Latest Headlines
- Century Council Divided After Mayor Spent $161,790 In Violation Of Charter
- Photo Gallery: Two Injured When Pickup Crashes Through Molino Home
- FDOT Plans Two Highway 29 Crosswalks In Century Following Fatalities, Injuries
- Beulah Middle FFA Members Make Dog Toys From Old T-shirts For Local Rescue
- Walnut Hill Veteran Paul Entrekin Honored During Auburn Football Game
- Escambia Schools Seek Public Input On School Calendar
- Broken Windshield Leads To Atmore PD Arrest Of Flomaton Man On Drug Charges
- Northview Defeats Blacksher For The Second Time This Season
- One Person Critically Injured In Highway 29 Rollover Crash
- Man Charged With Attempted Murder For Atmore Shooting
Century Council Divided After Mayor Spent $161,790 In Violation Of Charter
October 3, 2024
Century Mayor Luis Gomez, Jr. violated the town charter this week by exceeding his spending limit by $161,590. And he says it saved the town a nearly $200,000.
The town was facing a $134.883 increase in premiums to $351,963 to keep the same longstanding Preferred Governmental Trust policy written by Underwood Anderson Insurance in Pensacola. That included an increase for workers compensation from $27,546 to $31,070, and an increase for a package with business auto, general liability, commercial property crime, inland marine and management liability from $189,566 to $320,893.
“We looked into some price shopping,” Gomez said, “and compared apples to apples for the same policy and coverage.”
“I took the liberty to go with the Florida League of Cities,” the mayor said. “If I did something wrong, well, I’ll bite that. We need to start visiting these contracts rather than just let them linger.”
Gomez received on other quote from the Florida League of Cities for coverage from Florida Municipal Insurance Trust for a total of $161,790 in premiums.
Gomez told the town council that he accepted the Florida League proposal for $161,790 to ensure the town as of 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, allowing the Underwood Anderson coverage to lapse at the same time. Tuesday was the first day of the town’s new fiscal year.
That move, the mayor said, saved the town $190,173.
“That’s a substantial savings, and that’s taxpayers’ dollars that I’m trying to conserve,” he said.
And it led to a lot of questions from his town council because under the town charter, the mayor has a spending limit of just $200 without prior council approval.
At this week’s meeting, town council members questioned why Gomez was not better prepared knowing in advance that the town’s current insurance policy would expire as of October 1, and they questioned when he received the Florida League of Cities proposal. They also stressed that he could have called a special meeting for a council decision prior to the October 1 deadline.
“We just got the quotes in just enough time to compare them,” he said. NorthEscambia.com made a public records request for dated proposals, and, in the absence of dates, any other document or email showing the dates of the proposals. We received undated proposals and nothing else, even upon a second request for dated information.
“It sounds to me like we waited until the last minute, and it was a rush decision,” Council member Shelisa McCall said. “It may not be the best decision because the price difference is too much to be comfortable; it feels like something is lacking in the new policy.”
“OK, we’ve got a whole year to discuss that,” Gomez replied. “Right now, we were binded last night with the Florida League of Cities.”
The first motion by councilmember Alicia Johnson to ratify the insurance contract approved by the mayor failed due to the lack of a second from any of the council members. The council then took about 20 minutes to review and compare the proposals, which they had not yet seen.
McCall said she quickly spotted one difference in coverages — one million in fire coverage in the previous policy versus a half million in the new policy.
Johnson said she was confident that the administration had made a proper comparison, and she again made a motion to insure with the Florida League of Cities carrier. The motion passed 3-1, with McCall against. Sandra McMurray-Jackson, who has participated in earlier parts of the meeting by phone, was not longer on the line for the vote.
The council did not formally ratify the mayor’s expenditure in violation of the charter.
Pictured top: Century council members Henry Cunningham, Shelisa McCall, and Alicia Johnson review insurance proposals. Pictured top inset: Mayor Luis Gomez, Jr. explains insurance proposals to the council. Pictured bottom inset: Council president Dynette Lewis. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Comments