Final Day To Save 4 Percent On Your Property Taxes
November 30, 2015
Today is the final day to save four percent on your 2015 real estate and tangible personal property taxes is now underway. This year’s tax rolls include 176,000 accounts totaling $258 million, according to Janet Holley, Escambia County tax collector.
Bills were delivered to the post office on October 30 for mailing and should have arrived by November 10. A four percent discount for early payment is good through November 30, 2015.
Other discount periods are as follows: December‑‑3%; January‑‑2%; February‑‑1%; and the gross amount is due in March 2016. Taxes become delinquent April 1 and are assessed a 3% penalty. When mailed, discounts are determined by postmark of payment. When a discount period ends on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the discount period will be extended to the next business day for walk‑in customers only.
Tax revenue is generated for the various taxing authorities and is approximated as follows: District School Board, $117 million; Escambia County Board of County Commissioners, $112 million; City of Pensacola, $16 million; Sheriff MSTU, $7.1 million; Library MSTU, $5.3 million; Northwest Florida Water Management, $572,000; Downtown Improvement Board, $375,800; and Town of Century, $29,700. Additionally, MSBU collections totaling $17 million include: County fire protection, $13.2 million; City Stormwater, $2.7 million; and various other MSBUs, $1.1 million.
Office are open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at:
- Downtown – 213 Palafox Place
- Marcus Pointe – 6451 North W Street
- Molino – 6440 Highway 95-A North, Suite A
- Warrington – 4051 Barrancas Avenue, Suite A
You may check the status of your taxes and pay on the website at www.EscambiaTaxCollector.com. While paying online may be the most convenient, other options are available, such as payment by mail, by phone, or in person. If you do not receive your tax bill by November 10, please call the tax collector’s office at 438‑6500, ext. 3252.
FHP Remains Out In Force For Long Holiday Weekend
November 29, 2015
The Florida Highway Patrol remains out in force today as the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend continues, and they are encouraging all drivers to take extra car while driving and to buckle up before they hit the road.
During the 2014 Thanksgiving holiday period, law enforcement agencies statewide worked 3,988 crashes. Tragically, 43 motorists lost their lives and 10 of those were not wearing seat belts.
“We are committed to making Florida’s roadways safer by augmenting troopers on the road during this busy travel period. But we’re also asking you to do your part. Buckling your sea tbelt is one of the simplest, safest things you’ll ever do to stay alive,” said Col. Gene Spaulding, director of the Florida Highway Patrol.\
FHP reminds drivers to obey the speed limit, and adjust accordingly as traffic congestion and weather conditions may require driving more slowly. Keep your eyes on the road, your hands on the wheel, and your mind on driving.
The public is encouraged to report aggressive or impaired drivers by dialing *FHP (*347). Remember to check traffic conditions before you leave for your trip.
Sunny And Warm Sunday
November 29, 2015
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 74. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the morning.
Sunday Night: Patchy fog. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 56. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Monday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 77. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the morning.
Monday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 57. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Tuesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 74. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the morning.
Tuesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 55. South wind around 5 mph becoming northwest after midnight.
Wednesday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 63. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Wednesday Night: A 20 percent chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 47. North wind around 5 mph.
Thursday: Partly sunny, with a high near 60.
Thursday Night: A 20 percent chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 46.
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 62.
Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 45.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 63.
Sunny And Warm Weekend
November 28, 2015
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 76. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the morning.
Saturday Night: Patchy fog after midnight. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with a low around 53. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Sunday: Patchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 75. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 56. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Monday: Partly sunny, with a high near 74. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the morning.
Monday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 60. South wind around 5 mph.
Tuesday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 74. South wind around 5 mph.
Tuesday Night: A 20 percent chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 56. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming north after midnight.
Wednesday: A 30 percent chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 65.
Wednesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 47.
Thursday: A 40 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 58.
Thursday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 45.
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 62.
Sunny And Warm For Friday
November 27, 2015
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 73. East wind 5 to 10 mph.
Friday Night: Patchy fog after 2am. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with a low around 55. Southeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Saturday: Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 76. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph.
Saturday Night: Patchy fog after midnight. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with a low around 53. Calm wind.
Sunday: Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 74. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph.
Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 55. Southeast wind around 5 mph.
Monday: Partly sunny, with a high near 73. East wind around 5 mph becoming south in the afternoon.
Monday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 57. Southeast wind around 5 mph.
Tuesday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 73.
Tuesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 53.
Wednesday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 64.
Wednesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 46.
Thursday: Partly sunny, with a high near 59.
