There are three big items up for discussion during today’s committee meetings of the Pensacola City Council: billing non-profits for parades, compensation and benefit study, and amending the inter-local agreement with ECUA over demolishing the Main St. sewage plant.
The last item has attracted the ire of Council member Maren DeWeese. On her blog, DeWeese remind us that: “In 2007, the CRA entered into an agreement with ECUA to provide $19.5 million over a number of years to fund the portion of the wastewater treatment plant within the CRA. In his memo to Council, then City Manager Tom Bonfield expressly stated that under the agreement the City had no obligation to pay any amounts toward this agreement. The 2007 agreement stated that if CRA TIF funds were insufficient to cover the annual ECUA obligation (AFTER PAYMENT OF THE MARITIME PARK BONDS) then the amount due in that year would merely roll over to a year that additional TIF funds were available.”
City Finance Director Dick Barker wants to modify these provisions and instead use general fund dollars to pay the debt, if CRA funds aren’t sufficient.
Why? In lean budget times, the Council should be happy that the prior council reached such an agreement that delays any payment until the CRA has the funds.
DeWeese believes the staff is trying to obligate funds so that her Pensacola Promise plan won’t get serious consideration.
Read her blog.