The $500K Budget Bomb: How Fort Walton Beach Plans to Cut Fireworks, Kill the Chamber & Make You Pay to Park

(00:00) Here's today's B Team Redux. Kenny Loggins off the Caddyshack soundtrack. I'm alright on the 100.3 KROCK, the classic rock station. It's 708 on a Tuesday morning sunshine over Fort Walton Beach and 81 degrees a high today of 92. The B Team Morning Show is on the air brought to you by Stripes Pub and Grill in Navarre as well as Okaloosa Gas and Outkast Sushi in Miramar Beach. (00:29) And well, there was a there was a great headline to talk about this morning. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Colonel over with the Escambia County Sheriff's Office was arrested. Well, she resigned before she arrested. There was arrest put out by Milton Petey for her. Anyway, we know she was the colonel of the mental health unit. But since the Escambia County Sheriff's Office, public relations office can't do their job, we have no other news and we refuse to pay Gannett for subscription rights to read their story. (01:00) Yeah, I'm not not interested in buying a subscription to the Pensacola Pravda. That's right. That's right. So congratulations, Escambia County Sheriff's Office for not doing your job so that we can actually report the damn news. It's so frustrating that is, you know, I'm just I've had it around here. I don't know what it is about local government and PR is not doing their damn jobs. (01:20) It is so frustrating. It is. It is. And we've talked about this for three or four years. I mean, we struggle. We really want to bring actual local news to you guys. And we struggle to do it every friggin day. Right. Because you've got local county government that is just totally non-transparent when it comes to releasing information to the public. It is so frustrating. It is so frustrating. (01:48) Very frustrating. I mean, PR should be plopping information out just on the daily. Every day. I don't care if it's a lane closure at some arterial road with residential street intersection. I don't care. (02:05) Yep. But we should have something every day from every single local government department. Wouldn't that be nice? Wouldn't it be nice to just be able to have an informed citizenry? Wow. I mean, I know it's just it's absolutely frustrating as hell. (02:25) And then, of course, you know, you have people all over concerned citizens with every rumor in town. Yeah. Well, yeah. Every crackpot idea. Sure. Let's let's go with that. You know, it is. But it is so frustrating. (02:43) I don't know why that is here. I don't know who got in the habit of not releasing information to people, not telling the story of what's happening within government. But it is absolutely so frustrating. And this is the example this morning is the Escambia County Sheriff's Office. (03:02) But I mean, the colonel, they, you know, correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe there's too many colonels within a within a sheriff's office. I don't know. Maybe. Maybe so. But she's the head of multiple units. I mean, there should be some story on it. (03:17) There should be some notice on it. We are arresting this person. Here's the facts. I mean, in this crap that we hear about, oh, well, you know, privacy and no, that's not how it works. I mean, they're being arrested. (03:33) That is a public record. If nothing else, here are the facts that an arrest warrant was issued by this municipality for these reasons. Sorry. Leave it at that. Sorry if if they made the news. Our job is to report the news, right? (03:49) So if you don't want to make the news big, make better decisions. But that that type of stuff is so frustrating. And I will I will give it to, you know, tip the cap to Walton County Sheriff. They're the one department around here that seems to regularly update stories and happenings within their department. (04:10) Yeah, I did see a lot more a lot more coming out of Walton than than than any of the others. Now, typically they have some sort of, you know, satirical or sarcastic tone. And that's fine. I'm fine with that. At least we're getting something. (04:25) Yeah. Yeah, I'll critique what we're getting when I when I get enough of it. So anyway, that's our that's our gripe this morning. But, you know, folks, we really do try to to source local information, local news, different community events and happenings to you. (04:47) And the fact is, is that we just have some local local government here in northwest Florida that just does not give us any information to go off of. True. Yeah. So don't even don't even get a police blotter anymore. You remember when you used to get those just to hear the arrest that happened in the last 24 for the record? (05:10) Yeah, doesn't happen anymore. Anyway, well, good morning, everybody. Good morning. We are the V-Team Morning Show. Schuyler Black and Bobby Dewrell on Tuesday morning, 81 degrees, a high today of 92. (05:28) Fort Walton City Council is going to be meeting tonight and discussing a little more on the upcoming budget. We will get to that here in just a little bit. Plus, later on in the hour, Uncle Bobby has got your daily advice. (05:45) So stick to him. That's all coming up here in the seven o'clock hour. ZZ Top and Pearl Necklace. It's the B Team Morning Show on one hundred point three KROCK. Don Henley of the Eagles, all she wants to do is dance on the classic rock station. (06:03) One hundred point three KROCK. It's seven twenty two. Beautiful sunshine outside our window this morning. A high today of ninety two. We're at eighty one right now. We'll check that full forecast here in just a little bit. But tonight, Fort Walton Beach City Council is in session, Bobby. (06:21) Yeah, let's let's now talk about a group that gets it. Fort Walton Beach budget workshop last Tuesday produced discussion of potential outsourcing for several city services and rejected a proposal to bring back a fire assessment fee and a range of revenue concepts as the council works to close. (06:42) A five hundred thousand dollar gap. Wait, wait, you mean the fire assessment fee that