—City Still Expects CRA Funds for Childcare Facilities Despite “Curve Ball” Letter—
Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves remains optimistic about resolving tensions with the Escambia Children’s Trust despite receiving what he called a “curve ball” letter requesting that the city offset funds already spent within city limits.
- Background: Yesterday, I reported the Trust’s board pushed back against property tax demands from the City of Pensacola, arguing that the nearly $10 million it already spends on children’s services within city limits—including $1.7 million directly to city programs—should warrant a complete tax exemption. Read more.
Speaking at a press conference this morning, Reeves said he has “more questions than answers” heading into Thursday’s scheduled meeting with trust officials but maintains the city’s collaborative approach hasn’t changed.
Childcare Facilities Take Priority Over Stipends
The mayor stated his childcare initiative is focused on providing facilities rather than direct stipends to childcare workers, a Miami-Dade program that he mentioned last summer.
- “What I can tell you is the number one focus that we feel like we can attack now is being able to provide venues to be able to provide facilities,” Reeves said.
Alice S. Williams Library, 1015 N. E Street, will serve as the starting point, with an RFP already out for childcare providers. Submitted proposals will be opened on Jan. 6. Additional locations are being considered in Brownsville, around the Baptist legacy campus and other city-owned properties using CDBG commercial revitalization dollars.
- Dig Deeper: In 2022, the Florida Department of State awarded the city a $500,000 African American Cultural and Historical Grant to restore the building. The CRA committed another $300,000 to the restoration project.
While the stipend program hasn’t been abandoned, Reeves acknowledged they’re “a little harder to get in the air because of all the regulations.”
- He explained that facilities offer more sustainability: “These are facilities that are now provided at a dollar a year, access to childcare has now increased and it’s something that we could maintain well beyond anything that would happen if you start going into a subsidy funding program.”
“Money for the Dance You Already Had”
The core tension revolves around Community Redevelopment Agency incremental taxes collected by the Escambia Children’s Trust. The mayor stated the Trust’s recent request about offsetting already-spent funds “has ever been a discussion point on our side.”
- “The idea that the CRA dollars should be used for those specific projects because they’re taking place in the city yet the CRA had no discussion about what they would be or when they would be and what they’d be for is kind of the general idea that’s basically saying, here’s the money for the dance that you’ve already had,” Reeves said.
Despite the surprise letter from the Trust, Reeves remains hopeful about finding a solution. “I feel in this situation we’ve tried to be nothing but open and transparent and fair with them about what our goals are and that we want them to align with theirs.”