BBB Black Friday Shopping Tips
November 27, 2015
Black Friday has traditionally been the biggest retail shopping day of the year, although numerous stores will open on Thanksgiving Thursday this year.
Whether in the store or online, the Better Business Bureau serving Northwest Florida offers advice to help you with your holiday shopping:
- Budget your shopping money and stick to it. Avoid impulse buys.
- Look for the details on every sale and understand the specifics.
- Advertising can be tricky; don’t get stuck paying more for an item than you expected.
- Credit card offers from a store will offer a discount on your purchase but may also carry high interest rates.
- Keep all receipts and warranty information for each item purchased.
- Fraudulent charges are easier to fix if you pay with a credit card than a debit card.
- Return policies differ with every store. Make sure you know the conditions for returns and exchanges, including whether restocking fees are charged.
- If you purchase a gift card, look for hidden terms that can decrease its value.
- Don’t leave your wallet, credit card or purse on a counter or in an unattended shopping cart.
- Ask for a store manager if any advertised offer does not match the price listed on an item.
- Yelling at store employees and other customers won’t make the lines shorter. Anticipate crowds and take a friend along to enjoy the day.
- Credit cards provide the most protection if someone steals the credit card number or if you don’t receive an ordered item.
- You, the customer, are responsible for knowing and understanding each online retailer’s return/exchange policy.
- Beware of deals that sound too good to be true, especially extremely low priced on hard-to-get items.
- Ensure you have the most recent updates for spam filters, anti-virus, anti-spyware and firewalls installed.
- Read the site’s privacy policy and understand what personal information is being requested and how it will be used.
- Make a file to keep copies of all purchase confirmation web pages and e-mails for future reference and as a record of the purchase.
- Only shop on trustworthy sites; look for the BBB seal and other widely-recognized “trustmarks.”
- Never wire money to pay for a transaction and when on sites like Craigslist, only shop locally.
- Delete phishing emails such as those claiming a problem with an order or account in an attempt to lure the “buyer” into revealing financial information.
- Actively keep an eye on your credit card statements to detect suspicious or fraudulent activity on your accounts.
- You are your best protection! Make sure your online purchase is secure by looking for the “s” (https://) in the URL and the “lock” symbol in the lower-right corner before paying.
Happy Thanksgiving! Sunny And Warm Weather For Today
November 26, 2015
Happy Thanksgiving from your friends at NorthEscambia.com! Here is your official North Escambia are forecast:
Thanksgiving Day: Mostly sunny, with a high near 74. East wind around 10 mph.
Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 54. East wind around 5 mph.
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 73. East wind 5 to 10 mph.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 53. East wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 74. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 55. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph.
Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 73. East wind around 5 mph becoming south in the morning.
Sunday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 58. East wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Monday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 72.
Monday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 58.
Tuesday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 69.
Tuesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 54.
Wednesday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 63.
Perfect Thanksgiving Weather
November 25, 2015
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 69. East wind 5 to 15 mph.
Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 52. East wind 5 to 10 mph.
Thanksgiving Day: Mostly sunny, with a high near 72. East wind 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 54. East wind around 5 mph.
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 72. East wind 5 to 10 mph.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 56. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 74. Southeast wind around 5 mph.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 57. East wind around 5 mph.
Sunday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 72.
Sunday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 59.
Monday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 70.
Monday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 56.
Tuesday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 68.
Nice Fall Weather Continues
November 24, 2015
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 62. East wind around 5 mph.
Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 44. East wind 5 to 10 mph.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 68. East wind around 10 mph.
Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 53. East wind around 10 mph.
Thanksgiving Day: Mostly sunny, with a high near 72. East wind around 10 mph.
Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 57. East wind 5 to 10 mph.
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 72. East wind around 5 mph.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 57. East wind around 5 mph.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 73.
Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 56.
Sunday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 68.
Sunday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 56.
Monday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 67.
Cold Night, Patchy Frost
November 23, 2015
After a freezing start to Monday, highs today will warm into the 50’s before dipping back into the 30’s tonight. Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tonight: Patchy frost after midnight. Otherwise, mostly clear, with a low around 32. Northeast wind around 5 mph.
Tuesday: Patchy frost before 7am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 62. East wind around 5 mph.
Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 44. East wind 5 to 10 mph.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 68. East wind around 10 mph.
Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 53. East wind around 10 mph.
Thanksgiving Day: Mostly sunny, with a high near 72. East wind around 10 mph.
Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 57. East wind 5 to 10 mph.
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 72. East wind around 5 mph.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 57. East wind around 5 mph.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 73.
Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 56.
Sunday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 68.
Sunday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 56.
Monday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 67.