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Escambia Won’t Raise Taxes To Meet Sheriff’s Demands
July 28, 2017
Property taxes in Escambia County will not increase next year. The 2018 millage rate will hold steady at the 2017 rate after a 4-1 vote from the Escambia County Commission.
The vote came Thursday despite multiple statements by Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan he will appeal his budget to Governor Rick Scott without another $3 million from the commission.
Commissioners Steven Barry and Grover Robinson blasted what they called the sheriff’s attack on board members.
“It’s hard to reasonably get down to an issue when the initial conversation continues, you know. That the board is a bunch of bums and operating in bad faith,” said Barry.
Commissioner Lumon May expressed similar concerns while suggesting a need for dialogue.
“Has that been a conversation with the sheriff, to figure out where we can cut? Where is a happy medium?” asked May. “That we can meet where my name is not on a billboard or TV commercial or infomercial?”
Morgan took to social media with lengthy videos and billboards in an attempt to sway the general public to demand a budget increase from commissioners.
“I’m willing to find a way, but I’m not going to be bullied into something else. I want a willing partner that can work with me and realize that they might not get everything that want,” Commissioner Grover Robinson said before the vote.
“”I mean so, if you ever put me into a corner and say all or nothing and there’s no mediation, then there’s nothing,” May said.
Commissioner Doug Underhill was the lone vote against holding at the same millage rate and he pushed for more funds for the sheriff.
Without the extra millions, Morgan said he would not be able to maintain school resource officers, needed pay raises for his deputies and services such as funeral escorts. Morgan and Escambia County School Superintendent Malcolm Thomas announced SRO cutbacks on Thursday (click here to read more).
The budget has not yet gone before the commission for a final vote. But the millage rate is set to hold steady at 6.6165 mills, plus a municipal service tax rate of 0.685 for law enforcement and 0.359 mills for libraries.
Comments
36 Responses to “Escambia Won’t Raise Taxes To Meet Sheriff’s Demands”
The funeral homes in the city and county take and keep the money from loved ones for the funeral escorts as part of the funeral costs. Escambia County Sheriff’s Department and Pensacola Police Department DO NOT receive any of the funeral escort money. The deputies and officers get paid their regular salary to do escorts as part of their regular daily job. The City and County provide the escort services with officers and deputies as a “courtesy”. The escorts look good and are appreciated by the families, and it’s good “public relations”.
Every time a Sheriff ask for more money, he is voted out in the next election. I guess it is time for Morgan to go. He has been in their too long anyway.
LEO’s put their lives on the line everyday for us and for very little salary. Surely some compromises can be made to give these guys what they deserve. Having said that, it is my understanding that funeral escorts are an elective service and paid through the funeral home costs paid by the deceased’s family. Why would theSheriff need money to provide funeral escorts?
I have an idea, everyone that is against Sheriff Morgan getting his Officers a raise and calling him names and just cutting down the ECSO, CALL YOUR COUNTY COMMISSIONER WHEN YOU NEED 911, see how far that gets you!!!!
Just another political sending our $ keep your ugly mug off the billboards that will save a little
The beach is a slow go just like it has been for the last 50 years, if it’s not the bridge it is something else, people just need to plan accordingly , not spend money that would better used elsewhere to keep our families safe. The SO is top heavy and needs to be thinned out and a raise given to the officers on the road.
Seems like there is agreement on some points.
We believe Deputies deserve a raise as all public servants do.
Sheriff Morgan is not better than everyone around him.
Roundabouts are about as stupid as anyone thinking they will help a Beach with no parking so nowhere for traffic to go.
And there are 6 super sized egos at play here.
Almost forgot
DUMP ECAT.
With Morgans video, I think he tried to intimidate the BOCC. Similar charges were filed against Haines and Morgan in earlier years. If the BOCC gave into them no matter whether the figures and budgets needed further review it would be like negotiating with terrorist and people with disrespect for their elected authority and power. The BOCC had no other choice.
It would snowball– the strong arm tactics and disrespectful way of negotiating and appealing to the public was unacceptable.
Learn to state a case and deal.
The strongman approach doesn’t fly and we all lose because of it.
Just wait until the good taxpayers get the bill for the new jail .. and the legal cost of the prisoners .. 17 million .. thanks sheriff .. LEO
I’m sorry I meant Thomas Greene not Robert.
Robert Greene, I have no axe to grind. I retired in good standing after 28 years, the last 10 as a Lieutenant. The paperwork is there to back up what I wrote, please check for yourself sir. A simple open records request is all you have to do if you really want to know the truth.
Mr thomas greene you are so right
Thomas D. Greene…
Great points, and absolutely correct.
