A bill moving through the Florida Legislature would, if passed, give the state’s Commission on Ethics new tools to use in collecting debts.

There is some question, though, as to whether new methods to encourage public officers to pay their debts, if they become law, will extend to the 500 or so officials presently past due on fines incurred for failing to report financial information in a timely fashion

State Sen. President Don Gaetz said Monday he will ask the Florida Attorney General if new collection techniques — such as garnishing wages or placing liens on private residences — can be employed to collect old debts.

Visit the Florida Commission on Ethics webpage.

Lawmakers clearly cannot pass new legislation to punish past acts, Gaetz said. The question lies in whether new, tougher, enforcement techniques can be used to collect past debts the Ethics Commission still considers to be money owed it.

“If they can I’d be all for it,” Gaetz, R-Niceville, said. “You need to pay your fine.”

Presently there are hundreds of public officials and former public officials whose names have been turned over to collection agencies by the Ethics Commission.

The names appear on an ethics commission website, along with the debt each person owes for failing to provide timely financial reports as required.

The total amount of fines owed statewide comes to $517,655.

Some of those fines, 21 of about 500 to be precise, are owed by people who have worked for communities or served on boards or with agencies in Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Walton counties.

One, former Crestview Administrative Services Director Mike Wing, holds among the highest of the unpaid debts. He owes $4,500 — three fines of $1,500 each for filing annual reports late in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Once a fine is determined to be late, it increases by $25 per day until capping out at $1,500, according to Ethics Commission spokeswoman Kerrie Stillman.

Wing said he was only aware he owed one fine, and added that he had no intention of trying to get out of paying it.

“I would pay them. I’m not going to be in a situation where I wouldn’t pay them,” he said.

While Wing’s oldest fine dates back six years, some still on the books go back much further.

William Thornton, listed as an employee of the Okaloosa-Walton (College) Board of Trustees, owes $1,500 for failing to report financial information on time in 2003.

Michael Iovieno, former mayor of Cinco Bayou, is listed as owing $1,500 from 2007 and Willie Mae Toles, a sitting Laurel Hill city councilwoman, owes $325 from 2010.

Leroy White owes $1,500 from 2009 when he was with the Dorcas Fire District Board of Commissioners.

Josh Lingenfelter, who served as Dorcas fire chief before being fired in 2012 after his wife was charged with stealing district funds, owes $350 from 2008 when he was a member of the same commission.

Other public officials from this region who owe the Ethics Commission money include:

It could not be determined Monday why some of the older fines listed on the Ethics Commission website hadn’t reached the $1,500 threshold.

Gaetz said even if the state won’t be able to use new legislation this year to garnish paychecks or place liens on the homes of the public officials who owe the state money, the officials ought to take it upon themselves to pay what they owe.

“A public official, appointed or elected, owes the community for their illegal acts,” he said. “There is no separate door to the courthouse for politicians and appointed officials.”

Contact Daily News Staff Writer Tom McLaughlin at 850-315-4435 or tmclaughlin@nwfdailynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomMnwfdn.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Locals owe state ethics commission thousands of dollars

CRESTVIEW — Residents may soon be able to keep a wider variety of pets, including pot-bellied pigs and some fowl, pending approval of proposed revisions to Crestview's animal control ordinance.

In addition to such pigs, revisions would allow residents to keep up to six fowl — except for noisy roosters, gobblers or peafowl — which can provide fresh eggs for families and insect control, City Planner Eric Davis said at the City Council’s Monday workshop.

Council members discussed revising the city animal ordinance to mirror the county ordinance. That would simplify inspections for the Panhandle Animal Welfare Society, or PAWS, which contracts animal control services with the city and the county, City Clerk Betsy Roy said. Its animal control officers occasionally are unsure if they are in city or county jurisdiction when conducting an inspection, she said.

When Davis suggested dropping Crestview's ordinance and adopting the county animal control laws, Roy said if the city hired another contractor, Crestview would have no animal ordinance to enforce. In addition, county rules — some oriented toward particularly rural districts — allow a wider variety of animals, including cows, which are incompatible with urban areas.

Councilwoman Robyn Helt said she favored the city maintaining its own animal control regulations. At her suggestion, Davis agreed to revise some of the proposed ordinance’s sections to eliminate potential loopholes.

