Crossing government lines

The discussion on Sam Hall’s stance on ECAT – that it should bring a better operational plan before the City Council approves a dedicated funding source, i.e. gas tax – drew several comments yesterday.

I do believe that it’s not the City Council’s role to manage ECAT. I understand the argument that the Council had to approve giving ECAT its share of a proposed gas tax and therefore had the right to make demands of the ECAT officials. However, I do see it as micro-managing.

Recently the City received from the County $1 million to build new tennis courts at Roger Scott. The City decided to expand the project and reallocated $250,000 from LOST to build bathrooms and handle contingencies. Should the County Commission have told the city staff that they needed to redesign the courts to fit the $1 million budget? Should the County Commission have asked Roger Scott staff to submit a plan on their operations to explain why LOST funds had to be used?

No, the County Commission let the City Council make those decisions.

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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.”