County Responds To Sheriff David Morgan’s Budget Appeal
October 25, 2017
The Escambia County Commission has filed a response to Sheriff David Morgan’s appeal of his budget to the Governor’s Office.
The entire response is 29 pages long (click here for pdf) plus 564 pages of exhibits in three parts. (click here, here and here).
The county approved a final budget of $455,840,072, with $3,744,070.41 set aside to fund a three percent raise for all employees. That included $1,246,031 for the Sheriff’s Office to use for pay raises.
Of the total final budget, the board adopted a budget for the Sheriff’s Office that totaled $56,739,867, representing a voluntary reduction in his original budget request for court security no longer provided and acknowledging his request for what Morgan referred to as a 3% “merit increase” for all employees, according to the county response. The budget excluded an allocation to fund six new cadet positions and did not fully fund his requested per employee health insurance contribution.
The county said the sheriff’s budget was increased by 2.35 percent over the last fiscal year and was the fifth consecutive year it was increased.
In his petition, Morgan cited three primary objections to his budget as adopted by the county commission: denial of the Sheriff;s request for $2,083,523.81 to fund the “Sheriffs Retention/Compression Plan- Phase I”, denial of the Sheriff’s request for $319,154.28 to fund six new cadet positions and (3) denial of the Sheriff’ss request for an additional $400 per employee to fund health insurance benefits.
The county maintains they rejected Morgan’s plan based upon logic and reason. The Board said only 62 percent of the Sheriff’s personnel are sworn deputies; leaving almost 40 percent of the workforce as administrative staff. By comparison, the sheriffs of Leon County and Santa Rosa County employ 78 percent and 71 percent as sworn deputies respectively.
“The Sheriff currently employs more administrative staff in his Public Information Office than in Robbery/Homicide; more in Human Resources than in Major Crimes; more in Finance than in Special Victims,” the county’s response stated. “With almost half the workforce performing administrative functions, the Sheriff retains ample time and resources to produce promotional videos.”
Commissioner also questioned how much of the Sheriff’s $2 million plan to retain deputies would actually go to deputies versus administrative personnel.
The sheriff has steadily received budget increases for personnel expenditures, but he’s made no attempt to give deputies more money by shifting funds in his budget, the county stated.
The county also cited the sheriff’s use of the Law Enforcement Trust Fund (LETF). The money comes from criminal seizures and is supposed to be used to prevent crime.
The response states, “Historically, a very small percentage of the LETF was used for promotional materials or event sponsorships. However, over the last three years, the vast majority of the LETF has been utilized by the Sheriff for promotional materials or events. From 2008-2017, the Sheriff’s LETF expenditures for promotional materials and events rose from 4% to 96% with notable increases in 2012 and 2016, which were election years.”
According to the county, Sheriff Morgan has spent almost $1.5 million over the past three years on promotional materials and events instead.
Commissioners say those include:
- American Heart Association – The sheriff contributed $5,000 for eight people to attend the “Dance Your Heart Out” gala ball.
- ARC Gateway – The sheriff contributed $20,000 for 20 people to attend their “Wreaths of Joy” Gala.
- Council on Aging- The sheriff contributed $10,000 for 20 tickets to attend the “Rat Pack Reunion Ball” and dinner, at which the sheriff was a member of the featured Rat Pack.
- Greater Pensacola Junior Golf Association – The sheriff contributed $5,000 for eight people to attend a banquet.
- Hadji Temple Association – The sheriff contributed $5,000 for eight people to participate in the “Hadji Shrine” annual golf tournament.
- Independence for the Blind – The sheriff contributed $2,500 for eight people to attend the annual “Eye Ball”.
- King Richard Foundation – The sheriff contributed $1,000 for 20 people to attend the “Beauty By the Bay” fashion show and dinner event.
- Panhandle Charitable Open – The sheriff contributed $20,000 for 10 people to attend the “Fore Charity Tee-Off Par-Tee” event.