Davis will present the revised ordinance at a future meeting of the council.

Last fall, a resident addressed the city council about keeping pot-bellied pigs as pets, citing the animals' cleanliness, affection and mild temperament as reasons to revise the ordinance that prohibits them.

Under council direction, Davis researched other municipalities' animal control ordinances. His draft of revisions used Pensacola’s ordinance as a model.

Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes at 850-682-6524 or brianh@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbBrian.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: City officials consider revisions to animal control ordinance

LAUREL HILL — The City Council voted 3-2 on Thursday to spend $75,000 on preliminary repairs for Sunnyside Avenue from 3rd Street to State Road 85 near Laurel Hill School.

Council members Clifton Hall, Larry Hendren and Betty Williamson supported the plan; Robby Adams and Willie Mae Toles voted against it.

Earlier, Hall shared his and a contractor’s recommendations, which an account for road repairs would fund. Hall — who has 25 years’ experience managing a construction business — suggested filling in potholes, replacing damaged drainage pipes and adding ditches to help water flow off the street before the county provides the most costly work.

Hall said he plans to start working with city employees on the repair work on March 16.

City leaders voted unanimously in February to seek the county's help in repaving Sunnyside Avenue. Hall said he recently met with County Commissioner Wayne Harris and Public Works Director John Hofstad to discuss repairing the school’s main route from S.R. 85. Suggested repairs the city would self-fund would precede the county’s involvement.

Adams on Thursday questioned whether the city first should apply for a Community Development Block Grant. In January, the council voted to pursue the grant, which could provide $600,000 for road repairs. The city still needs an engineer to help write the grant.

"Fourth Street, New Ebenezer and part of Second Ave were not considered for this letter (to the county) because they were the roads proposed to be paved under the CDBG application," Adams said on the News Bulletin's Facebook page.   "Mr. Hall's estimate for Sunnyside alone is ($75,000). This amount does not include the cost of the engineer or the labor cost to be incurred by the city. "If we get the grant and it isn't enough to finish the roads proposed, then we could use this money to complete that project. If we don't get the grant, this money (the $75,000) would be better spent repairing Fourth Street."

Adams motioned to delay roadwork until seeing grant results; Toles voted in favor of the motion, but the three remaining council members voted against it.

Mike Blizzard, Adams’ opponent in the Laurel Hill mayoral race, expressed support for Hall's plan during the meeting’s public portion.

Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Matthew Brown at 850-682-6524 or matthewb@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbMatthew.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this article said that Councilman Robby Adams said the Sunnyside project should receive the $75,000 if the council submitted a Community Block Development Grant and was awarded it. However, he said he was referring to using the $75,000 for the remainder of the project that includes Fourth Street, New Ebenezer and part of Second Avenue.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Laurel Hill council allocates $75K to repair Sunnyside Avenue

Editor's Note: Voters of municipal elections on March 12 will decide several positions in Crestview and Laurel Hill governments.

To help readers make informed decisions at the polls, the News Bulletin has published profiles of each candidate running for these offices. This installment concludes the series.

Each candidate was asked to answer the same questions and received the same amount of space to respond. Candidates appear alphabetically.

LARRY HENDREN

Personal:Married to Karen for 34 years; four children and five grandchildren.

Very active in Relay for Life for many years, acting two years as a committee member.

Volunteer as a driver for the American Cancer Society’s Road to Recovery, taking patients to treatment and back home again, and work as a volunteer for Crestview’s Sharing and Caring food bank.

Relevant experience:

I have served four years as a Laurel Hill City Council member. With the exception of my first meeting, I have served the entire four years as chairman.

I currently write all ordinances, resolutions and contracts for the city. I am very familiar with all of Laurel Hill’s ordinances, resolutions and the city charter, Robert’s Rules of Order, Florida Sunshine Law, Florida statutes.

I also conduct a monthly internal audit of all city banking transactions.

Other education/experience: I have a Bachelor of Science degree from Troy University and an associate degree from the Community College of the Air Force. Having served 39 years in the U.S. Civil Service and 38 years in the U.S. Air Force Reserves, I have dedicated my entire adult life to public service.

