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"Those who desire to give up Freedom in order to gain Security, will not have, nor do they deserve, either one." - Thomas Jefferson

 "Serving Destin, Ft. Walton Beach, Crestview, Eglin AFB, Hurlburt Field and all points in-between..."
 
NEED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE ISSUE?

- Gaylan's Corner! - Opinions, comments and Notes from the field - by Gaylan King

- BED TAX/CONFERENCE CENTER HISTORY OF EVENTS - The Freedom Committee's goal is to repeal county ordinance 89-23 that has spawned the Tourist Development Counsel (TDC) and bed tax (increase), and is also designed to fund the proposed conference center.  The TDC was created with this ordinance and therefore, by law, will be disbanded with OR 89-23's repeal. In order to do this, a referendum must come to a vote before the people.

There are four major areas on this website that are designed to do four things:

1. Present the FACTS supporting our case that the Conference Center will be a financial burden to the taxpayers of Okaloosa County.

2. Provide a HISTORY of the entire Bed Tax increase/Conference Center and give an historical scope to the issue.

3. To present OUR POINT OF VIEW as an opponent of the Bed Tax Increase/Conference Center and it's supporters.

4. To provide a FORUM in which others can share their point of view.

Gaylan KingBOCC Budget Hearing was a good place to listen

I attended the County Commission meeting last night, (Tuesday, 7 Sept) at the Crestview Courthouse.  Courtroom "A" was packed, with citizens standing out into the hall. The main purpose of this session, supposedly, was to allow the public to make input into a budget creation process that had been in process for months. What transpired was high drama and, in certain instances, high theater.

After an executive budget summary by the County Manager, the Chair announced that public comment would begin immediately after "brief comments" by the individual Commissioners. What followed was a back-and-forth argument between them that lasted for more than an hour.

Commissioner O'Dell, during her "brief comments", made an impassioned - and reasonable - motion to strike all or most of the new Leisure Services Dept. (LSD!) items from this budget. She felt that people living in unincorporated areas of Okaloosa County were being unfairly taxed for the use of certain pre-stipulated county parks. She also explained that she'd been sick during the single budget workshop and that the present moment was her first opportunity to present her point of view.

I don't know the particulars about budget creation, but, after an hour of pretty intense argument, it was apparent that the meeting was nearly out of control, that not one Commissioner had done their homework, and there was evidence of deep rift between the two obvious factions on the Commission. I felt that I was watching a bitter family argument that should never have been publicly displayed.

The time did finally arrive for public input and for the next two plus hours a series of well-prepared taxpayers/voters took the BOCC to task on a number of issues. I've attended a number of BOCC meetings, and have never before seen the Commission so forcefully confronted. The message was very clear: the BOCC doesn't listen to the taxpayers; the budget has grown too large, with many questionable expenditures; there is real anger about the Conference Center issue; the County Manager hiring is still an issue of contention. One speaker admonished the BOCC to re-state their oaths of office, with a promise to listen to the voters instead of the "special interest" agendas. Another clearly warned them to be more responsive to the general public or be voted out of office; there was mention of a "voter revolt".

This discourse was refreshing and it was ugly. I was amazed at the outright anger displayed by two of the Commissioners. It was unmatched by the public rhetoric, and it was uncalled for in the BOCC role as well-paid professionals who should know better. Lack of civility is ever more present in ALL our political experiences and is a telling sign of the value of what is at stake. The Chairman even found it necessary to lecture the public about being the cause of several of the current problems by not calling our representatives on certain issues. It was an amazing evening.

There was much discussion about issues, but no one spoke about the absolutely senseless prices on hundreds of individual line items. Issues aside, the County shops like there's no tomorrow and that nothing is too good for their departments and personnel. It's hard to believe that such a budget couldn't be trimmed by a couple of million dollars, or more, and yet the recreational parks proponents were arguing about less than a million dollars. In all of this, I see no real effort to spend wisely, with all of the BOCC energy going into the political issues.

Well done, citizens!

Cheers!
Gaylan

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