- Pensacola Little Theater – The sheriff contributed $2,500 for 20 people to attend their annual gala.
- Pensacola Opera – The sheriff contributed $5,000 for 10 people to attend the annual “Jukebox Gala” event.
- Studer Community Institute – The sheriff contributed $5,000 for a sponsorship package for eight people to attend the “Light Up Learning” dinner event.
- Teen Challenge – The sheriff contributed $2,000 for eight people to participate in a golf tournament.
- Veterans’ Memorial Park Foundation – The sheriff donated $5,000 to the foundation.
- WSRE Public Television – The sheriff contributed $2,500 for eight people to attend the “Milestones and Memories” annual event.
“While these are worthwhile charities, the County is charged with accounting for every penny of taxpayer dollars. Citizens have the right to expect that their tax dollars will be spent in a manner that supports the charge of the public office those dollars are funding. The Sheriff’s questionable use of LETF dollars does not support the Sheriff’s core mission of law enforcement and crime prevention activities, and belies the Sheriff’s claim that he does not have the financial resources to adequately address personnel issues or otherwise fulfill his core mission,” the county said.
The county’s response also questioned Morgan’s cutbacks in funds for school resource officers.
“Prior to filing this appeal, the Sheriff publicly announced a drastic and unilateral reduction in school resource officers, citing ‘budgetary concerns’. His willingness to remove officers from their post of protecting school children is difficult to justify when one considers the almost $1 ,500,000 the Sheriff has spent over the past three years on promotional activities and payments to outside agencies that have little or no relation to law enforcement or crime prevention.”
“In addition, while LETF funds are specifically authorized for school resource officers, the Sheriff has chosen not to utilize the LETF for this purpose during any of the last five years. Instead, the Sheriff has funded school resource officers from his personnel budget. The Sheriff recently announced to the School Board that he no longer had the financial resources to provide this service ostensibly due to the County’s failure to meet his budget request. Had the Sheriff funded the school resource officers from the LETF, he would have more funds available in his personnel budget to address retention and attrition concerns and implement his Pay Plan. The Sheriff knew or should have known he could utilize LETF funds for school resource officers, but he chose not to do so. This was a seemingly illogical decision at best.”
The county also said Morgan’s claims that the county refused to negotiate are a “blatant misrepresentation of facts”, and the county was extremely critical of Morgan’s public campaign — including advertisements and billboards — in an effort to build public support for his requests.
“After submitting his budget request, the Sheriff commenced a months-long media campaign to garner public support for his requested budget, to include advertising on television networks, billboards, radio stations, and websites such as YouTube. Examples of these media spots included a commercial that aired on the ABC television affiliate and other networks that referenced deputies shot in the line of duty and asked citizens to call their commissioners to request support for his budget, with the commercial showing the pictures and office phone numbers of each commissioner. The Sheriff also ran a 27-minute YouTube video explaining his budget request. In this promotional campaign, the Sheriff touted he would take his budget to the Governor’s Office if he were not granted what he requested,” the document states. “…Despite these subversive tactics, the Board attempted in good faith to determine the Sheriff’s budgetary needs and how they could be balanced with the County’s other budgetary requirements and obligations.”
After a yet to be scheduled hearing by the governor’s office, a recommendation will be made to the Florida Administrative Commission. The commission will then make a recommendation within 30 days.
Free Beans And Rice Giveaway Saturday In Cantonment
October 25, 2017
Saint Monica’s Episcopal Church, will be distributing free rice and dried beans and other non-perishables on Saturday from 9 until 11 a.m. (or while supplies last) at the church located at 699 South Hwy 95-A in Cantonment.
There are no guidelines and no paperwork required.
Blue Sky Days, Cool Nights
October 25, 2017
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tonight: Clear, with a low around 43. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 73. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 54. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Friday: A 20 percent chance of showers after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 77. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Friday Night: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 55. South wind 5 to 10 mph becoming west after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Saturday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1pm, then a slight chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 61. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 39. Northwest wind around 5 mph.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 61. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Sunday Night: Clear, with a low around 38. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Monday: Sunny, with a high near 67.
