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I have established this blog as a means of 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.

Wednesday, March 8, 2023

Writ of Mandamus Filed by Escambia County against Clerk Pam Childers in Circuit Court



As the board authorized her to do, County Attorney Alison Rogers' office has now moved forward with an action in circuit court to compel the timely completion of a duly authorized payment by the Board of County Commissioners ------which the clerk refused to honor and pay.  It's been almost 5 months now since the board voted to make the payment and also voted that this payment served a bonafide public interest.

Late yeserday afternoon the board was advised that the below complaint had now been filed, and the board was provided the document.

It will be interesting to see which Judge takes this.........and it never should have come to this.

Rick Outzen and I discussed this issue at length recently when he invited me to appear on his morning radio show.  Check out that podcast, here.







6 comments:

Tom Jardine said...

Jeff,

Madam Clerk has my respect for standing up against you four commissioners.

Could you explain why former IT Director Bart Siders and former Administrator Janice Gilley were fired?

Was it because they would not reveal the identity of a private citizen who had made an anonymous records request involving the 401a plan?

If so, I believe that Siders and Gilley demonstrated admirable integrity. Ms. Childers as well. I have great respect for all three of them.

It’s a pity that our great Escambia County citizens don’t realize how courageous those three individuals have been.

Melissa Pino said...

Most people who follow Escambia politics have good enough sense to recognize that Janice Gilley was the most incompetent administrator in Escambia history (thankfully, Wes is doing an excellent job wading through the mess she left in her wake); Bart Siders cooked his goose when he stood up for her incompetence and self-identified as a true believing "Only Janice" adherent and started displaying a giant chip on his shoulder (don't know if security concerns about the systems at the County were also part of it, but they certainly should have been); and Pam Childers is having a very public, and very costly, temper tantrum that most knowledgeable people view as somewhere on the continuum from sad to disgusting.

As one of the people who witnessed first-hand the wreckage Janice brought to our Public Safety by knowingly assisting Edler in her attempt to frame paramedics; completely destroying the careers of some of the finest medics the Panhandle will ever see; and doubling down on the toxic workforce Edler had already brought to EMS by instituting it County-wide; I can come up with no words strong enough to address the absurd notion that harassing and framing innocent people to try to throw them in jail is "courageous," Tom. And Pam Childers doubling down on her spectacle by using a payment to one of these paramedics for the sheer hell that two past County administrators put him through is an absolutely revolting display of hubris, immaturity, and immorality.

The final straw on Janice's termination was her final bad procurement the Board simply wouldn't put up with as she merrily pursued her "friends and family" approach to government contracts. I personally exposed that final procurement, publicly and over multiple meetings, although it was only one among many that occurred in the complete debacle of the Sally cleanup.

If you don't understand what a serious business government procurement is, you should inform yourself of what happened over in Bay County post Hurricane Michael when things went on long enough that the FBI finally got involved. And thank your lucky stars that we now have an honest administrator for your "great citizens of Escambia County," despite how unhappy you are personally with not owning the land under your house out on the Beach.

Anonymous said...

Excuse me Melissa but I can see that Tom asked Mr. Bergosh and not you why Bart Siders and Janice Gilley were fired. Maybe he wanted the commissioners reasons and not your narrative about how you exposed Janice and turned this into something about yourself. How about you take a seat and be quite for a change.

Tom Jardine said...

I have nothing against Wes Moreno. In my opinion, he is doing a great job.

My question for Jeff was in regard to Bart Siders and Janice Gilley.

My understanding is that an Escambia County employee had attempted to discover the identity of a private citizen who had made an anonymous public records request involving that questionable 401a pension plan.

While that Escambia County employee attempted to reveal the identity of the private citizen, the county employee’s identity was not revealed. I find that alarming.

Why are you trying to deflect away from that topic? I find that telling. That has no relevance to tax policy on Pensacola Beach.

Melissa, you have absolutely no understanding of Pensacola Beach or the lease system, but you act as though you do.
Obviously, that erodes your credibility.

The fact is that you and your misguided group have cost the citizens of Escambia County millions in lost ad valorem taxes annually in perpetuity. The Escambia County School District is likewise forfeiting millions of dollars annually due to the lease system. The courts have ruled that 70% of the leaseholders cannot be compelled to pay taxes on the land underneath their condominiums. My understanding is that Jeff Bergosh is one of those leaseholders who is taking advantage of that generous tax break.

Your actions have directly led to the forfeiture of federal PROTECTION of the unleased parcels on Pensacola Beach.

Consequently, the great citizens of Escambia County have lost a previously unleased 2,755 square foot previously unleased Casino Beach property. It was sold in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Sally for $8,500 to facilitate the construction of a 12 story private tower on Casino Beach at 2 Via de Luna immediately east of Crabs. Not one member of your group protested that alarming transaction.

Your protest group gained nothing for the citizens. The great citizens of Escambia County will never be granted access to the private leaseholds. It should be abundantly clear to all that the lease system does absolutely nothing to safeguard public access or to prevent private development.

For two straight years, your unruly group exploited our Sunshine Laws by disrupting county business at public meetings. That has directly led to the loss of the ability for citizens to cede speaking minutes to a chosen spokesperson.

You gained nothing, you lost Casino Beach, and lost millions of public dollars in perpetuity. And somehow you still don’t recognize it.

Great work, Melissa.

Anonymous said...

Bart resigned. He wasn’t fired. Facts are important Tom.

Anonymous said...

Maybe Michelle can call for Pam's resignation publicly.