Reason you seek this position: I’m running because it’s imperative that the city continues to have oversight of the financial management program, and my experience can ensure this happens.

Voters deserve wise decisions for the use of their tax money. During my last three years as council chairman, our financial situation has gone from almost broke to having enough savings to start overlay of some streets in the near future.

A second reason for continuing my position on the city council is I do my research before voting on council issues. In-depth research will help eliminate mistakes and the associated cost to our citizens.

Biggest issue this position faces and how you plan to address it: The top issue affecting Laurel Hill in 2013 will be to decide if Laurel Hill should remain a city or be dissolved into Okaloosa County.

There are many factors to consider; however, the most noticeable issue is the condition of city streets. Our tax base is not sufficient to maintain streets in the condition our citizens deserve. I have drafted a fact sheet that will provide the pros and cons concerning dissolution.

Once completed and coordinated with Okaloosa County leadership, our citizens should have adequate information on which to base their decision.

JOHNNY JAMES

Personal: Married to Earnestine James; sons are Jonathan and Morion; three grandchildren; member of Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Laurel Hill. Volunteer coach and organizer for T-ball and other youth athletic programs.

Relevant experience:I was your city councilman for four years and am experienced in working in city government for the people of Laurel Hill. I worked to direct county and state funds to our city to make improvements, including fixing up our kids' recreation facilities in Gene Clary Park.

Other education/experience:Graduate of Florala, Ala., High School. Two years study at Lurleen B. Wallace Community College, Andalusia, Ala.

Reason you seek this position:There is more work to be done to help the people of Laurel Hill.

We need to fix the streets and attract more business to the town. We need to increase opportunities for our kids.

I am a listener and a worker and I get along with my fellow council members. I will listen to you and work hard for you.

Biggest issue this position faces and how you plan to address it: The biggest issue is fixing our streets and infrastructure and attracting more business and opportunities for our people.

But our resources are limited.

I will work with county and state officials to find grants that will help Laurel Hill grow and attract new families to start fresh on the Hill.

JOAN SMITH

Personal: Lived in Laurel Hill since 1975; widowed three years ago from husband, Harvel. Has four children who graduated from Laurel Hill School. Attend South Ebenezer Baptist Church.

Relevant experience:Former city council president, current mayor, vice president of North Okaloosa League of Cities, on the board of the Northwest Florida League of Cities. Lobbied in Tallahassee with League of Cities.

Other education/experience:Attended First Amendment Foundation seminars on Government in Sunshine, Ethics, and related good-government topics.

Reason you seek this position:I want to serve the people of Laurel Hill on the legislative side of government as opposed to the administrative side. I don’t need credit; I'm not a credit-taking person. I just want to do my job and serve my neighbors.

Biggest issue this position faces and how you plan to address it: Acquiring grants to improve our city roads and infrastructure. We've made mistakes in the past and we need to correct them.

Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes at 850-682-6524 or brianh@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbBrian.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: MEET THE CANDIDATES: 2 challenge Laurel Hill incumbent

Editor's Note: Voters of municipal elections on March 12 will decide several positions in Crestview and Laurel Hill city governments.

To help readers make informed decisions at the polls, the News Bulletin will publish profiles of each candidate running for office in each edition of the newspaper leading up to the election. Today, we profile two candidates running for Crestview City Council's Precinct 3 position.

Each candidate was asked to answer the same questions and received the same amount of space to respond. Candidates appear alphabetically.

CHARLES BAUGH JR.

Personal:Aerospace contractor; married to the former Roslyn Glenn; three children — Charles III, Nicholas and Candice, who is a USAF reservist stationed at Duke Field.

Retired USAF “Nomad” with 28 years of service. Member of Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church of Crestview. 2010 Crestview Chamber of Commerce Dr. W.J. “Doc” Burrows Citizen of the Year award recipient. President, Northwest Florida League of Cities, member of the Florida League of Cities board of directors, FLC Transportation and Governmental Relations Committee, Northwest Florida Regional Transportation Planning Organization and Okaloosa-Walton Transportation Planning Organization representative, All Sports Association Inc. of Fort Walton Beach.

Co-Chairman, 3rd Masonic District No Child Without Healthcare Fair and former president: Crestview Kiwanis Club International and Okaloosa County League of Cities.

