TIF dollars (Community Redevelopment Agency funds).
- “We recently appeared before the Escambia County Board of County Commissioners related to our exemption request for the TIF dollars, the CRA, the tax increment finance dollars they have scheduled at that hearing. They basically continued their decision and it’s set to be heard this Thursday at 1:30 p.m.,” Bush reported.
The Trust has proposed a compromise: “What we have requested and proposed simultaneously is that they grant the exemption and enter into an interlocal agreement where we would fund the youth employment program. It’s a summer youth employment program.”
- The Escambia Children’s Trust owes the CRAs in Escambia County and the City of Pensacola over $2.5 million. On Feb. 6, Escambia County Attorney Alison Rogers sent a letter to the Trust asking for payment of the outstanding Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) increment revenues for the 2021 and 2022 tax years, which total $690,684. The county has also requested the CRA revenues for the current fiscal year, $495,157.18. Read Letter_7869.
Last week, Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves announced a new childcare initiative, which he plans to seed with the $1.5 million the Trust owes the city’s CRAs for 2021-2024.
Director’s Report on Youth Employment Program
Executive Director Lindsey Cannon elaborated on her meeting with Claire Long, who oversees the summer youth employment program:
“I was able to meet with Claire Long who is over the Summer Youth Employment Program. I think you guys all know that I’ve been a fan of that program for a long time. They are set for this summer. So this summer is not going to be bringing on a hundred new kids, which was a lot of the conversation that we had at the county commission meeting when they were looking at opportunities to partner with us on that.”
The proposed expansion would focus on high school students: “What Clara is really wanting to do, and I think her team is wanting to do, is expand this over the year and focus on juniors and seniors in high school and offering them part-time employment opportunities but really working on that graduation points and keeping them through those places and keeping them motivated. So jobs are not going to interfere with getting a good night’s rest so the school board doesn’t have to worry about that or teachers, but gives them some sense of responsibility and the opportunity to learn a different skill.”
This morning, Commissioner Lumon May, who helped create the Summer Youth Employment Program, said he was unaware of issues adding more youth to the 2025 summer program. “If we can reach an agreement on Thursday, we do the expansion this summer.”
Board Discussion on Funding and Partnership
Board member Stephanie White expressed gratitude to Commissioner May: “I just want to say thank you commissioner May for helping and getting a partnership. This is great for our students and especially our high school students. I know it’s been tough to be on both boards and try to be a peacemaker in both, but thank you for doing this.”
Commissioner May proposes committing all the CRA funds from 2021, 2022, and 2024 to the program, explaining its urgent necessity: “I think it’s a great program… The greatest need, quite frankly are those young guys between the ages of 15 and 18. We had a shooting in my district and Attucks Court. And so as a compromise to the chair who wanted to go into CRA, I propose that we have all three years to go into the Summer Employment Program.”
He added, “I would be disappointed if we would hold back money for a program that’s probably the most unique program in the state of Florida. What we’re doing with some employment is not happening anywhere. It was a federal JPTA program that the federal government cut out, Florida workforce funded that program. They cut it out. And it’s only a local program that I believe is a thing that helps.”
School Superintendent Keith Leonard voiced strong support while sharing his personal connection: “Mr. Chair, Mr. May, you may not believe this. One of my first jobs was at the old picking school, the textbook depository. Absolutely,” he said. “When you give a young man or a young lady the opportunity to learn to have their own job, take on responsibility, be accountable for that responsibility and make a little bit of money, it goes a long way.”
Leonard underscored the collaborative aspect: “I think it also shows collaboration and teamwork, which is what our whole county needs. Our city, our school district, everybody working together to do what’s best for the children of Escambia County.”
Cannon pushed back indirectly against using the past CRA dollars and only wanted the interlocal to cover the 2024 dollars ($495,157).
“I do want to bring up that we have different funding methodologies though, so we do need to talk about this. So although you’re talking about multi-year (approach), you’re talking splitting the $495 over three years.”
She suggested a phased approach for future years: “For this particular purpose, we’re talking the $495 from the CRA dollars to launch this, which is not supplanting. It’s something new. It’ll bring on new kids and then that would lead into more of like a sole source, but we could utilize the CRA dollars to get this going and get some data around it that would support it for multi-year where we’re not dealing with the CRA part of this.”
Commissioner May reiterated his point. “All the CRA dollars are for the most at-risk students and we could utilize those dollars and it may not be exactly what everybody wants, but to me it’s a happy medium.”
Board Chair Northrup summarized the positive nature of the collaboration: “Thank you for your mediating in there and advocating for something that will present. It sounds like this is going to be a close to win-win-win-win all the way around with the biggest winners it sounds like being the kids. And I think that’s what we’re all striving for.”
- Commissioner May concisely captured the essence of the partnership: “The Trust gives, the County gives and the children win.”
The final decision on the tax exemption and interlocal agreement is expected at the County Commission meeting this Thursday at 1:30 p.m.
Commissioner May told Inweekly he has the Trust board’s support, based on the comments from Leonard, Northrup, David Williams and Tori Woods, to push for the interlocal agreement that includes all CRA funds, past and future, going to the Summer Youth Employment Program. He wants the county’s agreement to be similar to Mayor Reeves’ proposal, the only difference the county dollars will go to older youth and city’s funds will cover childcare.
