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NorthEscambia.com Publisher Offered Position On Government Consolidation Study Commission
May 15, 2009
One of the 25 seats on the commission created by the Florida Legislature to study governmental consolidation has been offered to the publisher of NorthEscambia.com.
Escambia County Commissioner Kevin White said Thursday that he has offered the position to William Reynolds, publisher of the site that focuses on North Escambia news and issues.
Each commissioner is allowed one appointee to the study commission that was created by the Legislature to draft a proposal that would combine the governments of Century, Pensacola and Escambia County into one, if approved by voters.
Once a consolidation plan is created by the study commission, it is to be submitted to the Escambia County Commission, the City of Pensacola and the Town of Century for action before submission to the Escambia County legislative delegation by January 15, 2010. Once approved by the legislature, the plan would be presented to Escambia County voters.
“I appreciate being offered the opportunity to serve on the study commission,” Reynolds said. “It would be a great opportunity to provide input into the process on behalf of the citizens of District 5 and the readers of NorthEscambia.com.”
Reynolds has not yet accepted the offer to serve on the commission, saying that he wanted to consider the opportunity over the upcoming weekend.
No other appointees to the 25-member panel have been publicly announced. The commission is required to meet at least once per month beginning in July.
Comments
37 Responses to “NorthEscambia.com Publisher Offered Position On Government Consolidation Study Commission”
Your grandkids will love you for that, as they are paying back their hard earned paycheck in federal taxes to repay the obama government for what is now the most money any president has ever spent while in office. And we have 3 and a half more years of this. Thanks for the informed vote.
I can’t wait to read the comments as to whether William actually gets the position or not! Now my response to wait a minute on your backwoods Obama comment. During the election, I talked to a lot people about voting and the ones who voted for Obama were very well informed. WE all did a lot of looking into this man that we knew nothing about, and several million of us decided he was our man . On the other side, what I saw was folks willing to blindly continue on with more of the same old thing we had for the previous eight years. Praise God for backwoods voters! Please in 2012 do the same! Sorry William I digress ,good luck!!
There was a good idea going here about waiting till you hear the proposal before making a decision, that is until they had to add,”the backwoods obama voters”.
Folks, never forget that the most important thing charter government does(consolidation is still CHARTER government) is grant that government broader taxing authority. It’s a Florida Supreme Court ruling (Volusia vs. Dickinson).
The main reason for this “consolidation” is simply to add franchise fees to your utility bills. Why? Well that’s for downtown economic redevelopment.
Now ain’t that a hoot!
Maybe Commissioner White just wants to keep William busy…how I see it William could easily beat him in the next election, if he chooses to run…I guess William could return the favor and appont Mr. White to a committee then…lol
I would never vote on something this big based on intuition . Once the plan is published, you will simply have to read. But, thats just me. To each his/her own.
Intuition comes from having experienced a similar incident in the past. Tell me…are you from Jacksonville ?
To Wait A Minute: There is such a thing as intuition……..if it’s within a morally minded person……
This could be a plot by the city folks to hush a great thing we have
up here!!!! By this I mean,NEC has really been an eye-opener to a lot of voters!!!
“They” may feel NEC is getting too close to the people up here learning the truth and being able to see things for what they really are!!! “They” may think they can get our William and”set him straight”…..LORD forbid…….it ain’t gonna’ happen…..If you do decide to do this…..just remember,everybody’s aim for you is not based on you,being a great asset to the community!!!! We love you and what you do for us…..intentions are not always what they appear…..but I know you will make the right choice……and do the best you can!!!!
You know, I don’t know if I am for consolidation or not. I will have to hear the proposal that the study commission comes up with. Maybe whoever sits on the commission will be able to get some of the things that the Northend of the county needs put on the proposal.
I don’t know what all the WHINE is about. Century is rundown, almost to the point of being a ghost town. Maybe the consolidation might help. What about Century are we so proud of? Are we proud of all the jobs that are here? What great stores we have? What a beautiful area it is?
What is it about the town of Century, that we are so proud of that we won’t accept any kind of change? I for one would welcome more jobs, so that I didn’t have to drive to Pensacola everyday for a decent paying job.
Anyone that can say that they are for or against it at this juncture is surely close-minded. You have not been presented with pros or cons to make an intelligent choice people. Wait until the plan is presented and decide what is good for you and your family. Of course there will always be the backwoods obama voters that will just follow the crowd mindset and not think for themselves, to those I say dont vote please, you’ve helped us enough.
I for one am not for the consolidation.
But would love for William to be on the board.
He would be an assess for the North end of the County.
But I pray that it will not change him, he is GREAT with this web sight.
Our prayers are with you William.
I am sure you would represent us well, but I hope that you, like myself, want no part of being part of the city. A zillion times, “NO!!!” If you go, I hope you tell them how the most of us feel about this. All my life, I dreamed of living in the country. Now, I am here, and I love it, and want it to stay the country, in every way.
Way to go William!!!!!!
William, I agree with everyone else that you are a great choice to represent us on the Commission…but….When would you sleep?
I vote yes for William !!!
William,
I always felt that you had enough common sence to make your own decissions. And we all have “some” in-laws that don’t claim us, but on the other hand we don’t claim them!
Trish wrote “And for heavens sake don’t call your aunt dolly, uncle joe, or grandma smith and ask them how you should vote. ” —
None of blood relatives live in Escambia County, and many of my wife’s relatives don’t claim me. So I’m good there.
Yes William, go for it. It is my hope that someone we can trust will look at the situation objectively and be able to let the north end residents know what the pros and cons are.
