On NewsTalk 1370 WCOA, I interviewed Escambia County Commission Chair Robert Bender and Pensacola City Council President Jared Moore.
Commission Chair Bender said two topics came up at the budget hearing yesterday.
“We do have some changes that we would like to see made over the next two weeks before our second public hearing,” said Bender. “One of those being the cost allocation, where it was something new that we were doing this year or how we were doing it for the overhead costs for certain departments. And it was somewhat put in front of us late in the budget process. I think we all agree it’s where we need to go, but we had a couple of our committees and entities, some might have sticker shock and really hadn’t planned for it.”
He continued, “And there hadn’t been a discussion previously. And so we’re going to look at how we can maybe walk it back a little bit, but also plan ahead for next year in that as we write grants for ECAT and other things that we incorporate that into the plan and request that money, those monies to pay for the overhead. And so I think as we start to do that, that brings in more money for the county and it’s an eligible expense. And so I think we should be doing that to help cover those costs, to run whatever program that we’ve written the grant for.”
The other topic was funding for outside agencies. Bender said. “We’re going to have a discussion on that Tuesday at our Committee of the Whole. We’ve asked them to hold them at last year’s levels. And then, we’ll discuss the new requests as well as the agencies that have requested an increase.”
City Council President Moore said the council will take up giving Carson Lovell a 12-month option on Lots 4 and 5 at the Maritime Park. Food trucks also came up.
“Council member Sherri Myers brought an add-on for us to consider a moratorium on the enforcement of those two places in the code where it prohibits the sale of merchandise within public rights of way, or public parking spaces, any vacant land, said Moore. The council added her item to the agenda for the Thursday meeting.
Moore continued, “Councilman Casey Jones let us know that he’s been working with the city attorney on some changes there, as well, that he believes will, hopefully, just fix the issue altogether, and we won’t even need to have a moratorium. We can just change the land development code and change that Section 11 of the code, and remedy the problem once and for all.”
It seems the BOCC hemmed and hawed when they were discussing the budget and the employee insurance cost last night. They didn’t take a vote or make a decision but I think it was about that people (employees) don’t take preventive measures as in masks and vaccines. The cost of insurance is high, the taxpayers pay for it. The less county employees that get COVID the better, simple straighforward reasonable logic, I would think.
I think they should follow Lumon’s lead in that discussion and take some action. Of course Doug said something stupid about that he smoked cigarettes and hoped Wendy wasn’t watching and said something to Wes and did his “heh heh heh” Snidley Whiplash laugh, which means nothing. I think Wes is just try to duck out of the fireworks and said “yes sir”. Then they adjourned.
The board should implement mask and vaccines mandates. First for employees and then County wide and talk to the states delegates to mandate them.
It appears school boards are mandating masks and the DOE can’t fine them because of the appeal.
The death of the 15 year old should wake people up to get the vaccine on the recommendations of the CDC for age 12 and up.
I could go on and on about the logic of science and so on but it would be repetitive..