that was determined was needed like five years ago and put some of these dip wads in. That one. Yeah. OK, wow. Yeah, there's a five hundred thousand dollar gap in the operating budget and the city's preparing for a potential one point seven million dollar revenue loss in twenty twenty seven with this property tax bill that will be on the ballot here. (07:12) In November, that property tax bill is going to cost me so much money. I got to tell you, folks, if you need to pay attention to that property tax bill because all the retirees are going to vote it in. So for the rest of you, if you have any amount of investment property, it's about to be stuck to you. (07:27) It's going to have to be if you own any rentals, if you own a barn, an outbuilding, a commercial building, anything other than your homestead. The only thing getting exempt is your homestead and any other piece of property you own in the state of Florida after that is going to be taxed out the wazoo. (07:45) Yep. And we're not just talking about property within the city of Fort Walton Beach proper. We're not. If you have property in Okaloosa County, the county is going to be affected and more so than the city municipality is going to have to do it. Plus, we're probably going to see a sales tax increase, and I swear to God, the next thing we're going to hear people talk about is income tax. (08:07) The money's got to come from somewhere, right? This is the stupidest proposal I have ever seen. The workshop last week was called to address two financial pressures. A current operating budget that is approximately half a million dollars over the 3% spending cap that voters approved to the city's charter twice in a row. (08:27) And a potential $1.7 million revenue loss if Florida voters approve an additional homestead exemption in November. Now, services discussed for potential outside providers. This, according to Get the Coast, the clearest direction to emerge was discussion of shifting several city-operated programs toward outside providers. (08:50) There's no way that's cheaper. Youth sports programming was the first one. So, currently under Parks and Rec, a roughly $100,000 hit to the operating cap would move the contract providers such as AYSO, Little League, and others. (09:06) Daycare and aftercare, roughly a $189,000 cap impact, drew two concepts, either ending the service entirely or bringing in a third-party operator. And senior programming, a roughly $58,000 cap impact. (09:22) Now, let me explain one thing further here when it comes to this cap. These could potentially be maybe moved to an enterprise fund, right? Youth sports programming, you pay for that to be part of those leagues. (09:40) Daycare and aftercare. Daycare is not free, right? So, if you're a mother or father and your child attends daycare there, you are paying for it. So, daycare could actually generate half a million, $600,000 a year to the city's bottom line. (09:59) But because this cap only talks about actual operational budget, not talking about what is in the black, but what you're spending out the door. If you spend $189,000 out the door, but in return get $400,000, it doesn't matter if you're $200,000 of the good. (10:19) It's the $189,000 that they're after, which is the absolute dumbest way to do this. Now, other things that are on the chomping block. $95,000 in city-funded community events. We're talking about $25,000 for next year's 4th of July fireworks. $60,000 for the concerts at the landing. And almost $10,000 in city support for the Billy Bolegs Pirate Festival Parade, which is organized by the Chamber and the crew of Bolegs, rather than the city. (10:50) And don't forget the Christmas Parade. Well, that's coming next. The city's own annual Christmas Parade was not addressed during the workshop. The $95,000 figure does not include staff overtime for police, fire, and parks cleanup. (11:06) Now, here's some other cuts that are coming, potentially. The city can no longer afford its membership to the Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce. So there's a $20,000 cut. Another $20,000 cut to the EDC. And another $25,000 cut to the Emerald Coast Fitness Foundation drew the night's most divided discussion among council and those in attendance. (11:32) Right now, the Fort Walton Beach Library is going to stay as a city service, but a public-private partnership has been floated out there. And of course, Fort Walton Beach Library, brought to you by Amazon Prime. (11:53) Now, now we get into revenue concepts, okay? Because we've got a $1.7 million revenue problem now with this potential property tax bill. There's several different revenue streams out there. Now, rec center fees are one way to do it. Yeah, but if you're cutting some of the rec center services, you can't raise the fees, because you're cutting the services. (12:17) So there you go. Okay. Another proposed idea, proposed by city attorney Jeff Burns, was turn the city's rental property portfolio into a brokerage enterprise fund. So we can no longer afford to pay a broker to lease the city's real estate. So we're going to have city employees do that now. Yeah, that'll work. Oh, if you like to pay your water bill in person, if you are 60 plus and you're not super, super apt on a computer, well, you can, well, sorry, you can't go down to City Hall and pay it anymore. (12:52) Now, the kiosk, the self-serve kiosk, will still be available down there, but they can save 50 hours of labor a week by getting rid of in-person billing at City Hall. (13:08) Also, we're talking about maybe putting usage fees on ramps and city parking lots, boat ramps, city parking lots. Oh, I think they should put them on wheelchair ramps, get a lot more revenue. Oh, what an idea. Make it just a coin-operated wheelchair ramp. (13:23) There you go. Yeah, kind of like riding the little horsey, kiddie ride off at the mall. Yeah, a little cross arm. Just drop a dollar in, cross arm goes up, you can go up and down it. Yeah, like a railroad cross arm. Yeah, like a railroad cross arm. Like a railroad cross arm. Yeah, that's a good