Sheriff needs to tighten the belt also. He’s as much a politician as the rest.
The cops need raises? So do the rest of us. I vote no for raises.
It’s just a job, like the rest of us. Looking for more $, find another job. Or get 2, like the rest of us. You don’t see us begging cops for $ because we need a raise.
Take the tired story elsewhere.
I for one am FED UP WITH THE COUNTY COMMISHIONERS!!! one example: You pay yourselves and YOUR employees way more than the Sheriff gets to pay his!!!!
for the EXACT same position of the Commissioners admin assistants, the Sheriff’s department admin assistants across the board get paid way less. (no I don’t mean the sheriff’s secretary she and her husband are just overpaid fluff, but different topic) I mean all of the Admin Assistants at the Sheriff’s office are paid way less. In addition to all the Deputies that are underpaid so is the support staff.
As a tax payer and homeowner I would rather you up my millage rate and get rid of ECAT than to not support your LEO’s and support staff.
Most of the commissioners over the years have penalized the workers of the Sheriff’s office by not supporting pay raises for them. But they give pay raises to the Clerk of Courts and Tax Offices etc., all because they have petty beefs with whichever Sheriff is in office.
Commissioners its time to stop being petty and vindictive, there are more people in Law Enforcement, Fire, Teachers and staff are always getting the shaft from the Escambia County Commissioners.
I have lived and worked in Escambia County for over 40 years and believe it is more than time for the Escambia County Commission to step up and get the money to those at the vital services level and their support staff. Maybe they should consider a paycutt to the commissioners themselves??
Let’s see how this works out. The Sheriff is going to appeal getting his budget cut to the Governor that has cut taxes, fees, and gotten Fl. to the rating of the number one state in fiscal health. Hollywood Morgan; Live within your means like the rest of us have to do, and quit whining
@Retired LEO—– Tell it all, TELL IT ! I read LEO affairs and everyone says the same thing. And why two chief deputies @ $80k or more per year ? Morgan is a drama queen, maybe just plain queen. Mark my words, he’ll run for commissioner or something when his term is up. Watch out escambia citizens.
The sheriff could save a lot of money by parking vehicles driven out of county and state.. And have two in one patrol vehicle in high crime areas . There are ways to save a few taxs dollars.sheriff’s before him made it work and so can he.
Retired LEO:
Sounds like you have a true ax to grind. So what exactly is your agenda from this? Retired or quit in lieu of termination? Yeah, we can tell you’re dislike for the Morgan Administration. Besides, you have it wrong in a few areas but the main point is money. We’ve lost our people due to low pay. We have deputies working up to 18 hours a day on extra duty just so they can afford their house and living expenses.
Football Mom:
You’re wrong. The Traffic Units are on duty during the time of the escort and are paid their normal salary.
@ Football mom, you are absolutely right , funeral homes do collect money from the deceased family members, so we have businesses collect revenue for services that are free from the Sheriffs Office, they are not charged a fee from the S.O. That is wrong any way you put it. A business should not be allowed to do that , let say I own a business and I want to go borrow equimpment from the county to complete the job and earn money using tax payers owned equimpment , people would have a fit and rightful so. Now understand our Deputies have to pay a fee for using the county vehicle and uniform while working extra jobs, makes no sense , because they are still required to respond to priortiey calls . And yes I think Sheriff Morgan is doing a good job fighting for our deputies. Oh by the way Commissioner May his words don’t count, go watch the full video of his traffic stop, ridiculous clown.
Isn’t there some type emoji that kids put on their hands that means they are being bullied? Not sure, but it looks like we the public need to start wearing one because of Mr. Morgan.
Some day we will have a leader that will work with instead of against.
Let me start by saying that all of the sworn and direct support personnel at the Sheriffs Office deserve a pay increase. What’s not being told is that the loss
of personnel is mostly because of the dislike for the administrative staff at the SO.
Chief Haines is the main culprit and should take most the credit for this part. Officers are targeted for personal vendettas and grudges and dogged until they are forced out. Sheriff Morgan has numerous wrongful termination lawsuits against him and the agency. No employee in their right mind would speak openly about this for fear of being next.
Sheriff Morgan has wasted tax dollars on media positions. He hired a
videographer to follow him around and make all of his commercials. He has hired people to do nothing but run his Facebook page. All making well over what most Deputies make. He has a public information officer that makes well over $70,000.00 a year. Morgan has a top heavy staff with one Major supervising only a handful of
people while he makes almost $80,000.00 a year. Morgan now
has a Commander, a Colonel, Lt. Colonel and a Captain supervising Investigations. This is double what any previous administration had. All of theses individuals make double what a Deputy makes. The list goes on and on.