Relevant experience:

As your council member, I was instrumental in facilitating the reduction of city property tax to 1996 levels.

Led efforts to improve residential and commercial retail development by removing impact fee obstacles.

First to conduct line-item review of entire city fiscal year budget.

Helped in the establishment of the FAMU Crestview Education Center. Four-plus years of council experience including serving as council president, vice president and Crestview Redevelopment Agency chairman and vice chairman.

Other education/experience: 96 semester hours, Nuclear Engineering Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, Associate of Applied Science, Information Systems Technology: Community College of the Air Force, Graduate Senior Non Commissioned Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala., Associate of Applied Science, Aircraft Accessory Systems Technology, Maxwell AFB, Ala., Graduate of the John Scott Dailey Florida Institute of Government's Basic and Advanced Institute for Elected Municipal Officials course and Florida Metropolitan Planning Organization Advisory Council Weekend Institute for Elected Officials.

Reason you seek this position: I have enjoyed my first term, but there is still much work required to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of local government.

Through teamwork with our economic partners, the groundwork has been laid to provide substantial retail opportunities within our city and provide logical steps for the expansion of our city.

I have the vision and drive to prepare our Hub City of Crestview for the future. I will continue to work to improve our city services, emphasize transparency and accountability, and foster an economic environment conducive to attracting jobs and higher education for our citizens.

Biggest issue this position faces and how you plan to address it: During my first term, we provided our children higher education opportunities through FAMU and Embry-Riddle.

Now, retail and restaurants within Crestview are the biggest problem on our citizens' minds. I worked to eliminate public school, transportation concurrency and proportionate fair share impact fees from the city’s ordinances and comprehensive plan.

Ordinance 1487, providing for a 24-month waiver period for the collection of the traffic impact fee, will be the conduit for a possible explosion of retail in Crestview.

The estimated 1,400 jobs and major retailers coming to the city will no doubt inject economic stimulus across the board. 

MICKEY RYTMAN

Personal: Born and raised in Crestview; proud father of two daughters and grandfather to five grandchildren.

Newly appointed chairman for the Local Planning Agency for Crestview and sits on the Façade Improvement Grants Review Board for the CRA.

Has been involved with many other civic groups within the city. Member at First Baptist Church of Crestview.

Relevant experience:I currently chair the Local Planning Agency for the city of Crestview and serve on the Community Redevelopment Agency Grants Review Board.

I am a member and past president of the Main Street Crestview Association. I have years of experience dealing with city government through these positions. 

I have attended many city council meetings and I am a concerned citizen.

Other education/experience:I attended Crestview High School and Okaloosa-Walton Community College with credits towards a degree in Industrial Management Technology.

I have attended Florida State Fire College and many building and trade schools.

I have been general manager for three government contractors and project manager, managing hundreds of employees.

I now work for Okaloosa Growth Management as a building/fire inspector.

Reason you seek this position:  I want to bring the feeling of unity, trust and confidence back into the Crestview city government.

I want to listen to the citizens and let their voices be heard. I want the Crestview citizens to have confidence in their leaders and know that that their concerns will be heard.

I feel we need more industry, stores and jobs to support our rapid growth and I am prepared to put the wheels in motion to catch up with our rapid growth.

We need traffic problems solved and more jobs now.

Biggest issue this position faces and how you plan to address it: I will research and apply for federal and/or state grants and federal emergency monies to alleviate our current traffic problems.

I will find new ways to encourage a wide variety of newer and larger industries and businesses to come to Crestview and look for ways the city can reduce initial fees for new developments.

I will play close attention to contracts with the city, reviewing contractor qualifications, reviewing the budget, and spending the city money wisely!

Our city morale is down, so I will also search for ways to stabilize and improve the morale among the employees and the citizens.

Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes at 850-682-6524 or brianh@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbBrian.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: MEET THE CANDIDATES: Local Planning Agency chairman challenges Crestview incumbent

As Okaloosa County commissioners begin trying to recoup many of Mark Bellinger’s questionable purchases, they have not ruled out legal action against Lewis Communications and The Zimmerman Agency.

“We’re going to do everything we can to recover what money we can,” Commission Chairman Don Amunds said Thursday.

