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Century Council Forced To Cancel Meeting After Three Members Are No Shows
April 20, 2021
The Century Town Council was unable to conduct business Monday night after three members skipped their meeting.
Council president Luis Gomez, Jr. and Seat One member Dynette Lewis were present Monday night, but three members must be present for a quorum. James Smith, Jr. Leonard White and Sandra McMurray-Jackson were not present. No reason was given for their absences, but NorthEscambia.com later learned that Jackson was ill.
“I apologize when the public and the press has more initiative to come out then the council,” Gomez said. “There’s nothing I can do. Everybody is an adult, you know. I can’t make anybody do anything, but I am going to address it.”
The council was set to consider several important issues Monday night, including franchise fee increases for Gulf Power and Escambia River Electric Cooperative, new members and meetings for the Charter Review Committee, consideration of two new employees recommended by the mayor, repairs to a town owned building in the industrial park, paying bills and other items.
Gomez and Lewis did allow a few members of the public to speak before the meeting was adjourned.
In early April, only Gomez and Smith attended meeting in which the council was to sit at the Community Redevelopment Agency, leading to a cancellation of that meeting. White and Jackson also missed the April 5 council meeting.
Pictured: Luis Gomez, Jr. and Dynette Lewis were the only council members to attend a Monday night meeting of the Century Town Council. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Comments
20 Responses to “Century Council Forced To Cancel Meeting After Three Members Are No Shows”
The towns of Century and Flomaton are both dying a slow death, with Century being a good bit further along. Residents have had to leave due to the lack of jobs which in turn kills the tax base and you lose citizens that could actually make a difference.
The sad thing is people will run for a seat on the council, or a elected position and never intend to do anything. They just want a way to pad their portfolio for the future! GREED
I would love to live in Century & help the towns people. I would vote for C.L. Lewis!
Get’em Louie.(Luis)
“I believe that happened at the last council meeting!”
It literally says what happened at the last council meeting in the story.
Same old stuff different day ! Our town is a joke just convert to county and be done with it and save our town
I believe that happened at the last council meeting!
State law – specifically Section 100.361 Municipal Recall, Florida Statutes – allows voters to remove members of a municipal (city, town, village) governing body using a procedure called “recall.” Because Century’s Mayor is “not” a member of the governing body of the town, a “governing body” much like a corporate board of directors that determines policy, sets priorities and gives directions, the town’s Mayor is not subject to recall though the town council could adopt an ordinance allowing voters to remove the mayor using whatever process it wanted. One of the grounds for recall is “neglect of duty.” Clearly, if council members just don’t show up for work without a really good reason, such as being ill or a recent death in the family, they are guilty of neglect of duty. Another option that any three council members could adopt is to reduce a council member’s salary, say by 1% for the rest of their term of office, for each unexcused absence. Century voters could also propose it as a charter amendment or even that an elected official who misses a certain number of meetings in a certain time frame would automatically forfeit their elected office by operation of law. Florida law gives voters vast powers but elected officials prefer voters not know about it. Century really has potential to be a special place but that is never going to happen if its elected officials do not show up for meetings. NorthEscambia.com is a great source of news. One service it could provide is to track the absences of elected officials, the town clerk should have the data, and report it at election time so Century voters knows who got elected and did not show up for work. You might not always agree with the decisions that an elected official makes but you do expect them to show up. By the way, municipalities are authorized to charge “public service taxes” and “franchise fees.” But utility companies just pass these taxes and fees on to their ratepayers so it really is a clever way for a town to impose higher taxes and fees upon its families and small businesses. Pensacola charges the maximum authorized by state law (10%) for public services taxes and franchise fees which is why people look for homes near the city but just outside its boundary. In 2021, Pensacola expects to rake in more in Public Service Taxes and Franchise Fees than in Property Taxes. It is a way that they can shift more of the burden onto the backs of working families.
As a parent, I volunteered many years in various programs within the schools that our children attended, along with many other volunteer parents, and we all had better turn outs for meetings, accomplished our objectives and goals and freely gave our time and labor for a good cause. Our volunteer work ethics were 100% compared to the PAID work ethics of the Century Town Council is showing everyone!
I just don’t understand why they can’t seem to do the right things for the town and get their act together and perform like professionals adults in a business environment? It’s really pathetic, embarrassing and frustrating that it continues to be the same ole wash-rinse-repeat cycle year after year and nothing ever changes, even when the people do. Enough is enough!
I’ve seen middle school student governments work more efficiently than Century Town Council.
If the “leaders” are unwilling to do what they are paid for, why should anybody else in Century do so? This town is such a farce and just a waste of good farmland…
To those who showed up, Thank you for taking an interest in your community and working to make it better.
why show up? Nothing changes.
I hereby make the motion that council members don’t get their paycheck in months that they don’t show up at a meeting. Do I have second on that motion?
They should be docked a months pay for missing a monthly meeting, no excuses. If 4 meetings a year are missed, they should be forced to resign their seat.
Just send that check Bro! I can work from home!
Bylaws? Proxy? Missing meetings without justification – then remove the person(s). Vote NO on GP & Escambia River Electric Cooperative. If Utility bills are due, pay them do not need a vote. If the public shows up, let ALL speak, not just a few.
Typically, predictably disrespectful. But, it’s a time honored tradition in Century.
I wonder if they were trying to avoid voting on the franchise fees.
good ol century politics. run for the job, get elected and do nothing, so why show up?