LAUREL HILL — City water customers have more time to pay their water bills than expected.

Late fees usually accrue by the 10th of month, “but we’re going to push it back to the 17th,” Laurel Hill Mayor Robby Adams said.

The allowance follows the U.S. Postal Service's notification that bills got lost during sorting.

The city mails water bills from the Laurel Hill Post Office, which, like other area post offices, sends its mail to the Pensacola postal sorting facility.

Adams said the postal service told city officials that some bills made it through the sorting process to be delivered to customers, but the majority didn’t.

“They didn’t say what happened,” Adams said. “They just said, ‘They’re over there.’”

City Clerk Nita Miller said postal officials notified her Friday morning that the bills had been found and would be sent out in the day’s deliveries, but the city would still grant the seven-day deadline extension.

The postal service also lost some of Baker residents’ water bills, Adams said.

Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Water bill payment deadline extended for Laurel Hill customers

CRESTVIEW — Okaloosa County commissioners now have a tool to fund widening of the P.J. Adams Parkway-Antioch Road corridor.

A North Okaloosa Tax Increment Financing District will raise funds to expand the corridor to four lanes and construct an Interstate 10 interchange.

The idea behind a TIF is to siphon off all or a portion of any annual increase in property tax revenue — in a specific geographic area — for a number of years and use the money for earmarked projects.

Under Commissioner Kelly Windes’ proposal, the TIF would capture 100 percent of any property tax revenue increase during its first three years, and 75 percent of any increase during the next three years. In the seventh year, the TIF would draw off 50 percent of any property tax increase but no more than $500,000.

The TIF would begin accruing revenue in 2017, and county planners have estimated it could generate more than $4.3 million in its first six years. That money then can be leveraged to win state grants and convince lawmakers to send state money to Okaloosa County.

Commissioners Nathan Boyles, Windes and Trey Goodwin voted in favor of the TIF; Carolyn Ketchel and Wayne Harris voted against it on Tuesday. 

GAS TAX VS. T.I.F.

Harris said a gas tax made sense as a funding source.

“You have a choice. You can either drive or not drive,” Harris said. “Historically, 99.99 percent of the money for roads comes from gas taxes … and we kind of set a precedent Tuesday with the ad valorem.”

Using an increase in the county’s current 10 cents per gallon gas tax would also shift some of the burden to visitors who pass through Crestview and North Okaloosa County en route to the beach communities in the south, he said.

“Forty percent of the people who transit that road are outsiders, and some of that (funding) would’ve been on their backs instead of local residents,” Harris said.

Boyles agreed that a gas tax increase would be the fairest revenue source, but “I’m a pragmatist,” he said. “A gas tax would’ve required a super majority of the county commission, but it was clear early on there would not be four votes for additional gas taxes."

FIVE MORE YEARS

It could take five more years before residents see earthmovers on P.J. Adams Parkway, but now there is a definite funding plan in place.

“This is real. It’s a sign of progress,” Boyles said. “We can now take the money from the TIF to Tallahassee and say to the state, ‘We don’t have all the dollars that we need, but we have a plan and we need your help.’”

“A good, sound decision was made,” Harris said. “We’ve got a plan. For years we had no plan.

"You’re still going to have people who are unhappy. I got a call Tuesday from a guy who said, ‘I hear you guys raised my taxes.’ No, we didn’t.”

Northwest Florida Daily News reporter Kari C. Barlow contributed to this story.  

Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: 'A SIGN OF PROGRESS': PJ Adams expansion gets seed money

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is considering limited bear hunting in certain parts of Florida. The discussion follows increasing conflicts and several incidents where bears seriously injured people.

The FWC this week approved a plan to use a variety of tools to manage bears and help reduce human-bear conflicts. The commission asked staffers to move forward with developing specific plans for a limited bear hunt in certain parts of Florida.

Hunting alone is not likely to reduce human-bear conflicts in urban and suburban areas. However, in other states, hunting has been an effective measure for managing bear populations and can help more direct measures of reducing conflicts, an FWC spokesperson said. 

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Wildlife conservation commission considering limited bear hunting

Okaloosa County’s voting machines are so old they’re at risk of being decertified by the state.

Okaloosa County Supervisor of Elections Paul Lux issued that warning Tuesday when updating county commissioners on the need to replace the equipment.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Okaloosa’s voting machines among oldest in state

CRESTVIEW — A nonpartisan forum for Crestview mayoral candidates is scheduled for 6 p.m. Feb. 16 at Warriors Hall, 201 Stillwell Blvd.

Candidates are David Cadle, Lanny Edwards, Tom Gordon and Jeremiah Hubbard.

Written questions from the public will be accepted at the door before the event, and submitted to the forum moderator.

Contact Mae. R. Coleman, 682-5518, for details.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview mayoral candidate forum scheduled

CRESTVIEW — The Florida Department of Children and Families and the city of Crestview will provide better access to food assistance and healthcare to needy residents.

Medicaid customers can now visit the Crestview Fire Department — 321 W. Woodruff Ave. — to access their public assistance information through an online application and My ACCESS account.

The DCF's Automated Community Connection to Economic Self-Sufficiency Community Partner Network made the arrangement possible.

Learn more here>>

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Public benefits information available at the Crestview Fire Dept.

FORT WALTON BEACH — Florida Panhandle Patriots will discuss the Convention of States process in Florida and nationwide at their next monthly meeting.

Jack Cukjati, Convention of States District 2 captain, is the featured speaker from 6:30-8 p.m. Feb. 5 at the Elks Lodge on Okaloosa Island, 1335 Miracle Strip Parkway.

Event organizers request a $1 per person donation to cover reserving the meeting room. Snacks and beverages are available for purchase.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Panhandle Patriots Convention of States takes focus Thursday