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I am one member of a five person board. The opinions I express on this forum are mine only, and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the Escambia County Staff, Administrators, Employees, or anyone else associated with Escambia County Florida. I am interested in establishing this blog as a means of additional transparency to the public, outreach to the community, and information dissemination to all who choose to look. Feedback is welcome, but because public participation is equally encouraged, appropriate language and decorum is mandatory. Although this is not my campaign site for re-election--sometimes campaign related information will be discussed, therefore in an abundance of caution I add the following : Political Advertisement Paid for and Approved by Jeff Bergosh, Republican, for Escambia County Commissioner District 1








Thursday, March 15, 2018

Board of County Commissioners and ECSO agree on Mediation Agreement

This morning the Board of County Commissioners voted 3-2 to support a mediation agreement that was negotiated last Friday with representatives of the Escambia County Sheriff's Office.

There was a spirited debate, nobody was 100% happy with the agreement--but when the question was put to a vote, the Board voted 3-2 to move this agreement forward.  Lumon May and Steven Barry voted no on this agreement.

Next up, the attorneys for both agencies will reduce this agreement to a written interlocal agreement which will need to be signed by the sheriff and voted forward affirmatively by the BCC.

This is a big step forward.

See the agreement below:




12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good Work -- but think you stopped short (of course don't know exactly what went on in the meetings) I smell a millage increase. I think your work and tenacity exposed a lot of problems still in the sheriff's dept, I think they are top heavy and may have some management problems. I think the BOCC's spending and FL West has had some scrutiny also which is not a bad thing either. Sometimes you have to meet in the middle though I think this was not in the middle..We expect a lower crime rate, top notch service and no excuses or whining from the ECSO. That work to expose these practices is priceless in itself, plus we know who to vote for or NOT... Next..

Anonymous said...

Wow, that came out of nowhere! Why the sudden change in demeanor and willingness by both parties? What changed and why? Don't get me wrong I'm glad the Deputies will see the increase they deserve, just shocked by the 180 so quickly... Good job to all involved in resolving this issue. Does this mean the Sheriff will reinstate the Funeral Escorts now?

Anonymous said...

The third page about outside agencies is being used as a political tool in the D2 race especially related to PEDC. Please clarify the third page..not shown here but on the video.

Unknown said...

No funeral escorts!! Why take short staff deputies to escort dead people! You want a police escort when you die they hire them your self! I rather have law enforcement doing law enforcement!!

Michael McCormack said...

Commissioner, It is 24 hours later and I am reading that the deal with the Sheriff has collapsed. Is this true? What happened, specifically, to kill the agreement? I'm lost for words as to how crazy this whole process has been, start to finish. Can you enlighten us as to the validity of this, and the reasons why it fell apart? I believe that we, the citizens of Escambia County deserve to know just what happened. Will this put the decision back onto the Governors office? Wow, just wow......

Jeff Bergosh said...

Mike McCormack: Do not believe rumors, innuendo, speculation, and/or urban myths. I was at the mediation session and this agreement was signed by authorized representatives from the ECSO and the BCC. We subsequently worked very hard to get the BCC to support this via a contentious 3-2 vote. Additionally, I am aware that an interlocal agreement based strictly on this signed mediation agreement has now been sent to the Sheriff for his action.... Once he signs it, it will be brought back before the BCC for final approval and this will all be a done deal for the next four years and the Sheriff will have what he negotiated. The ball is now in the Sheriff's court; why would anything fall apart when this signed agreement is exactly what was negotiated and signed by his office and his chosen negotiation squad?

Anonymous said...

Mr Bergosh, one thing we have learned about you is you Never tell the truth, how about that Beulah exit funding? We see that was denied, it will never be built and while you are blowing smoke NFCU is making arrangements in TX. You sir need a clue.

Anonymous said...

You can even get a bathroom built at the Beulah park, and we were to believe you were getting an exit built, you should resign.

Anonymous said...

Soooooo, were guessing the Police department will get more money while county employees get nothing ??

Jeff Bergosh said...

Anonymous 11:00 and 11:04 (the same person, BTW using the same IP address) Why make two separate comments, why not economize and roll your bash into one comment? Anyway it does not matter because you are glib and obviously do not know what is going on...#1--Yes I CAN get a restroom built at Beulah Park and by the way it is budgeted, funded and in design as we speak. #2--Yes it is a disappointment that the Governor vetoed the $1Million for the Beulah interchange, but this vetoed amount represents just a small amount of the total funding needed, and make no mistake about it, that project is moving forward. Translation for you so you can understand is the veto of the money for design is not a VETO of the PROJECT. Let me say this again slowly for you so you can re-read it. The Governor did not CANCEL the project--the Beulah Interchange is moving forward and it will be built. This is a minor setback, and next year we will work with the next Governor and it will get done. And #3 you can call me whatever you want but the bottom line is I get things done and nobody can deny that, some stuff just takes longer than other stuff, and there are always bumps in the road. Take the sheriff's budget for example. We now have his LETF process back in line with statutes, meaning he comes to us for approval before he expends the money. Once he signs the interlocal agreement memorializing the mediation settlement that I helped negotiate personally last Friday, he will be spending 50% of the LETF on SRO's --which is also something I pressed for (Because it is intelligent, legal, and the best way to spend that money to take pressure off of the ECSO's general fund). Call me a lot of things, just don't call me late for dinner, and don't call me a liar. Anyone who says I'm a liar is actually they themselves the one who is the liar--because I say what I am going to do, and I do exactly what I say. Check the track record, there is one that goes back many many years now.

Michael McCormack said...

Commissioner, I asked the other day what happened to the agreement with ECSO and you said it was intact, not to believe rumors. Well I am reading again that the deal is dead. This time by a local news agency with confirmation from the ECSO. So is it dead or what? Why deny the "rumor" when you should have known by the time I posted that it was over? What item killed the agreement? Exactly what did the Sheriff object to that the "County" refused to renegotiate, and who made that decision? Was that made by the entire board or you as lead negotiator for the BCC? I think the citizens of Escambia County deserve to know exactly what happened and why. Please, give us a straight answer.

Jeff Bergosh said...

Mike--see my comment above, nothing has changed. The noise over the weekend is based upon speculation and rumors. We successfully completed mediation and secured a signed mediation agreement 11 days ago. On Thursday, the BCC consummated that agreement via a contentious 3-2 vote. Now, an interlocal agreement based upon the fully executed mediation agreement sits on Sheriff Morgan's desk. We await his signature.

Political Advertisement Paid For and Approved by Jeff Bergosh, Republican for Escambia Commission D1