--I have never voted to increase your property tax rates--I voted against raising millage rates when pressed to do so by others in politics locally--and as a locally elected representative in District 1 over the last 16 years I have NEVER voted to increase year over year millage tax rates on local property owners--and I NEVER will. I believe governments must live within their means just as citizens, families and taxpayers do, and that the simple answer, knee-jerk solution to a budget shortfall cannot always be to raise the rates on existing taxpayers to plug the hole. When budget shortfalls occur, everyone must cut their spending. To include local governments, counties, school districts and the state.
--We have completed $Millions of Dollars in quality of life, infrastructure, public safety, and economic development projects in District 1 over the last 6 years--with many more coming!
-- $3.6 Million allocated from Oil Spill funds for purchase of more beach access property for public use in Perdido Key. Contract is forthcoming
--District 1's first Public Library in Bellview--funded, built, and opened 2022
--New 300 feet Gulf of Mexico Beach Access point at Perdido Key in District 1
--New $4.5 Million Beulah Fire Station funded, designed, awarded and under construction, completion in March 2024.
--New Bauer Road Fire station planned for construction late 2023 (land acquisition in process, equipment purchased, and engineering studies underway)
--Restrooms at Beulah Park--completed
--Traffic Light at Beulah Road and Mobile Hwy--completed
--Mitchell Avenue Sidewalks in Avondale--completed
--Traffic Light at Beulah Road and Mobile Hwy--completed
--Mitchell Avenue Sidewalks in Avondale--completed
--Dog Track road sidewalks, completed
--Saufley Field road sidewalks, under construction 2023
--Drainage improvements and Sidewalks project on Merlin Road--completed
--$7 Million Roadway Modernization and sidewalk addition for Longleaf Drive from Pine Forest Road to Wymart Road-under construction completion September 2024
--New, $6 Million Boat Ramp and park facility on 39 acres at lower Perdido Bay--funded and under construction 2023 completion March 2024.
--$1.5 Million in D1 Restore Act funds utilized to help bring the $230 Million ST Engineering Aerospace Expansion to Escambia County--with over 1700 good paying jobs!
--Acquisition of OLF 8 in Beulah to be utilized to create mixed use development and amenities for the community and the county + an additional 300 jobs at NFCU paying an average wage approaching $50K yearly
--Voted to economize County Transportation by negotiating the function to become an in-house department-saving County taxpayers millions of dollars.
--Turn lane at Woodside avenue-completed
--Drainage improvements and Sidewalks project on Merlin Road--completed
--$7 Million Roadway Modernization and sidewalk addition for Longleaf Drive from Pine Forest Road to Wymart Road-under construction completion September 2024
--New, $6 Million Boat Ramp and park facility on 39 acres at lower Perdido Bay--funded and under construction 2023 completion March 2024.
--$1.5 Million in D1 Restore Act funds utilized to help bring the $230 Million ST Engineering Aerospace Expansion to Escambia County--with over 1700 good paying jobs!
--Acquisition of OLF 8 in Beulah to be utilized to create mixed use development and amenities for the community and the county + an additional 300 jobs at NFCU paying an average wage approaching $50K yearly
--Voted to economize County Transportation by negotiating the function to become an in-house department-saving County taxpayers millions of dollars.
