So what are we getting for this hefty $7 million?

John LeGrand - Guest Columnist

Dealing with dollar figures and trying to write about it can sometimes be tedious and dull. But my friends, you should be interested in what you're getting for $7 million from your Destin City Council.

Yes, your elected City Council is ultimately responsible for every dollar your city government spends.  Let's take a look at the $7,366,700 (projected revenue for fiscal year 1999) and see how it was spent.

Remember, the city of Destin has no school system, no police department, no fire department, no utilities or other services that real cities provide.  So what do the citizens of this community receive for this money?

Let's get rid of the easy stuff first.  We pay the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office $800,000 to $900,000 a year for police protection.  This is probably a good buy because we have a relatively low crime rate.  Besides, I shudder at the thought of a Destin Police Department.

Another $1 million or so a year goes to our Public 'Works Department for roads.  Maybe they do a pretty good job.  Take a look at the road in front of your house.  Does it have sidewalks and street lights?  Does it flood?  You can decide whether you're getting your money's worth.

Why, now, this leaves about $5 million that seems to be used for things that don't have much benefit to the average citizen.

OK $88,000 in 1999 for parks and recreation.  But when is the last time you took your kids for a walk to play in one?

The city spent $1,158,466 on transportation in 1998.  Among other things, the city owns more than 20 vehicles, many of which are driven home by city employees.  City Hall employees, of which there are about 70, draw a combined salary and benefits of more than $2 million.  Our new city manager was hired for more than $80,000 (includes benefits), but now council is giving him a $10,000 raise after only six months on the job.

And, my favorite abuse expenditure, $300,000 for city attorneys.

Three years ago, the council began a search for a new city attorney because the $74,000 being spent at that time was considered too high.  Now council has hired three attorneys who will be dipping into your treasury for what will probably exceed $350,000 this year.

Don't buy the argument that it's because of litigation.  We've had only two or three (lawsuits) in recent years.  Attorneys are a subject for a future full column in itself.

Now let's get into some real boondoggles.

Four members of your, City Council showed up one night and "slam dunked" a CRA on the downtown area of Destin. This is a ploy that siphons tax money from the city, and Okaloosa County treasuries.

I have written several articles on this "welfare to business" rip-off and still stand by my position.  If you don't think this will foster higher taxes from the city and county, you probably own property in this "blighted" area.  Yippee! Tax dollars are going to be used to enhance it!

Your City Council has become so blatant about misspending tax money that they seem to have lost all sensibility.  About two years ago, your City Council brought up discussions to set limits on heights of buildings for the north shore of Destin Harbour.

It could have been discussed with citizens for input, and your council could have come up with zoning regulations that would not have destroyed the one unique asset Destin has: the harbour.

Enter prominent developers, bankers and the Chamber of Commerce to push through votes with opposition from only one councilman (guess who?) to form a public/private harbour partnership.  So send this one home and see if anyone in the real city would believe it.  A Boston planner was hired, and the city is to pay its share ($188,000) to a newly formed corporation called the Harbour Partnership to plan the use of private land holdings.

The city of Destin owns absolutely not one square inch of property in the harbour district.  Property is changing hands daily by developers hungry to dip their bread into this public gravy.

More high-rise development is in the  offing with roads, trams and city parking garages.  It's going to be another one of those infamous Destin developer "win-win" situations.  The price tag to the city is $60 to $70 million.

That's right.  You're reading these figures correctly.  And it's going to happen unless the tax payers of this city put a stop to it.

It's not so much that $7 million is being spent by the city of Destin, it's what it is being spent on.  It's not being used for infrastructure such as roads, sidewalks, street lights and parks, which would benefit the average tax payer of this community.

It's being squandered by Destin City Council, which is hell-bent on paving this place over in the name of "progress."

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John LeGrand is a Destin East guest columnist and a former Destin city Councilman. He resigned from the council in March and lives in Destin. You may write to him at 8955 U.S. Highway 98 West, Suite 105, Destin, FL 32541.

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