Why does he spend tens of thousands of dollars on billboards? That money could be used to free up money in other areas that could be used as salary money. The publiic is blind to the fact that the Sheriff thinks he has no accountability to the citizens of this county. Before he tells the commissioners to get their budget in order why doesn’t he do the same with his. His extreme narcissistic personality is being ignored by most of the public. If a light was cast on his budget you’d probably be furious!
How about the sheriff stop wasting tax dollars putting his face on billboards?
@retired – FYI……..the family of the deceased pays for the escort
Has the bocc ever proved that the sheriff has ever spent dollars wrongly??? Was the explosion his fault???I don’t think so but its going to cost taxpayers a ton of money…Let me tell you something when the rubber meets the road and you have an experience with a violent crime or some crazy wants to shoot up a school hearts change and people change…lets take care of ESO
Ill bet Kate has never had an experience herself or a loved one being the victim of a home invasion or being the victim of a gang related crime …over half of the people in the united states are not smart enough to use a roundabout and especially not at the beach…
@ Kate
Why are there two cars going to calls? Because we know right from the start that it takes more than one deputy for some calls. Once it is under control, the second deputy can leave and go to other calls. If we only send one person, then by the time they need backup it is too late because in the 5-10 minutes it takes for backup to drive there, somebody is hurt or killed.
Thomas Greene – I agree 100%. You took the words out of my mouth! I would add that the BOCC is ignoring the hidden costs of no pay increase. Knowledge and experience drain as deputies leave the department; Increased training and recruitment costs; Concerns over the quality of new recruits, as more qualified applicants take jobs elsewhere; and, as much as I hate to suggest this – pay starved employees are sometimes tempted to misconduct (I have 30 years experience in law enforcement, so I do know what I’m talking about). These are Critical Sensitive positions and great care should be taken to treat them right.
The beach roundabout issue flies in the face of physics – a large number of people trying to pack into a confined space. It just doesn’t work. Roundabouts probably work well when there is room to go on the other side, but that’s not the case here. You don’t need experts, just some common sense.
Prioritize the jail solution, pay the deputies, and help beachgoers realize that it’s a crowded space and things are going to be slow.
I congratulate the County Commission!! Morgan thinks he can bully everyone and get what he wants. IF the Sheriffs office is in such dire need why are there two cruisers going everywhere in a row? Send one and if backup is needed call for it.
services such as funeral escorts, need to be cut, we are one of the few counties left that do this. put the traffic unit back to traffic enforcement. I am sure there are places to cut, that will not hurt law enforcement protection.
Sometimes the reality of issue resolution is blocked by personal egos/goals. Much like our home budget, the discussion can be heated. God Bless public service minds who resolve with common sense to find NEW ways to solve OLD problems. There must be a Round Table somewhere for everyone to sit across from each other while someone puts the coffee pot in high gear. THEN each person brings positive suggestions to eat the budget elephant one bite at a time. Hard work is nevee easy.
Maybe sheriff will stop giving money away
Give Sheriff Morgan what he needs, he’s a no nonsense, to the point, get it done type of personality. If some of the commissioners got their feeling hurt maybe they are in the wrong profession.
Thank you, BOCC.
I support our county Commissioners concerning the millage rate. I also support our Sheriff and Deputies. Our priority at hand needs to be figuring out a new jail. Once that is done then our commissioners can look for a way to get our deputies a raise. I don’t like calling each other out and making the other look bad. We are blessed with great Commissioners, Sheriff and Deputies in our county and mostly hard working good citizens. Almost everyone that lives and works in this area are underpaid.
So we as a county are force fed $20 million dollars for traffic roundabouts on a beach when only a small percentage of our populations goes there but but argue against the Sheriff receiving $5 million dollars when the entire county utilizes the deputies???? All the county commissioners rolled over and played dead when Grover Robinson wants his $20 millions dollar circles, like this will be the magic cure. BOCC, you say you aren’t going to throw money at a problem and give the Sheriff his budget but then turn around and throw money at the problem of traffic on Pensacola Beach. The traffic problem on the beach is a combination of 1) congestion buildup at the toll plaza so eliminate that and 2) lack of viable parking. The lack of thought actually makes me question the common sense behind this, almost as if you believe the one traffic light on the beach is the major problem and with a roundabout, all will be solved. Bad news and quote me but when you revisit these roundabout, 1 year after being completed and realize it was a mistake, you’ve just obligated those funds for the next 10 years. You’re lacking funds for a new jail and are paying upwards of $5 million dollars a year to house them out of county and traffic roundabouts is the approved agenda?