Monday Night: Clear, with a low around 46.
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 73.
Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 52.
Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 74.
Senators Angry At Delays In Medical Marijuana Licenses
October 25, 2017
Frustrated senators grilled Florida’s pot czar Tuesday, demanding explanations for why his office missed a legislatively mandated deadline to issue new medical-marijuana licenses and why ailing patients are stuck waiting for state-issued ID cards.
Christian Bax, executive director of the state Office of Medical Marijuana Use, blamed one of the delays on a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of part of a new law that required health officials to issue 10 new marijuana licenses by Oct. 3.
But Senate Health Policy Chairwoman Dana Young, R-Tampa, rejected Bax’s explanation.
“I’m not buying that just because there’s litigation out there you can’t fulfill your statutory duty to issue these additional licenses,” Young, a lawyer, scolded Bax.
The new law, passed during a special session in June, was intended to carry out a constitutional amendment, approved by voters in November, that broadly legalized medical marijuana in Florida.
The lawsuit cited by Bax deals with a portion of the law that reopened the application process and ordered the Department of Health to grant five licenses by Oct. 3, after it approved five other new licenses in August. One of the licenses in the second batch must go to a grower who had been part of settled lawsuits, known as the “Pigford” cases, about discrimination against black farmers by the federal government.
But weeks after the deadline has passed, Bax has yet to hire a vendor to score what could be hundreds of applications for the highly coveted licenses in potentially one of the nation’s most robust marijuana markets.
Bax has maintained that the lawsuit filed by Columbus Smith, a black farmer from Panama City, has temporarily put the application process on hold.
Smith’s challenge alleges that the new law is so narrowly drawn that only a handful of black farmers could qualify for the license. The lawsuit contends that the measure is what is known as an unconstitutional “special law.”
Smith is asking a Tallahassee judge to stop the Department of Health from moving forward with the application process, something Bax said has prevented him from obeying the Legislature’s directive.
“The prospect of moving forward of accepting licenses with the injunctive hearing looming creates both a logistical and legal problem,” Bax, a lawyer, told the committee Tuesday morning.
But Young wasn’t satisfied with Bax’s justification.
“I hear what you’re saying, but doesn’t it seem a bit complacent for you to simply throw your hands up and say, `Oh, we cannot issue. We’ve been sued. Oh no.’ You all get sued all the time,” an exasperated Young said. “You have a duty under our state laws to issue these licenses, regardless of whether some plaintiff files a lawsuit.”
Bax insisted he is hamstrung by the pending court decision regarding the temporary injunction.
“I don’t think there is anyone in this room who would like to get these licenses out and growing more than I do. We want to move this process as quickly as possible forward,” he said.
But, he added, “If this process gets struck down, we would have to start from the beginning.”
Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, a Naples Republican who is also a lawyer, piled on, putting Department of Health General Counsel Nicole Gehry on the hot seat.
“What valid reason could you have for ignoring a statutory directive? Just saying that you’re afraid of an injunction or litigation has been filed. … I mean, almost every time we pass a law, somebody files a lawsuit, and we still continue to pursue it,” Passidomo said, asking Gehry “what is the down side” of issuing the licenses.
“Once we get an idea of the scope of how the judge views the case, I think the department would be in a better position to evaluate how best to move forward,” Gehry said. “It’s difficult to articulate at the moment because we don’t know what the judge is going to do with the temporary restraining order.”
The new licenses aren’t the only source of frustration for lawmakers.
Sen. Lauren Book, D-Plantation, is among numerous legislators whose constituents have sought help getting state-issued identification cards. Patients must have the cards to purchase marijuana, once their doctors have ordered treatment.
“I’ve had constituents’ families call because they’ve died waiting to get their card and could not get their medication,” Book said.
Bax said it currently takes his office 30 days to issue the ID cards, if applications are complete.
But Book disputed that.
