Last week six members of the Board of Leon County Commissioners were accused of racial discrimination by our colleague, District One Commissioner Bill Proctor. He has requested an investigation of the Board’s issuance of a $30 million bond issuance by the Governor and the Attorney General. Apart from the obvious pain and embarrassment that all Board members feel as a result of such charges, the situation requires me to set the record straight.

On May 11, 1999 the Leon County Board of County Commissioners voted to approve a series of storm water engineering projects, a new fire station for the northeast, a new building to house the Tourist Development Council (TDC) and funding to clean out the contaminated runoff in the bottom of Lake Jackson. In addition, at the June 8th Commission meeting, the Board will consider financing the acquisition and renovation of the old Kmart store on North Monroe Street for the construction of a new County Court Facility. The projects are proposed to be funded through the issuance of a $30 million dollar bond. The vote at that commission meeting of May 11th was 6-1. Commissioner Bill Proctor was the lone vote against the bond issuance. The District One commissioner said in explaining his opposition that he was unaware that additional items such as the northeast fire station, the TDC building, and the Lake Jackson cleanup money had been added to the list of previously approved storm water projects. Yet the record is clear that when Commissioner Proctor was in attendance at the meetings in which these issues were debated, he voted in favor of each project ultimately included in the bond issuance prior to that May 11 meeting.

Let me explain. On May 11, 1999, the Board of County Commissioners held a public hearing on the adoption of a bond issuance resolution to finance the County’s capital improvement projects. Selling bonds is a financing strategy for paying for specific projects. The passing of the bond resolution settles the question of HOW to pay for the projects.The IF’s of pursuing projects and expending public dollars to do so requires thorough analysis, public input and a vote of the County Commission. The IF’s>, of course, are decided before this process, not during. The projects identified for this bond issue were previously deliberated, debated, duly noticed and decided upon by the Board (including Commissioner Proctor) to be in the best interest of the County as a whole.

It is important to becoming an effective elected official that grudges not be held over issues where a certain commissioner’s viewpoint does not prevail. Unfortunately for the Commission and the community, that was not to be the case in this important vote on funding these critically needed projects.

At a Press Conference held in front of the Leon County Courthouse on June 3, Bill Proctor accused his fellow commissioners of discrimination and asked for an investigation by the Attorney General, the Comptroller and the Governor of the State of Florida. The impact of these charges are serious and may possibly affect whether the county can move forward in issuing these bonds at this time. The consequence of a lengthy delay in issuing these bonds may well be that either the projects do not get done or that they are funded through conventional loans at a significantly higher interest rate thus costing taxpayers potentially a lot more money.

Since being elected to one of the two At-large seat on the Leon County Board of County Commissioners in 1994 I have gained a tremendous respect for this office and the impact of the decisions Commissioners make on people. I take great pride in the fact my fellow Commissioners have and continue to demonstrate the understanding that we must dedicate enormous time and effort to ensure that equity is built into our decision making processes at every turn. This is why I am deeply concerned when charges of discrimination and disparate policy making decisions are alleged against this Board.

Commissioner Proctor’s charges are unfounded. They were apparently spurred by the Board’s unwillingness to allow him to pursue his own political objectives and achieve them by playing "grab bag" with tax payer dollars. The Bond resolution that the Board subsequently adopted at the May 11, 1999 dedicated $22 million dollars of an up to $30 million dollar bond issue to finance the cost of improvements previously decided by the Board and deemed appropriate for this particular funding mechanism. The bond issuance was authorized at "up to $30 million dollars" to be able to set a cap for the purposes of determining the County’s debt capacity. I can only guess that Commissioner Proctor’s interpretation of this was that there was $8 million dollars available in the bond issue to start funding projects for his district and that this was the appropriate time and place to do so.

Commissioner Proctor’s approach to this bond issue is not just naive, but troubling. He has said that we (the Board) were "robbing the bank" and if we are going to rob the bank that "he wants his share". Characterizations like this one, while not all together surprising anymore, are not only completely false but serve only to distort and play on citizen’s worst fears of how politicians make decisions. Unfortunately, Commissioner Proctor’s approach to this bond issue, if allowed to happen, would only confirm these fears.

Here are just a few examples of recent projects that exemplify the County Commission’s commitment to District One:

Libraries:

• Dr B.L. Perry Branch Library - Approximately $2 million for the 12,000 square foot branch library and cultural center.

Parks:

• Woodville Community Park - $936,000. This will remain the Leon County’s largest active recreation facility, even after the Chaires Community Park is completed with its $150,000 community center.

Tourist Development Council

County Court Facility

• Acquisition and construction - $6.4 million - also in District One.

Transportation:

• Old Bainbridge Corridor Study: $840,000

• Orange Avenue Improvements: $520,000 from FY 95-98; $2,674,275 in FY 98/99

• 2/3-2/3 Projects: $1,787,705

• SAFE Roads: $785,003

• Resurfacing: 30.7 miles (56%) in the past 10 years; Oak Ridge Road resurfaced for $410,000.

• Joint Project with Wakulla County: Old Plank Road and Woodville Highway improvements, using state grant of $1.25 million.

Storm water Management:

• 21 percent of District 1 is within the City of Tallahassee’s jurisdiction for storm water. The City has spent or is currently expending $17.7 million for storm water system improvements within this district. Another 13 percent is within the Apalachicola National Forest. No major water bodies are located within the district limits.

• Leon County funds totaling $2 million were used in District 1 to purchase flooded property and relocate owners and tenants. Lake Henrietta acquisitions in District 1 totaled $642,000, and include 17 acres of upland property which can be used for affordable housing.

Health and Human Services:

• South side Public Health Facility - Leon County spearheaded an effort and received $2.1 million for construction of the Southside Public Health Facility. Construction bids will be awarded within the next 2 months. In addition to the health clinic, this project will include 25 affordable single family homes and a large auditorium for 200 persons which can be used for various community needs.

The above planned improvements during the last five years for District One total over $23 million. It should be noted that the improvements were programed and budgeted prior to Commissioner Proctor being elected to the Leon County Commission.

The record of this Leon County Board of County Commissioners in support an effective southern strategy speaks for itself. The recent fiscal calamity in the City of Miami serves as a very good reminder to us that when elected officials are allowed to pursue their own individual political goals that corruption and insolvency soon follow. In that case there was no one looking out for the community as a whole. Let me assure you, that is not and will not be the case in Leon County.