
On (we don’t) color on the dog, Escambia County Administrator Wes Moreno discusses the significant infrastructure milestones in FY 2023-24, completing $100 million in projects, including the Ashton Brosnaham Athletic Park Multi-Use Facility, Beulah Fire Station, Perdido Bay Boat Ramp, and Perdido Key Multi-Use Path. The county also made substantial progress on stormwater management, completing improvements at Eleven Mile Creek Basin, Surrey-Windsong, and Moreno Street.
- The recently released annual report features a summary for every Escambia County department and division, with statistics, information about projects and programs, and more. Departments include Animal Welfare, Engineering, Library Services, Natural Resources Management, Neighborhood and Human Services, Parks and Recreation, and Public Safety.
“It’s good for the citizens to have a document that tells our story of all the good things we’ve done throughout the year and all the different departments,” said Moreno.
The county administrator bragged about the procurement department. I cannot say enough positive things about our procurement department purchasing—$61.2 million worth of ARPA that had to be obligated by Dec. 31. They met regularly with engineering, facilities, and public safety, and they put it together; we got it out the door and got it done.
- In the past the county was good to have 75 to 80 procurement solicitations annually. “Now we’re running 135 to 140 solicitations and putting work out the door.”
NEXT YEAR
For 2025, Moreno wants to continue improving Emergency Medical Services. “We’ve ordered 23, 25 ambulances in addition to the ones we just picked up. We’re down to about eight vacancies in the paramedics, which is an improvement. We’re full in EMTs. We met with the IAEP, the union representing EMTs and paramedics, yesterday morning. We’ve come to a tentative agreement there. So we’ll ratify that contract shortly. And that agreement did include a significant pay raise for the EMTs and paramedics.”
The county administrator also wants to continue focusing on employee morale. “This past week, I’ve been cooking everywhere. We’re having our last cooking of the year over across the street here shortly. But it gives me an opportunity to just be there onsite. Like yesterday, I was at Central Office Complex, not necessarily to have a formal meeting, but I was there. And employees can come by and speak or ask a question. We want to continue being a little more available to the employees.”