--Turn lane at Woodside avenue-completed
--Modernization and Upgrade of Frank Reeder Road--funded and in design 2023
--Hwy 98 Resurfacing and Safety Improvements from Blue Angel to the Alabama State Line--completed (state funded)
--4-lane and sidewalks from Exit 5 in Beulah to Beulah Road--funded and completed (state funded)
-- Upgrades to the Bellview Ball park, including a new score board and renovated baseball and softball fields--completed
-- Drafted and presented to the BCC the ordinance establishing the NW District 1 advisory committee--ordinance passed in 2018 and the committee was selected and seated in 2019. This 9-member committee will assist D1 with the drafting of an overlay district or a master plan to help more intelligently guide development in the greater Beulah area (precincts 43, 5, and 68)
--$300K in Restore Act funding submitted for the cost of the Beulah area master plan or overlay plan
--Myrtle Grove Fire Station--$80,000 mold remediation project--completed
--As Chairman of the Board in 2018- I led the team that negotiated/mediated a 3-year pay plan for the Escambia County Sheriff's Office to reduce attrition and provide more competitive pay for deputies
--Hwy 98 Resurfacing and Safety Improvements from Blue Angel to the Alabama State Line--completed (state funded)
--4-lane and sidewalks from Exit 5 in Beulah to Beulah Road--funded and completed (state funded)
-- Upgrades to the Bellview Ball park, including a new score board and renovated baseball and softball fields--completed
-- Drafted and presented to the BCC the ordinance establishing the NW District 1 advisory committee--ordinance passed in 2018 and the committee was selected and seated in 2019. This 9-member committee will assist D1 with the drafting of an overlay district or a master plan to help more intelligently guide development in the greater Beulah area (precincts 43, 5, and 68)
--$300K in Restore Act funding submitted for the cost of the Beulah area master plan or overlay plan
--Myrtle Grove Fire Station--$80,000 mold remediation project--completed
--As Chairman of the Board in 2018- I led the team that negotiated/mediated a 3-year pay plan for the Escambia County Sheriff's Office to reduce attrition and provide more competitive pay for deputies
and as Chairman in 2022 I worked with Sheriff Simmons and the BCC to negotiate a new, 4-year deal with the ECSO with significant pay increases for our deputies
--Worked with staff and the board to design, fund, and construct the largest construction/public works project in the history of Escambia County, the $143 Million Dollar state-of-the art Correctional Facility, in Escambia County (completed in 2021)
--Worked with the board to negotiate pay increases for our Corrections Officers and EMS and Fire Personnel--making Escambia the highest paying local agencies in these three organizations 2022-2023
--Street Lights along Mobile Hwy at 8-Mile Creek Road, Klondike, and Millview--completed
--$7.4 Million worth of neighborhoods and streets repaved in District 1 over the last 6 years
--Escambia Youth Commission Initiative/Program--Ordinance Approved and program launched in 2019, paused during COVID, re-launching in the Fall of 2023
--I have judiciously watched over the District 1 discretionary LOST funds over the last six years. Currently I have just under $6 Million available to me for projects in D1 for which other funding sources or full funding has not been previously identified. The following projects are ones I intend to bring forward to fund completely or partially utilizing my D1 discretionary LOST funds over the next several months:
--I pushed for the implementation of a Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Hotline-Independently run by a unbiased third party. I worked steadily with the director of internal auditing and the superintendent for 10 months running to ensure this idea would become a reality, and the district now has this reporting mechanism in place as of the beginning of the 2013-2014 school year. Reports can now be made anonymously to protect the whistle blowers and this tip line ensures to an even greater extent that taxpayer resources are protected and those who steal or act maliciously will be caught.
--I brought the concept of a district-run health clinic to the board in November, 2010. I pressed for the implementation of this clinic to save the district $Millions from our self-insured medical insurance trust fund which was hemorrhaging cash due to the combined effect of the recession and the dramatic increase in healthcare costs. This first of its kind in Escambia County Schools employee health clinic was opened in June of 2013!
--Implementation of a multi-faceted Drug Eradication Strategy--this includes canine searches and drug testing students that participate in extracurricular activities. Over vituperative objections from nearly the entire district including the board and superintendent, and after three years of effort and struggle,this plan was finally accepted and implemented in 2011 and has drastically reduced drug expulsions and has made our students safer. Parents in the district are nearly unanimous in their support for this plan.
--Video Recording of all workshops and meetings of the School Board with copies available online at the district website so that constituents and media can see our meetings and see our thoughtful and thorough deliberations anytime it is convenient. This initiative took over a year to achieve and over objections from many district administrators, but it has been highly successful since full implementation in 2012.
--I pressed hard for the School Board to have a prominent "web-presence" on the district's new web page. After a 16 month series of delays, the School Board's web page was put up in 2011 to increase transparency for our constituents.
--Addition of a Safe Harbor Provision in the District Rights and Responsibilities Handbook, as a balance to zero tolerance. This initiative to provide students and parents an additional layer of due process protections was implemented over extensive protests by district staff and administrators--but it was the right thing to do for kids and we got it done!
