4-cent Gas Tax to Fund Busses... P'cola wants to keep the tax.

We went to Admiral Mason park for the ball games when I was little....only if the wind was out of the south or east. The sewer was across the street....No planning on the city managers....when it was moved they only moved it a mile west.

hallmarkgrad wrote:

Yes about your City hall and internet info?

Yessir. I just find it interesting that as small a town as I live in the city administration can recognize the need for "TRANSPARENCY" in all their financial and other dealings. It serves to underline the fact that Pensacola is way behind the curve.

http://www.pnj.com/article/20130215/NEWS01/302150023/ECAT-workers-protest-city-proposal

A follow-up article in the PNJ.

Quote :

Just before 8 a.m. Thursday, a massive red X was taped on the side of a bus parked at the Rosa Parks Transit Complex on Fairfield Drive as workers and riders crowded the platform holding signs.

“Fund ECAT,” one sign read.

“ECAT = Good Jobs,” read another.

The giant red X on the side of the Escambia County Area Transit bus, and seven others like it, represented a bus route that could be phased out if more than $700,000 is cut out of the transit service budget, rally organizers said.

“This is public transportation. It needs to be funded,” said bus rider Dorothy Lee, 54, as she held a sign.

Cuts to ECAT are likely if Mayor Ashton Hayward moves ahead with a plan to tap $730,000 in revenues generated by Escambia County’s new gas tax, said Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1395 officials.

The 4-cent a gallon gas tax is designed to provide about $4 million in dedicated annual revenue to ECAT.

Hayward said recently that using gas tax proceeds to fund an incentive package to lure a Singapore-based company to Penacola International Airport is an option. The aerospace company could create more than 500 jobs, Hayward said.
“If the City Council does not support the County Commission’s 4-cent gas tax and dedicate their portion of the money ... that could ultimately cause some serious problems for you, the passengers and the citizens of the community,” Local 1395 President Michael Lowery said at the rally.

On Thursday, city spokesman Derek Cosson said Hayward has not offered an official proposal on what should be done with the gas tax proceeds collected in the city.

The idea to use funds towards an airport expansion project was one of several that have been discussed by city, county and Greater Pensacola Chamber officials on how to attract more businesses, Cosson said.

The point of Monday’s rally was to show what might happen if the gas tax proceeds do not go toward transit service, Lowery said.

Lowery said the transit system provides service to 4,000 to 7,000 riders daily.

The Florida-Alabama Transportation Planning Organization said ridership numbers for 2012 show an 11 percent increase in use of the ECAT system over 2011. By contrast, national transit ridership was up only 1.8 percent, according to the organization.

Pensacola Bay Transportation reported a 3 percent increase in rides in Escambia County and a nearly 21 percent increase in Santa Rosa County. Pensacola Bay Transportation drivers transport elderly people and people who are mentally and physically handicapped in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.

“We need money to grow this system, not just maintain it,” said City Councilwoman Sherri Myers, who was present at the event. “If the City Council does not, then we have said to our citizens, ‘The resources you need to get to work, to get necessities, do not matter.’ ”

Union members said they will bring their appeal for funding to City Council at the next Committee of the Whole Meeting on Feb. 25.

Great article altogether EE, but I find below of particular interest:

Quote :

On Thursday, city spokesman Derek Cosson said Hayward has not offered an official proposal on what should be done with the gas tax proceeds collected in the city.

When we gonna hear from our "Strong Mayor"??!

They're working on a plausible lie as we speak. My guess is it'll go for another bridge to nowhere or a parking garage for Studerville.

riceme wrote:

Great article altogether EE, but I find below of particular interest:

Quote :

On Thursday, city spokesman Derek Cosson said Hayward has not offered an official proposal on what should be done with the gas tax proceeds collected in the city.

When we gonna hear from our "Strong Mayor"??!

Probably waiting to see which way the wind is blowing... (figuratively).