“I went on a fact-finding mission … and I tried the process as an experiment. It took three months to get a patient identification card. That is not unique. That is something that I have heard time and time and time again,” she said.
Bax said he is finalizing negotiations with a vendor who will take over the ID-card system; the outsourcing was another requirement included in the new law. The deal should be finalized in a few days, Bax promised.
Book asked how the contractor would handle the backlog — which Bax said is up to 6,000 patients at any given time — of people waiting for ID cards.
“Flushing that backlog out … is a priority for us,” he assured the panel. “That will be the first thing that’s addressed.”
Bax’s answers did little to quell committee members’ concerns.
“I feel like I know less now and am more confused after your presentation,” Sen. Bobby Powell, D-West Palm Beach, said.
But it’s unclear what disgruntled lawmakers can do to force the health department to act.
“We’re going to have to continue to look into that, but I will tell you that many of the committee members commented during the meeting that they’ve never seen anything like this. And I will tell you that I have never seen anything like this in the eight years that I’ve served in the Legislature. A complete disregard for a legislative mandate,” Young told The News Service of Florida after the meeting.
Ailing patients, who have “already waited too long” for medical marijuana to be legalized, “deserve their government to act appropriately” to make sure they get the treatment they need, Young said.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
Northview Golfer Plays In Regional Tournament
October 25, 2017
Northview High School golfer Emily Boutwell made school history Tuesday as the first-ever Northview girl to play in the regional golf playoffs.
Boutwell, a sophomore, played in the Region 1-1A Tournament in Tallahassee, coming up short of a trip to the state finals.
Pictured top: Northview golfer Emily Boutwell with Coach James Moretz Tuesday at the Region 1-1A Tournament in Tallahassee. Pictured inset: Boutwell swings during tournament play. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Molino Park Elementary Celebrates 50’s Day
October 25, 2017
Molino Park Elementary School marked the 50th day of the school year with a 50’s day on Tuesday. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Local Football Playoff Point Standings Released
October 25, 2017
The Florida High School Athletic Association has released current projected football playoff point standings for local schools:
District 1-Class 6A
Escambia 38.29
Pine Forest 36.00
Tate 32.00
Washington 30.00
District 2-Class 6A
Navarre 36.00
Gulf Breeze 34.14
Milton 30.43
Pace 28.57
District 1- Class 5A
West Florida 39.75
Pensacola 28.38
Mosley 31.25
Bay 28..13
Arnold 27.13
Region 1-1A
Baker 40.5
Chipley 38.13
Holmes County 35.38
Vernon 34.50
Jay 32.50
Freeport 31.63
Bozeman 34.50
Northview 25.88
Graceville 24.83
Beginning this season, district play has been eliminated in Classes 1A-4A, with teams making the playoffs based on a points system. Classes 5A-8A retain districts, with the district champion receiving an automatic playoff bid.
For Classes 1A-4A, no region or district play is required, with each school controlling its own schedule. Four teams from each region (16 total statewide) will make the playoffs based on the new points system.
District play for Class 5A-8A remains, with 32 teams qualifying for the playoffs in each class. District champions will receive an automatic bid to the playoff and will receive a 1-4 seed based on the new points system. Four wild cards will be taken from each region based on points following the conclusion of Week 11.
For more information on the points system, click here for a informative pdf.
NorthEscambia.com file photo by Jennifer Repine, click to enlarge.
Florida Lawmakers Renew Push To Toughen Texting Law
October 25, 2017
A bipartisan group of lawmakers embarked Tuesday on a road that has resulted in a dead end in the past: getting the House and Senate to make texting while driving a “primary” traffic offense in Florida.
The Senate Communications, Energy and Public Utilities Committee voted 7-1 — following testimony from family members of people killed by texting motorists — to approve a primary-offense bill (SB 90).
But the measure already faces questions over how the ban could be enforced without requiring motorists to be completely hands-free of wireless devices or if the law would create any noticeable change in motorists’ behavior.
