By D. L. Norris Among the many duties Florida law lays out for the commissioners in non-charter counties to perform; adopting county ordinances, resolutions, rules of procedure and prescribing fines and penalties for violations of ordinances are near the top of the list right after adopting an annual budget and levying taxes and special assessments. …
Continue reading “Okaloosa County’s 2019 Legislative Year in Review”
By D. L. Norris Happy New Year Okaloosa County! With the new year 2020, comes an election and Districts 1, 3, and 5 county commissioner seats are up for re-election. The incumbent commissioner in District 3 is running for re-election, Nathan Boyles. The incumbent commissioners for Districts 1 and 5, Graham Fountain and Kelley Windes, …
By D. L. Norris Anyone with a public education that pre-dates 1981 should know from their civics classes just how important the separation of powers are to our form of government. They are essential to the rule of law and keep all three branches of power in check by preventing the concentration of power into …
By D. L. Norris There was much celebration in the 3 December 2019 BOCC meeting. The grant award agreement was signed between Okaloosa County and Triumph Gulf Coast, Inc., for $64.1 million dollars of BP Oil Spill claim funds to be allocated to the Crestview bypass project. Don Gaetz, the Chairman of Triumph Gulf Coast, …
Continue reading “Okaloosa County’s Crestview Bypass, the Proverbial Cart Before the Horse”
By D. L. Norris In the August 6, 2019 BOCC monthly meeting, the Director of the Tourist Development Council (TDC), requested the following of the BOCC (copied from the published agenda item #2): Request approval of BooneOakly Production Estimate 18023 in the amount of $553,982 for one print shoot and one digital content shoot in …
Continue reading “When the Okaloosa County Inspector General Speaks…Shouldn’t the BOCC Listen?”
By D. L. Norris Roughly 10 years ago, the BOCC, at that time, decided to wash their hands of oversight to the Destin East Pass dredge requirements and placed the responsibility solely with the City of Destin. As the only outlet of Choctawhatchee Bay into the Gulf of Mexico, the East Pass has ecological, military, …
Continue reading “Okaloosa County’s East Pass Soap Opera…Like Sand Through an Hour Glass”
By D. L. Norris In no uncertain terms, on the front page of the Okaloosa County Code Enforcement website, is a declaration that Okaloosa County enforces all code. The kicker is, it doesn’t state how well the county goes about doing that. There can be a fine line between utter incompetence and willful neglect. So …
Continue reading “Okaloosa County’s Eroding Code Enforcement”
