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Pensacola Votes Against Consolidation; Attorney: County Could Pay For Pensions, Maritime Park
January 26, 2010
The Pensacola City Council voted Monday not to support the current governmental consolidation plan, and the city’s attorney has pointed out issues with the plan — including the possible transfer of the city’s pension liabilities and Maritime Park debt to current county residents.
A motion “to communicate the city council’s approval” to the legislative delgation failed 4-5 Monday afternoon. The Escambia County Commission recently voted to ask the legislature to delay any vote on consolidation until at least 2012. The Town of Century has withdrawn all support for the plan.
As first reported by NorthEscambia.com on January 15, language slipped in the consolidated government proposal just before approval would make every resident of Escambia County potentially responsible for funding millions the City of Pensacola’s problematic pension plan:
As consideration for the transfer of the assets of the ESP to the Consolidated Utilities Authority, the Consolidated Utilities Authority shall pay for those pension fund obligations of the City of Pensacola as those obligations existed as of October 1, 2010, until such obligations are retired.
Under the consolidation plan, ESP (Energy Services of Pensacola), the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority and the Town of Century’s utilities would be combined into a single Consolidated Utilities Authority. In a memorandum obtained by NorthEscambia.com, Pensacola’s city attorney, William D. Wells, agreed with our story’s interpretation of the section.
The section “obligates the independent utilities authority to pay the unfunded pension obligations of the City. The current annual obligation is a substantial sum, and the proposed act does not specify that these payments are restricted to ESP rates and profits – the new authority may utilize the rate structure of all of its utilities to pay this obligation.”
Wells also expressed concern in his memorandum, dated January 22, that county residents could be slapped with a portion of the Maritime Park debt. While the consolidation plan states that existing city debt will continue to be paid from its current sources, the Florida Constitution requires that if all citizens of the county enjoy the benefit a service or facility, those citizens can foot the bill.
“For example, if the Maritime Park ownership is transferred to the new government and the bonds are backed up by a general covenant to budget and appropriate non-ad valorem taxes, there is no legal requirement that the citizens of the current unincorporated areas of the County be insulated from satisfying the debt,” Pensacola’s attorney wrote.
The consolidation plan is in the hands of the Northwest Florida legislative delegation. They will continue to review the plan until as late as February 25 before potentially submitting it to the legislature to set a referendum vote of the public as early as November 2010.
To read the consolidation plan in its entirety, click here (pdf).
Comments
14 Responses to “Pensacola Votes Against Consolidation; Attorney: County Could Pay For Pensions, Maritime Park”
To all responders pro or con. Consolidation is in no way ,shape, form or fashion in the best interest of any one living in rural Escambia County. We have voted this down in the past and if by some means particular politicians try to keep this charade alive they will pay with their political career. We are a voice that will be heard and trying to push something on the residents will be a mistake. we will retalliate like the wrath of a woman scorned.
I served on the ECCSC and I can assure you Mr. Cunningham was a vocal advocate for the interests and opinions of the northern end of the county. I feel it is important to make a couple of points.
1. Votes by the Commissioners for the plan were NOT votes by the Commissioners for consolidation. Rather that they felt that the commission had met it’s charge from the legislature – to study consolidation and prepare draft legislation. Several Commissioners specifically expressed this point – that while they may well be personally opposed to consolidation – that the plan was a solid document and that it should go forward, PER OUR CHARGE FROM TALLAHASSEE.
2. RE: the ballpark – The Florida Constitution does allow for an expansion of taxes HOWEVER the Charter specifically prohibits it and therefore has precedence. A point that was clarified to Mr. Wells satisfaction last night. As a side note – Mr. Cunningham was very upfront in SUCCESSFULLY advocating that the strongest possible language be drafted insuring that the CMP debt not be imposed on non-city residents.
3. ESP/City Pensions – ESP is a revenue generating enterprise worth between $90 and $115 million dollars. The unfunded pension liability is about $85 million. The language above – which I advocated for – accomplishes three things…
- It insures that non-city residents don’t see their ad volorum taxes used to pay the pension obligation.
- Compensates city residents for turning over ESP to the new consolidated government.
- Provides a guaranteed funding source for pensioners.
It has been my honor and privilage to serve with Mr Scott, Mr. Tanner and Mr. Cunningham. I would hope that posters here would have greater appreciation for the time and energy (not to mention miles of driving) they have put into this effort.
Uninformed and inconsiderate comments are not productive. I would hope that all of you will take the time to better understand the Study Commission’s process and end product before rejecting it and the thousands of hours of volunteer work that went into it out of hand.
Reasonable people can disagree over the merits of the plan and I think it is a conversation this county needs to have. Consolidation may ro may not be for you and it may or may not be the answer to the challenges this community faces.
