Transparency In Question: Century Council Approves Budget After Shutting Out Public Review

September 5, 2024

Tuesday night, the Century town council approved a tentative $10.6 million budget for the next fiscal year, and NorthEscambia.com was forced to publish a story without complete details after our records request was ignored and complete budget was not made available to the public before the vote. That led to the media and at least one citizen questioning the town’s transparency in the budget process. We later obtained the complete budget document Wednesday afternoon (more on that later).

Since August 30, NorthEscambia.com has asked for a copy of the complete tentative budget for 2024-2025, which provides details supporting the income and expenditures in a one-page summary that the town sent us (pictured below). We later learned the complete budget is a 19-page document with great detail on how they arrived at the budget, plus a 3-year historical comparison. The town only provided a summary (pictured left, click to enlarge).

On August 30, when Century administrative assistant Mallory Walker emailed a public notice for Tuesday’s night’s budget meeting, NorthEscambiac.com sent a reply minutes later stating, “Thank you. Please provide a copy of the complete budget and the millage rate info.” We received a one page “Consolidated Budget Summary”. We replied a few minutes later “Please provide the COMPLETE tentative budget, not just the summary”. No response was received.

We attempted to obtain the complete budget again, sending another email separate from the previous thread in case the reply was accidentally overlooked. On August 30, we emailed Walker and Mayor Luis Gomez, Jr. stating, “Sending this as a breakout email with a separate subject line in case you didn’t see my response question on the thread earlier today: Please provide the COMPLETE tentative budget, not just the summary.” Again, no response.

When we asked at the meeting, we were told by council members that they had received a copy of the complete budget before the vote. The complete budget was not available to the public at the meeting or on the town’s website.

“Why was there no copy available to the public before tonight? You’re approving numbers. The public has no idea what you’re approving,” NorthEscambia.com Publisher William Reynolds asked during the meeting.

Century administrative assistant Mallory Walker (pictured left) told the council that we didn’t make a public records request.

“He did not state it was a public records request,” she told the council. “He was provided with a summary.”

The subject line of the email we sent Walker was “Budget PRR” — PRR in the world of government is used commonly as shorthand for “Public Records Request”. Our records show dozens of emails to previous town clerks in Century that included “PRR” in the subject line and responses from the town.

No response was received to the August 30 email.

Florida’s Sunshine Law has no requirement that anyone requesting a record make any statement that it is a public records request, nor that the request be in person or in writing.

“We gave a complete budget summary and everything else we had the time. He sent an email back that said I want a complete budget.” Gomez stated, referencing the email above. “And we had sent him everything we had, and the council was issued a complete budget.” NorthEscambia.com questioned Gomez about how the council received a “complete budget” that did not exist, according to his statement.

“Y’all have everything y’all need to complete this business tonight,” Gomez told the council.

“The budget, you don’t give that out,” Century resident Emma Fletcher asked the mayor later in the meeting.

“I have him everything that we had,” Gomez responded, to which she replied, “you don’t have an itemized copy?”

“The council has everything they need to get this tentative budget passed tonight,” the mayor stated.

“You don’t give it out to the public. I mean some records,” she stated. Gomez interjected, “Did you do a records request?” Fletcher replied, “So i I’ll ask for a records request, I’ll get an itemized copy?”

During the public form, NorthEscambia.com again questioned why the town did not provide a complete budget in response to our asking if it was sent to the council members prior to the meeting.

“Say whatever you want to say, I told you everting we had, you go,” Gomez (pictured left) said.

“For the record, Mr. Reynolds, we don’t have all day to sit there and cater to your shenanigans,” Gomez stated to NorthEscambia.com publisher William Reynolds. “Yes, that’s what it is, shenanigans.”

The Florida Government in the Sunshine manual states: “Accordingly, in the absence of a statutory exemption, a custodian must produce the records requested regardless of the number of records involved or possible inconvenience.”

Most, if not all, of the public records requests made to the town of Century this year by NorthEscambia.com have been for documents directly discussed or voted on by the town council that were not made available to the public prior to the meeting.

“But you’re going to get…you are going to stop,” Gomez said as he accosted Reynolds in the town hall lobby after Tuesday night’s meeting (pictured top).

Early Tuesday morning, we published the story Century Approves Tax Rate, $10.6 Million Budget But Details Shrouded In Mystery. The story was published without complete budget details because that information was not made available gtom the town.

Wednesday, NorthEscambia.com again requested (email below) a copy of the complete budget and an additional document. Both items were emailed to us about one and a half hours later.

We will analyze the complete budget and provide an update in an upcoming story on NorthEscambia.com.

NorthEscambia.com photos and images, click to enlarge.


Comments

One Response to “Transparency In Question: Century Council Approves Budget After Shutting Out Public Review”

  1. Resdient on September 5th, 2024 2:31 am

    Sunglasses At Night?

    Gomez must think he’s cool. But isn’t this at least the second time he’s lost his cool with the media?

    Isn’t like the umpteenth time he’s been involved with lack of transparency?

    Good think Gomez is wearing those sunglasses at night. The Florida Sunshine Law will shine down bright and show us what is going on hidden behind closed doors with all those out of town consultants.

    Thanks NE for continuing to shine light on Century’s shenanigans!

    State Attorney Ginger Bowden, Michelle Salzman, Escambia County, where are you? It’s time to stop this mess.

    Prayers for Century citizens!





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