government Archive

Using statistics from the Department of Labor, The Wall Street Journal reports that real hourly wages during the Biden presidency have declined.

When Joe Biden took office in January 2021, the average hourly wage adjusted for inflation was $11.39. Now, 29 months later, it stands at $11.03, a 3.16% decline.

Nearly halfway through the 2022-23 fiscal year, Okaloosa County has brought in a total of $9.23 million in bed taxes, with $8.65 million of that coming from the south end of the county in the original tourism district.

The county is separated into different tourism districts, with the original tourist district including Destin, Fort Walton Beach, Okaloosa Island, Mary Esther and Cinco Bayou.

The 2023 legislative session in Tallahassee began March 7.

With bills and joint resolutions making their way through the state House and Senate, State Rep. Dr. Joel Rudman (R- Navarre) spoke with Crestview News Bulletin on his first go round as a representative, how his bills are doing and what people can expect from the rest of this year’s session.

For more than 100 years, the City of Crestview has certified its ordinances and other official documents with the city seal created soon after the city itself was incorporated.

Now 107 years later, the city is in the process of closing a loophole related to the seal.

Throughout the year, the Crestview News Bulletin will be conducting Question & Answer profiles on a number of local city leaders.

This week, we reached out to Crestview City Council member Doug Capps. Capps, who is the councilor for Precinct 3, and has been on the board since April 2021.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection recently announced that Okaloosa County will receive $600,000 to conduct a vulnerability assessment and create an adaptation plan. Okaloosa County will partner with its municipalities to evaluate and identify risks from flooding and sea level rise and develop an adaptation plan that prioritizes mitigation projects.

With legislators already beginning to plan the 2023 legislative session, county and regional boards are looking to get cohesive plans together to ask for appropriations. The District One Medical Examiner’s Services (DOMES) is one of those boards.

The question of where a new medical examiner’s facility will go is still in limbo, as is the question of what it will look like. On Oct. 26, District One Medical Examiner’s Services (DOMES) held their monthly meeting to discuss different options for a new facility as well as their strategy of when they should have a plan in place.

Voters will decide the fate of three proposed amendments to the Florida Constitution during this year’s general election. The proposals need to be approved by at least 60 percent of the ballots cast to become law.

New water and sewer rates for residents of Crestview will go into effect Oct. 1, 2022.

Rates for city services are being increased in Crestview under the city’s newest comprehensive fee schedule. The vote at the Aug. 22 meeting marked the first time the city had amended in whole the Comprehensive Fee Schedule, which dictates the cost of various city services.