Category: Government

When elected officials resign mid-term it is important for voters to find out why

City of St. Augustine Beach public information officer Melinda Conlon reported to Historic City News Monday afternoon that effective January 31st, St. Augustine Beach Commissioner Ernesto Juan Torres-Perez has resigned after a police report alleged that he berated and tried to use his elected position to gain favor with local officers during his wife’s arrest…

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Government

Will fiscal impact statements help businesses hold local government accountable?

In 1973, the Florida Legislature enacted the Municipal Home Rules Power Act, giving cities and counties the power to enact their own laws — unless state law overrides them.  This legislative override, or “preemption”, is either the trampling upon local rights – or – a bulwark against a patchwork of parochial laws, depending on who…

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Government

Lawmakers grapple with the cost of our obsession with privacy

The annual assault on Florida’s popular open government laws continues this legislative session. Even as the public clamors for greater transparency and access to their elected officials and government, our own Representative, Cyndi Stevenson, has added to the problem by introducing a bill that would hide voter registration records from media and members of the…

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Government

Legislature considering a proposal to broaden the use of bed tax funds

Counties across Florida collectively bring in hundreds of millions of dollars a year in hotel bed tax revenue — but the uses for that money are limited.  Historic City News has reported when controversial organizations have used pressure locally to influence who the recipients of that money will be in St Johns County and what…

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Government

The Florida 2022 Legislative Session begins

As the mid-term session of the Florida legislature proceeds over the next 60-days, Historic City News will report on issues of interest to our subscribers; residents, employees, and those connected to our home in St Augustine and St Johns County.

Government

St Johns County Martin Luther King, Jr Holiday Office Hours

All departments of the St Johns County Board of County Commissioners and Administrative offices, St Johns County library branches, the Property Appraiser’s office, the Tax Collector’s office, the Clerk of Courts’ office, and the Supervisor of Elections’ office will be closed Monday, January 17, in observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.

Government