Comments on: Century Council Forced To Cancel Meeting After Three Members Are No Shows

By: JEC

JEC — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 21:05:27 +0000

The towns of Century and Flomaton are both dying a slow death, with Century being a good bit further along. Residents have had to leave due to the lack of jobs which in turn kills the tax base and you lose citizens that could actually make a difference.

By: Rug Rat

Rug Rat — Wed, 21 Apr 2021 14:22:25 +0000

The sad thing is people will run for a seat on the council, or a elected position and never intend to do anything. They just want a way to pad their portfolio for the future! GREED

By: SueB

SueB — Wed, 21 Apr 2021 11:37:23 +0000

I would love to live in Century & help the towns people. I would vote for C.L. Lewis!

By: Willis

Willis — Wed, 21 Apr 2021 02:18:55 +0000

Get’em Louie.(Luis)

By: Reader

Reader — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 20:03:47 +0000

“I believe that happened at the last council meeting!”

It literally says what happened at the last council meeting in the story.

By: Vicky

Vicky — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 20:02:05 +0000

Same old stuff different day ! Our town is a joke just convert to county and be done with it and save our town

By: Mary H Bourgeois

Mary H Bourgeois — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 18:50:27 +0000

I believe that happened at the last council meeting!

By: CJ Lewis

CJ Lewis — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 17:20:04 +0000

State law – specifically Section 100.361 Municipal Recall, Florida Statutes – allows voters to remove members of a municipal (city, town, village) governing body using a procedure called “recall.” Because Century’s Mayor is “not” a member of the governing body of the town, a “governing body” much like a corporate board of directors that determines policy, sets priorities and gives directions, the town’s Mayor is not subject to recall though the town council could adopt an ordinance allowing voters to remove the mayor using whatever process it wanted. One of the grounds for recall is “neglect of duty.” Clearly, if council members just don’t show up for work without a really good reason, such as being ill or a recent death in the family, they are guilty of neglect of duty. Another option that any three council members could adopt is to reduce a council member’s salary, say by 1% for the rest of their term of office, for each unexcused absence. Century voters could also propose it as a charter amendment or even that an elected official who misses a certain number of meetings in a certain time frame would automatically forfeit their elected office by operation of law. Florida law gives voters vast powers but elected officials prefer voters not know about it. Century really has potential to be a special place but that is never going to happen if its elected officials do not show up for meetings. NorthEscambia.com is a great source of news. One service it could provide is to track the absences of elected officials, the town clerk should have the data, and report it at election time so Century voters knows who got elected and did not show up for work. You might not always agree with the decisions that an elected official makes but you do expect them to show up. By the way, municipalities are authorized to charge “public service taxes” and “franchise fees.” But utility companies just pass these taxes and fees on to their ratepayers so it really is a clever way for a town to impose higher taxes and fees upon its families and small businesses. Pensacola charges the maximum authorized by state law (10%) for public services taxes and franchise fees which is why people look for homes near the city but just outside its boundary. In 2021, Pensacola expects to rake in more in Public Service Taxes and Franchise Fees than in Property Taxes. It is a way that they can shift more of the burden onto the backs of working families.

By: northend resident

northend resident — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 16:55:15 +0000

As a parent, I volunteered many years in various programs within the schools that our children attended, along with many other volunteer parents, and we all had better turn outs for meetings, accomplished our objectives and goals and freely gave our time and labor for a good cause. Our volunteer work ethics were 100% compared to the PAID work ethics of the Century Town Council is showing everyone!

I just don’t understand why they can’t seem to do the right things for the town and get their act together and perform like professionals adults in a business environment? It’s really pathetic, embarrassing and frustrating that it continues to be the same ole wash-rinse-repeat cycle year after year and nothing ever changes, even when the people do. Enough is enough!

By: BD

BD — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 15:37:21 +0000

I’ve seen middle school student governments work more efficiently than Century Town Council.