However: “I don’t know what it says or what it does. I just know I’m against it and anyone who’s been within 100 feet of it” is most certainly NOT the answer. It is instead a perfect example of the mindset that has led this community to consistently be bypassed by our neighbors.
I didn’t see an attack against Mr. Cunningham. I saw someone who held him accountable for they believed was a bad decision.
I don’t know the man, so I can’t get personal. I do feel that I can disagree with his vote and his position on this matter; and I do, as a matter of fact.
Hopefully, disagreeing with somone is not an attack. I would think that an attack on someone would begin if it got personal, i.e., family, reputation, etc.
Okay, maybe riding them out on a rail is a bit much; but that still is not an ‘attack’, surely.
The taxpayers are being Robbed with this ballpark Scam.
No, Bob… I have to side with Gator Girl on this one. Heated debates over complex issues is fine, but I’ve seen too many public servants with good hearts and nothing to gain financially get personally attacked by the public… and that’s a huge shame.
Cunningham might be mistaken in his opinion, but this IS a complex issue and rational people will certainly come to differing conclusions based on the objective facts. I mean, really… if this were just an open-and-shut case of the City wanting to screw the County, then why did Pensacola vote it down today?
All I’m saying is that there’s more involved than just what’s on the surface, and to slander someone like Cunningham without taking the time to understand all the ins and outs of the commission’s report isn’t a good idea.
I personally did not appoint any of the representatives to vote in my behalf on this issue. If these gentlemen had North Escambia’s interest at heart they would have voted differently. None of these reps asked my opinion nor do I know of them asking for anyone else’s. Therefore I will stand by Oversight,and also add ; voting for this had to benefit these people personally or they were pressured from some source.I don’ t think you could find fifty people outside Pensacola City limits that would vote for this nonsense.
I don’t want to get into a battle of wills over this. Each person had a vote, they voted how they thought. My point is that attacking people’s character leads them to not want to serve any part of Escambia County. Their are a lot of people that would like to run for office, but don’t want to subject themselves to attacks like these. I am 150% behind Mr. Cunningham and hope that people will be able to look at the facts of the bill. We can not support the bill based on our opinions of the language and facts. Thank you Mr. Cunningham and the others for all your hard work serving Escambia County and keep up promoting this great area of Florida!
Gator Girl…
It’s nice that you can defend Cunningham, but why did he sell us out? Cunningham could have voted no, but sadly he didn’t do that and in the process he lost a lot of respect in and around the community.
I also don’t support the consolidation plan and rarely speak on public forums such as these, however, Oversight I have to call you out for going after someone who represents everything that is good about Escambia County. Jimmy Cunningham and the Cunningham Family are great citizens and work everyday to make Escambia a better place. They volunteer and work to raise money for the local kids livestock projects, support many local organizations, and would do anything to help anyone. They have built respect around the region for the operation they have helped build and work tirelessly to make sure that our county doesn’t forget its agriculture foundation. They run an excellent small business, which I know he sacrificed time from in order to serve on this commission. While I respect your opinion on the consolidation bill, please don’t go after individuals who have dedicated so much to making this a better place for the youth in our area. This is about the bill and the future of the county, not going after individuals character.
I stopped to sign the petition against the park and was told I could not sign it because I’m not a city resident. Now, I’m told I could have to pay for it?
This is pure taxation without representation. Stop the park project now. If it is so ‘great’, let a private developer risk his own money – not the tax payers.
$70,000,000.00 is alot of money!!! I would think that money would be better off spent for all the repairs and replacements of necessary bridges that need to be addressed in Escambia Co. Florida, ASAP.
That’s like, having the roof over your families head needing to be fixed or even replaced, but instead spending that money to install an inground swimming pool with a hot tub. The counties NEEDS should come first, before it’s WANTS!
Thank you Pensacola’s city attorney, William D. Wells, for speaking up and submitting the truth on this very sensitive matter.
Public, please vote NO to consolidation.
Well, hopefully this project will now ‘die on the vine.’
I knew it and now it comes out, County residents would have to pay for that $70,000,000.00 park that most county residents don’t want. Remember that park started out around 26,000,000.00.That Park is not worth $5,000,000.00 let alone $70,000,000.00 and I for one don’t want to pay for it. The park will never make enough money to pay for itself. All I know is that someone is going to make a lot of money off that development. It’s funny how it always comes out in the end. MISLEADING, MISLEADING!!!!
Even in view of this, it is hard to believe that those whom were appointed to the consolidation commission study to represent the areas interests would support and vote for this plan. Charles Scott, Rusty Tanner, and Jimmy Cunningham, along with some others, should be run out of North Escambia on a rail and dumped off down in the city limits of Pensacola. I wonder if Greg Evers as part of the legislative delegation will continue to force this issue on us?