-- Participation of the Escambia County School District in the MAP (Merit Award Program), a statewide teacher performance pay program to reward great teachers and grow student achievement. This plan awarded 1500 of our district's highest performing teachers with bonus pay. Only 9 boards out of 67 statewide were able to negotiate this award with their classroom teachers' unions. I pressed hard for this and Escambia was one of the 9 that got it done!
--Expansion of music programs at the secondary level, with the addition of a new High School Band at West Florida High School beginning in the 2010-2011 school year.
--Initiation of the Establishment of a University Lab School in Partnership with the University of West Florida. School opened 2010-2011 school year.
--Acceleration of closure and consolidation process to correct district inefficiencies.
--Support and advocacy for the utilization of GPS tracking software on district vehicles to optimize routes and increase efficiency and accountability.
--Notification to District Human Resources Staff that some language in the proposed Equal Employment Opportunity Plan was discriminatory, resulting in a change to the language in the document that would ensure that all employees are treated equally.
--Insertion of language in our procurement procedures policy to actively seek out bids from Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses, change to policy was inserted 12/2009.
--Successfully led the board in keeping the term “Christmas Break” when district officials attempted to change the designation to “Winter Break”.
--Successfully Led the Board in implementing a reduction of the discretionary capital millage rate for the 2008-2009 School Budget such that taxpayers saw no overall tax rate increase over the 2007-2008 rate.
--Street Lights along Mobile Hwy at 8-Mile Creek Road, Klondike, and Millview--completed
--$7.4 Million worth of neighborhoods and streets repaved in District 1 over the last 6 years
--Escambia Youth Commission Initiative/Program--Ordinance Approved and program launched in 2019, paused during COVID, re-launching in the Fall of 2023
--I have judiciously watched over the District 1 discretionary LOST funds over the last six years. Currently I have just under $6 Million available to me for projects in D1 for which other funding sources or full funding has not been previously identified. The following projects are ones I intend to bring forward to fund completely or partially utilizing my D1 discretionary LOST funds over the next several months:
-Beulah Fire Station Modernization $1,000,000.00
-Bellview Public Library $250,000.00
-Regional Drainage Improvements,
-Godwin, Blue Angel, Sarasota Street $400,000.00
-Drainage project, Dunaway Lane $200,000.00
-Cerny Road/Muldoon sidewalks,
street lights/drainage improvements $700,000.00
- Misters and water featuresBeulah Park $200,000.00
-Misc. street lights, sidewalks
and roadway improvement at various
-other locations throughout District 1 $225,000.00
--We have been the model of transparent and accessible governance
--We have held more than 110 public coffee meetings, town halls, and open-to the public advisory committee meetings throughout District 1 in our first three years in office--encouraging participation and interaction with our citizens!
--The D1 County Commissioners office consistently answers constituent phone calls and emails within 24 hours!
-- We strictly comply with the open records requirements in state law-fulfilling most requests within 72 hours and never taking longer than 29 days to fulfill even the most complex, time-consuming requests in our first three years.
--We have a 98.5% attendance record for all scheduled regular meetings, committee of the whole meetings, budget workshops, and executive session meetings of the Board of County Commissioners
--We are the only Commissioner's Office that has both a public Facebook page for citizen engagement-- as well as a public Blogger site for engagement and interaction!
--We communicate and interact in all mediums--cell phone, office, text message, facebook message, blogger post, and/or in person....If you need something I am always available to you through whatever means you wish to utilize! I don't hide as your representative, and never will!
--Unlike some other elected officials-----Our office does not "Block" posters to our social sites, nor do we "Delete" or "Hide" comments; we follow the letter of the law and the respective sites' TOS (terms of service) and allow ALL citizen voices to be heard!
Previous Accomplishments in Office--2006 through 2016
--We have been the model of transparent and accessible governance
--We have held more than 110 public coffee meetings, town halls, and open-to the public advisory committee meetings throughout District 1 in our first three years in office--encouraging participation and interaction with our citizens!
--The D1 County Commissioners office consistently answers constituent phone calls and emails within 24 hours!