The board recently authorized Tallahassee attorney Greg Stewart to sue either of the advertising firms if necessary.

The Zimmerman Agency of Tallahassee and Mobile, Ala.,-based Lewis Communications are advertising firms that held lucrative contracts with the Tourist Development Council. Zimmerman held its contract for about 20 years while Lewis Communications was brought onboard in the spring of 2011 by Bellinger, the former director of the TDC.

Almost 11 months after Bellinger’s fraud scheme was discovered, county officials continue to scrutinize the transactions the two firms made under their respective contracts.

Stewart said the county has notified Lewis that it will seek damages for the four-bedroom house in Destin that Bellinger purchased illegally with $747,000 in BP grant money. Bellinger bought the house using an invoice filed through Lewis Communications.

“Lewis wire transferred the money that was supposed to be used for marketing services,” Commissioner Dave Parisot said. “They didn’t do the marketing. They bought a house.”

The federal government seized the house in Kelly Plantation last August. It is scheduled to be sold this month for about $620,000.

“We are hopeful that the house will be sold and that it will be sold for the highest amount available and the county will be reimbursed for those funds,” Stewart said. “However, if there’s a shortfall between what was paid for the house and what we return on the house … we would look to Lewis for any shortfall.”

Parisot agreed. He noted that the county “ain’t going to get it from Bellinger” and that Lewis Communications bears “primary responsibility.”

Lewis Communications’ attorney, Gus Fontenot of Mobile, could not be reached for comment.

County commissioners also have withheld two payments due Zimmerman — one for $54,000 in July 2012 and the other for $65,000 in September 2012 — until the county completes a final review of invoices.

The county wants to examine allegations made by the state auditor general that Zimmerman billed separately for certain expenses that should have been included in its monthly retainer fee, Stewart said.

“We wanted to review that and see whether an offset was due,” he added.

Zimmerman is opposed to the county withholding the payments and has formally notified Stewart of its intent to sue.

“To my knowledge, that has not been filed yet,” Stewart said.

Company President Curtis Zimmerman could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Commissioners said they also are reviewing Bellinger’s illegal purchase of a 2008 Porsche Cayman for $48,000 — a transaction made through Zimmerman.

“What we are looking at in terms of the Porsche is whether there is any responsibility on Zimmerman’s part because of the Porsche,” Stewart said.

The Porsche was Bellinger’s first theft. He bought it in August 2010, about three months after he was hired. He eventually traded the sports car for a 2011 Subaru Legacy sedan and pocketed about $6,000 from the trade-in.

The Subaru has been returned to the county, which plans sell it at auction.

“Once we know what we’re able to get from the sale of the Subaru, then we’ll know the difference between what we paid for the Porsche and what we ended up getting out of the Subaru,” Stewart said. “That’s just an additional item we’re looking at.”

Contact Daily News Staff Writer Kari Barlow at 850-315-4438 or kbarlow@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @KariBnwfdn.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Okaloosa could sue advertising firms over Bellinger’s thefts

CRESTVIEW — The City Council plans to recognize former Mayor George Whitehurst — whom it recently selected as the Mae R. Coleman Citizen of the Year Award recipient— with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

City leaders will let a committee tasked with selecting Citizen of the Year nominees do its job, following concerns that their vote for Whitehurst overstepped authority.

Council President Ben Iannucci III, noting the Citizen of the Year award should reflect immediate contributions to Crestview, proposed a Lifetime Achievement Award for Whitehurst.

"The council has the discretion to offer this award," Iannucci said Monday. "It would be more suitable to what he has accomplished."

 Mayor David Cadle, who had originally suggested honoring Whitehurst, agreed.

"I support that idea," Cadle said. "I think that would be a much better way to go …. I met with Mayor Whitehurst and he was very pleased (with Citizen of the Year), but he'll be more pleased with this."

Councilman Charles Baugh Jr. asked if the city has criteria for nominating someone for a city lifetime achievement award. He cited several prominent residents, including late business leader Foy Shaw and former Mayor Ted Mathis, as  potential nominees.

Councilmembers Tom Gordon and Robyn Helt agreed that criteria should be established.

Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes at 850-682-6524 or brianh@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbBrian.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Former mayor may receive lifetime achievement recognition