Sen. Dana Young, a Tampa Republican who voted for the measure, said the bill might also not go far enough in tackling the issue of drivers distracted by watching movies, scrolling through music playlists, applying makeup or even reading books.
“Why would you not just deal with the issue, which is the elephant in the room, which is distracted driving, careless driving,” Young said.
Sen. Jeff Clemens, D-Lake Worth, said he’s seen statistics showing a move to enforcement as a primary offense fails to reduce crashes.
“My main concern here is not giving people false hope that this is going to solve the problem,” Clemens said. “If we really want to do something to solve the problem, we should just not have people be able to use their phones while driving.”
Florida law bars texting while driving, but the ban is enforced as a “secondary” offense, meaning motorists can only be cited if they are stopped for other reasons, such as speeding. If it becomes a primary offense, police could stop motorists for texting behind the wheel.
Bill sponsor Keith Perry, R-Gainesville, said he is typically opposed to creating new regulations, but as the father of a daughters ages 17 and 20, “this is a public safety issue” and the proposal is intended to change people’s behavior.
Clemens got an amendment added to the bill Tuesday that would require police to inform people stopped for texting while driving that they can decline searches of their devices.
Perry’s proposal doesn’t match a House proposal (HB 121) by Democratic Reps. Emily Slosberg of Boca Raton and Richard Stark of Weston, but he said they would hammer out the differences as the measures advance.
The House measure, along with making texting while driving a primary offense, would double fines for texting while driving in a school zone or through a school crossing.
Slosberg sought a texting ban in the 2017 session and has spent the past several months urging support from local governments. More than 20 counties and nearly 30 cities approved resolutions in support of making texting while driving a primary offense.
“As deaths are increasing, our laws are doing nothing to address it,” Slosberg said during a news conference held Tuesday in the Capitol by the FL DNT TXT N DRV Coalition.
The coalition is backed by the Florida Sheriffs Association and the Florida Police Chiefs Association.
Slosberg’s efforts to increase traffic safety are personal.
On Feb. 23, 1996, Slosberg and her twin sister, Dori, got into a car with friends. The driver, 19, was speeding 90 mph in a 50-mph zone when the car struck a median and crashed into a car heading east. Emily Slosberg survived the crash with a punctured lung and several broken bones. Dori was killed along with four other teenagers.
“I will never get my twin sister back, but I want to make sure Floridians and every other person in this state does not go through what I did,” Slosberg said.
Gwendolyn Reese, a St. Petersburg resident, said during the news conference that law enforcement needs the ability to stop motorists before more tragedies occur.
“When did we become a society that valued convenience and everything else above human life?” Reese asked.
Reese’s 24-year-old niece Lavon Reese, a Florida State University student, was killed in Tallahassee in January 2015 when struck by a vehicle driven by a woman who was driving 89 mph while texting.
“I cannot say if it had been a primary offense that my niece would still be alive,” Reese said. “But I can think that quite possibly she would, because the woman who was speeding and texting would know she could be stopped for either.”
Perry’s proposal still needs to get approved by three more Senate panels before it could go to the full Senate during the 2018 session, which starts in January.
Texting while driving is a primary or secondary offense in every state other than Montana.
Currently Florida joins Ohio, Nebraska, Arizona and South Dakota in listing texting while driving as a secondary offense, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association. Those other states each have some areas in which the law is a primary offense.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Kim Ryan Named Bratt Elementary Teacher Of The Year
October 25, 2017
Kim Ryan has been named Bratt Elementary School’s Teacher of the Year. Ryan has taught fourth grade at Bratt Elementary for 13 years. The last two years, she was named a High Impact Teacher by the Florida Department of Education for her outstanding achievement in helping her students make learning gains. Photo/graphic for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Fire Destroys Camper Trailer In Molino
October 24, 2017
Fire destroyed a camper trailer in Molino Tuesday afternoon. The camper was fully involved when firefighters arrived just before 2:30 p.m. in the 5000 block of Fairground Road. There was no word on the cause of the fire. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
