I just got a phone call that former County Administrator George Touart passed away during the night. Yesterday I received this email from one of George’s friends on my recent Outtakes and…
Tag: George Touart
County and City Council: “We have no idea what is going on”
I had a conference phone call this morning with Interim County Administrator George Touart and past Pensacola City Council President P.C. Wu about Mayor Ashton Hayward’s announcement that he signed yesterday a…
Mayor surprises County on ST Aerospace announcement
Yesterday at 6 p.m. Hayward issued the following statement: “Today Mayor Hayward signed a Memorandum of Understanding between ST Aerospace, Mobile, Inc. and the City of Pensacola. The non-binding MOU is the…
Touart hammers away at fund set up to pay jail employees accrued leave
By Jesse Farthing Interim County Administrator George Touart and his staff want the fund established by Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan to pay the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office employees’ accrued leave and…
Searching for the Searcher and the Campfire Sing-Along
It is unclear exactly what they will do later today, but Escambia County commissioners appear poised to formally request that a wider net be cast for consulting firms for the county administrator…
Touart Makes Top 5
The Escambia County Administrator Search Committee has drawn up a list of five applicants to submit to the Escambia County Commission later this week. Interim Administrator George Touart is on that list….
Group Therapy with Dr. Touart
If tensions have been rumbling in the undercurrents of the Escambia County Commission, they bubbled to the surface yesterday in spectacular fashion. It began in the morning’s agenda review session, when Commissioner…
Grover’s Rationale
On his way back from a regional economic development meeting in Panama City, Escambia County Commissioner Grover Robinson defended his recommendation to reopen the applicant pool for the county administrator position. His…
Hiccup in Escambia’s Administrator Search
Escambia County Commissioner Grover Robinson lit the fuse this morning, then got a safe distance away before the fireworks began. It was a move Commissioner Wilson Robertson described as “ridiculous†and “just…
Touart Survives Round One
Members of the Escambia County Administrator Search Committee went down the list of applicants for the county’s top job this afternoon and whittled down the number of potential contenders. Interim County Administrator…
Escambia’s Big Gamble, or ‘No Blinking’
The Escambia County Commission has decided to take over operations of the Escambia County Jail. The move follows fruitless negotiations with the Escambia County Sheriff, the facility’s current manager, and was spurred…
Touart’s On the List
There are a number of last-minute applicants looking to land the county administrator position with Escambia County. Among them, is the man currently serving on an interim basis. Last week, Human Resources…
County Jail cited by DOJ as unsafe, needs more staff and better mental health program
The Civil Right Division of the U.S. Department of Justice has concluded its five-year investigation of the Escambia County Jail and its findings are as bad as Sheriff David Morgan tried to…
County tries to block Jail Study from being released
There is a budget battle about to break out between interim County Administrator George Touart and Sheriff David Morgan. The fight is inevitable. This first volley has been over the Escambia County…
Search Extended, Raise Declined
The Escambia County Commission extended its search for a county administrator today, as Interim Country Administrator George Touart declined a proposed raise. Commissioners decided to extend the administrator search for 90 days….
Touart to Stay?
The Escambia County Commission is split on how best to proceed with efforts to fill the county administrator position. The Human Resources director described this morning how the search results were “a…
Touart predecessor in running for Walton County job
Robert T. Halfhill served as interim Escambia County Administrator for sixteen months, from December 4, 2001 until April 21, 2002. One April 22, Touart took over and had one of the longest…
New Kids on the Block
Escambia County’s two new commissioners are forgoing any honeymoon. From the get-go, their voices have become pivotal in weighty conversations. During their initial meeting last week, commissioners Lumon May (District 3) and…
Touart protest is not going away
Some citizens still aren’t happy about the lame duck Escambia County Commission hiring George Touart as the interim county administrator. They plan further protests. I got the following email this morning: A…
Touart’s Return
George Touart is returning to county government. In a move Escambia County Vice Chairman Gene Valentino described as a way to keep the county “moving forward in a positive way,†the county…