At this point I believe you can’t make an informed decision until we know ALL of the details. Good example is the property tax law that people voted on without realistically looking at what kind of impact it would truly have. I don’t want to be governed by the city either but wouldn’t whoever it was that was making the decisions be voted in? Why is voting for a individual in a consolidated government any different than voting for the current county commissioners? We currently only have one voice in our commissioner; would we have two voices from our area if we were united with everyone else in one government? Questions, questions.
Most people don’t know or understand the bickering that goes on between city and county officials. Maybe there would be no more childish squables between governments if we were united. Maybe as a united county we could actually get things done. You cry about paying for the new park on the bay but you expect city residents to help pay for all of our boat docks and ball parks in the county? Remember the Pensacola residents pay Escambia County taxes AND Pensacola City taxes. You pay, I pay, we all pay for everything one way or another.
I am just saying………..be informed with all of the details before you make a decission. And for heavens sake don’t call your aunt dolly, uncle joe, or grandma smith and ask them how you should vote. Don’t make quick uninformed judgements, be responsible and be informed and ask questions.
“Once a consolidation plan is created by the study commission”
“Once a consolidation plan is created by the study commission”
“Once a consolidation plan is created by the study commission”
it is to be submitted to the Escambia County Commission, the City of Pensacola and the Town of Century for action before submission to the Escambia County legislative delegation by January 15, 2010. Once approved by the legislature, the plan would be presented to Escambia County voters.
Each commissioner is allowed one appointee to the study commission that was created by the Legislature”"”" to draft a proposal that would combine the governments of Century, Pensacola and Escambia County into one”"”".
Am I reading more into this than is there?
To draft a propsal that “would combine the governments of Century, Pensacola and Escambia County into one”.
Does this mean that if you “accept”, that you are going to help draft a proposal to combine us, “all for one”?
Dear Sir, I think you would do a fine job If you took this postion. But I do not wish to live in the city or to be ruled by the city. Our present form of government may need some work, but I would rather fix what we have, than to trust the city with all of this new power, and revenue.
WILLIAM FOR PRESIDENT!!!
Thank you. You have answered my questions.
escambiamom – The commission will not study if there *should be* consolidation. It will create a plan for consolidation that goes into effect if approved by the voters. A special interest group “All For One” lobbied the Legislature to mandate the creation of the commission.
The pros and cons will, I’m sure, be presented by All For One and other groups that will undoubtedly form that are both for and against the idea.
Just because a person serves on the commission, it does not mean they are for consolidation. Hopefully they are on the commission because they want to make sure that it is the best plan possible just in case it should be approved by voters.
–William
So the commission will study whether there *even should be* consolidation? Will it present the pros and cons and present these to the people before we vote? Or just create the plan to consolidate (on the assumption that this is the best thing to do)? (sorry if I am being unclear)
escambiamom — “Once approved by the legislature, the plan would be presented to Escambia County voters.”
The commission must created the plan, and (after a few more steps), everyone in the county, Pensacola and Century gets to vote on it.
William
Obviously, you would be a great choice to represent the interests of the people north of Nine Mile Rd.. Congratulations!
But I have questions in my mind about the purpose of this study commission. This article states: “Each commissioner is allowed one appointee to the study commission that was created by the Legislature to draft a proposal that would combine the governments of Century, Pensacola and Escambia County into one.”
The purpose is to draft a combination proposal. Does that mean that they have already decided on the consolidation? I mean, I remember all the articles about our legislators proposing in Tally that we make this commission. But are they studying if consolidation is a good thing, or has that decision already made?
Did the north end have any real input in that decision?
Maybe I have not been paying enough attention (likely, as a busy mom) and I guess I am still undecided about the benefits/downsides of consolidation.
William, if you see that, after study, consolidation will have no substantial benefit to the people of the North End, how will being on the commission help you express that view? This is not an attempt to silence potential dissenting views, is it? (Just asking, don’t really know.)
But then again, if consolidation is a done deal, it would be good to know we have someone that understands the north end involved in the process. Prayers for wisdom as you decide over the weekend.
CONGRATULATIONS,William! I think this is a wonderful opportunity!
Hold on to your fairness and open your heart to hear what the people want. May God be with you not to let this change you into one of them. I agree maybe with this forum being the delivery point of what is really happening something positive can be generated from your participation.
Sounds like a good move to me. We really could use some input from our area, Walnut Hill. William would at least let us know what is going on up here. PNJ is a complete waste of money. GO FOR IT!
I fail to see a downside to this! If every special interest group in the state has a seat on the commission why shouldn’t at least one go to someone with some common sense. It is my belief that William will not only look out for the people of North Escambia County, but for all of the people and common sense.
Congrats on the offer, William. I think you’d be a good voice on the commission…. plus it would keep the process a little more transparent if you were allowed to report on the discussions.
However, it is a weighty decision. Especially if it turns into a deal where most people on the north end are against it, and want you to apply pressure on the commission to the negative, but most of the commission is for it and hoping you use NE to support it…
I’d hate to be the rope in that tug’o'war…
Go for it, William.
A great choice Kevin White. Mr. Reynolds has published an unbiased source of the news of the northern end and seems to be on top of events throughout district 5.
This is good news. William always knows what is going on in the north end and he would make sure Pensacola does not forget about us. If he’s not on the commission, he should be fighting against it. northescambia.com could be our biggest weapon against consolidattion.
William would be good for the north end on this commission. I am sure he is not for consolidation. and I am sure he would look out for the north end in this whole deal. He has proven how much he cares about the north end on North Escambia.com