-- We strictly comply with the open records requirements in state law-fulfilling most requests within 72 hours and never taking longer than 29 days to fulfill even the most complex, time-consuming requests in our first three years.
--We have a 98.5% attendance record for all scheduled regular meetings, committee of the whole meetings, budget workshops, and executive session meetings of the Board of County Commissioners
--We are the only Commissioner's Office that has both a public Facebook page for citizen engagement-- as well as a public Blogger site for engagement and interaction!
--We communicate and interact in all mediums--cell phone, office, text message, facebook message, blogger post, and/or in person....If you need something I am always available to you through whatever means you wish to utilize! I don't hide as your representative, and never will!
--Unlike some other elected officials-----Our office does not "Block" posters to our social sites, nor do we "Delete" or "Hide" comments; we follow the letter of the law and the respective sites' TOS (terms of service) and allow ALL citizen voices to be heard!
Previous Accomplishments in Office--2006 through 2016
--I pushed for the implementation of a Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Hotline-Independently run by a unbiased third party. I worked steadily with the director of internal auditing and the superintendent for 10 months running to ensure this idea would become a reality, and the district now has this reporting mechanism in place as of the beginning of the 2013-2014 school year. Reports can now be made anonymously to protect the whistle blowers and this tip line ensures to an even greater extent that taxpayer resources are protected and those who steal or act maliciously will be caught.
--I brought the concept of a district-run health clinic to the board in November, 2010. I pressed for the implementation of this clinic to save the district $Millions from our self-insured medical insurance trust fund which was hemorrhaging cash due to the combined effect of the recession and the dramatic increase in healthcare costs. This first of its kind in Escambia County Schools employee health clinic was opened in June of 2013!
--Implementation of a multi-faceted Drug Eradication Strategy--this includes canine searches and drug testing students that participate in extracurricular activities. Over vituperative objections from nearly the entire district including the board and superintendent, and after three years of effort and struggle,this plan was finally accepted and implemented in 2011 and has drastically reduced drug expulsions and has made our students safer. Parents in the district are nearly unanimous in their support for this plan.
--Video Recording of all workshops and meetings of the School Board with copies available online at the district website so that constituents and media can see our meetings and see our thoughtful and thorough deliberations anytime it is convenient. This initiative took over a year to achieve and over objections from many district administrators, but it has been highly successful since full implementation in 2012.
--I pressed hard for the School Board to have a prominent "web-presence" on the district's new web page. After a 16 month series of delays, the School Board's web page was put up in 2011 to increase transparency for our constituents.
--Addition of a Safe Harbor Provision in the District Rights and Responsibilities Handbook, as a balance to zero tolerance. This initiative to provide students and parents an additional layer of due process protections was implemented over extensive protests by district staff and administrators--but it was the right thing to do for kids and we got it done!
-- Participation of the Escambia County School District in the MAP (Merit Award Program), a statewide teacher performance pay program to reward great teachers and grow student achievement. This plan awarded 1500 of our district's highest performing teachers with bonus pay. Only 9 boards out of 67 statewide were able to negotiate this award with their classroom teachers' unions. I pressed hard for this and Escambia was one of the 9 that got it done!
--Expansion of music programs at the secondary level, with the addition of a new High School Band at West Florida High School beginning in the 2010-2011 school year.
--Initiation of the Establishment of a University Lab School in Partnership with the University of West Florida. School opened 2010-2011 school year.
--Acceleration of closure and consolidation process to correct district inefficiencies.
--Support and advocacy for the utilization of GPS tracking software on district vehicles to optimize routes and increase efficiency and accountability.
--Notification to District Human Resources Staff that some language in the proposed Equal Employment Opportunity Plan was discriminatory, resulting in a change to the language in the document that would ensure that all employees are treated equally.
--Insertion of language in our procurement procedures policy to actively seek out bids from Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses, change to policy was inserted 12/2009.
--Successfully led the board in keeping the term “Christmas Break” when district officials attempted to change the designation to “Winter Break”.
--Successfully Led the Board in implementing a reduction of the discretionary capital millage rate for the 2008-2009 School Budget such that taxpayers saw no overall tax rate increase over the 2007-2008 rate.
