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Sheriff Morgan Not Talking To County Administrator
March 24, 2009
Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan says he and his office will no longer communicate with County Administrator Bob McLaughlin.
“I will communicate directly with the other duly elected officials in the Escambia County Government, working of course, within the applicable legal parameters,” Morgan said in a letter to Commissioner Chairwoman Marie Young. “All issues requiring the coordination of my office with the county government will be sent directly to you with informational copies to each commissioner.”
Morgan cited several reasons for his decision, citing what he said were complete misrepresentations on the part of McLaughlin.
“This is an unacceptable management style. One of which I will not tolerate nor participate,” Morgan said in the letter which was delivered to each of the other four commissioners, Clerk of Court Ernie Lee Magaha, Tax Collector Janet Holley, Property Appraiser Chris Jones and Supervisor of Elections David Stafford.
Morgan cited several specific incidents in his letter:
- Morgan said a new sheriff’s precinct in at Fairfield Drive and Mobile Highway in Pensacola would cost $350,000 to acquire and $100,000 for improvements using inmate labor. Morgan said McLaughlin represented the total amount of the project at $700,000.
- In reference to a March 13 leadership workshop, Morgan said “McLaughlin began the meeting with “the Sheriff is not reducing his budget”. But Morgan said that is not the case. “As I articulated during the meeting, we are looking at every aspect of our operations and will be presenting a detailed line-item budget to the BOCC. This is another complete misrepresentation,” the sheriff said.
- Morgan said he was not advised that the March 13 meeting he attended was to be a budget workshop. “We were not invited nor advised of the actual agenda for the meeting. Can you imagine our surprise to learn that ‘the Sheriff’s Office budget is one of the agenda items?’ What could possibly be the motive of dissecting a constitutional officer’s budget without the courtesy of advising them?” Morgan wrote.
To read the entire text of Morgan’s letter, click here.
Comments
10 Responses to “Sheriff Morgan Not Talking To County Administrator”
Way to go Joe, Sherriff Morgan is operating the way a well organized manager should be, document all communications and all actions taken. One could read into this letter what they want it to say, but it is simply a letter that properly documents his reasons for his decisions and documents the way he will continue to communicate with his real bosses, the BOC.
Good old boys is what is wrong in Washington and we have our good old boys here that want you to play by their rules and what they say is god and the voters are to stupid to firgure them out. Keep a good paper trail Mr. Morgan it will come in handy down the line. When you try and buck the system they have in place they will go after you.
I wouldn’t trust Mclaughlin with a rusty nail. He “misrepresented” so many things in the Catfish pond/Clay pit debacle it was shameful. He never retracted his stance and kissed up to the Roads Inc. developer every chance he could.
Morgan should continue communicating but send copies of everything including his corrections of misrepresentations to all the commissioners (and the press if the media was involved in the untruths.) Have a paper trail! Bob Mac is slick. Some day the Commissioners will wake up.
McL won’t speak to the press but Morgan is working to put his entire budget online. Morgan’s transparency (whether I like his style or not) is refreshing!
William, hot headed letters or talk are the only thing the Commissioners and McLaughlin understand. They are so used to the good old boy way until it stinks. When someone stands up for themselves, they are automatically the bad guy. More power to Morgan for calling them out into the open. He does not have to learn to play well with others in County Government, he was elected by the people to serve the people and not play politics as others did. I bet he won’t be taking hunting trips With McLaughlin and any of the Commissioners.
How many deputies can he hire for the salary of one Cindy Anderson? His budget needs to be last to be cut.
I think the sheriff did the right thing. Make the coruption public. Keep up the good work.
I think the letter to the BOCC is a bit premature. If someone has issues at this level a few phone calls or a personal visit would be in order, but don’t air out the dirty laundry to quickly because it probably won’t have the desired effect and might come back and bite you.
Another example of Morgan’s extreme arrogance. And this coming after just two months in office! Its funny, because in Mark O’brien’s blog on the PNJ today he quoted several of the county’s elected officials, including those who have been in office awhile, who have never had a problem with McLaughlin.
People can criticize him about the letter he sent, but those are some pretty major misrepresentations on McLaughlins part… especially the leadership workshop. If David Morgan just sat by and did nothing, this could lead to Escambia County residents being very misinformed and could jeopardize future plans for the ESCO . No, he isn’t going to make all of the right decisions, but we citizens need to be supportive. He has only been in office for 3 months and people are watching every move he makes. Lets give him a chance to make this community a better place.
I think Morgan needs a diaper change, because he is surely not handling this as an adult, much less a “leader” in local government.
WAAAA!
Sheriff, conspiracies don’t hide behind every corner. You have to learn to play well with others in county government. Maybe you should have conferred with the other 5 County Commissioners before you sent that hot headed letter. I mean, it is not just about you, it is about the citizens of Escambia County. It is a whole new ballgame now that you are elected, isn’t it?