idea. (13:39) Yeah, I believe that was Payne Walker's idea. So here's... I can't even give him credit for that because nobody knows. You don't even have stupid ideas. Man is bereft of ideas. (13:57) This whole thing is such a mess, and this is actually what's going to be discussed tonight at the council meeting, along with what they want to raise the millage rate to. Congratulations, folks. You got what you wanted. Fewer services, higher cost of residence, and a mess. (14:18) Listen, I got to tell you, what I can appreciate about the city of Fort Walton and what the great voters did is most places brag about doing more with less, and by God, y'all found a way to get less for more. Congratulations, you jackwagons. (14:37) And Bobby, do you have any other thoughts on folks that like to claim themselves as libertarians but also like bigger government consolidation? You know, my grandfather made a statement a long time ago that I would provide to that individual, which my grandfather was a big believer in. You know, it's always best to keep your mouth shut and people think you're an idiot than to open it and prove you're a damn fool. (15:05) Well, I hear you. That's what I have to say. Clowns. Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right. Stuck in the middle with you. (15:20) That's right. 7.31 the time. We're going to take a break. Ask Uncle Bobby coming up in about 15 minutes, so stay with us. It's the B Team Morning Show on the Classic Rock Station. 100.3 KROCK. Yeah, you might have to take the long way home today because the state still doesn't have Eglin Parkway, aka State Road 85, complete. (15:41) Oh, they've got random patches of lanes in places. Yeah, it's like a patchwork quilt out there, isn't it? All because of the contractor they chose when they requested proposals. That's right. So, by the way, if you are frustrated with the lack thereof of progress on Eglin, that is a state issue. (16:07) Contact FDOT. That is a state highway. So, city of Fort Walton, town of Chalamar, town of Cinco Bayou, that is not their gig. That is the state. So, just so you know. (16:25) All right. Well, today, the music in the background tells us it's time for your daily advice. That's right. We do this every morning around 7.45, all stitched together byTomCat Custom Apparel. byTomCat Custom Apparel, reminding you it's summer ball season, meaning parents are spending four hours at the ball field to watch six minutes of actual baseball. Or better yet, if it's travel ball, they're proving every weekend that hotels near ballparks don't charge enough. (16:55) But you know what? Nothing says youth sports like a team mom ordering shirts while carrying the entire organization on her back. So, remember, byTomCat Custom Apparel can help lighten that load with those custom shirts, mom. All right. byTomCat Custom Apparel. They sound like a neat group of folks over there. (17:13) All right. Well, today, Uncle Bobby, your question comes in from Captain Side-Eye Supper. Dear Uncle Bobby, I host dinner parties that feel boring and predictable, and I want to make them more memorable. How can I revive my social life by using subtle passive-aggressive moves without things turning into a full argument? (17:34) Look, you want a memorable dinner party, not a community potluck with polite chewing. And good on you, because a dinner party is not a meal. It's a social chess match with napkins, okay? So your job is to make everyone feel slightly evaluated. You know, like a job interview where the only benefit is dessert. Now, here's the underlying principle. You got to make it sting just enough to sparkle, right? Because subtle passive-aggressive moves only work when they read as charming, not, you know, full argument, okay? So you got to start with the theme, because nothing says intimacy like coordinated discomfort. So pick something elegant and sharp, you know, like compliments with teeth or casual judgment night, and act like it's a completely normal thing, right? Then you deploy backhanded compliments like seasoning. You know, just enough to sting, not enough to leave visible wounds. Now, here's what I'm telling you. Seating. Seating is where you stop being a host and you become a strategist, okay? You got to put the two people who always one-up each other across the table. See, that's close enough to make eye contact, but far enough to build resentment. All right, but the couple that is happy, you know, the overly happy couple, you know who I'm talking about, that way too happy couple, you got to put them next to the friend who just got dumped because, you know, balance is important and joy should never go unchallenged. Now, the menu, okay? You got to serve one dish that is objectively impressive. Then one dish that is intentionally confusing, you know, like a moral lesson in casserole form, right? And when someone asks what it is, you just say it's a family recipe and then you pause and then you add that, you know, not everyone appreciates it the same way. (19:30) Now, finally, you got to keep the party game simple and surgical, okay? A little round of gratitude where everyone has to say something nice about the person to their left, but you go first and set the tone with a compliment that lands like a brick in a velvet bag, okay? See, if anybody gets too comfortable, you got to refill their glass and ask them a question that starts friendly. (19:59) And ends with just enough silence to make the chandelier feel judgmental, okay? Now look, if you do this right, and your dinners won't be boring and predictable, they will be memorable. They will be sharp. They will be just tense enough to keep everyone talking afterward, which is the whole point. (20:24) And there's your answer, Captain Side-Eye Supper. And Schuyler can attest, he was at my house on Sunday. I was kind of that. Yeah, it was just like that. All right. Hey, if you'd like your own advice from Uncle Bobby, well, just visit dewbob.com and you can scroll through past episodes and reach out to him there if you've got a question. Of course, we do ask Uncle Bobby every single morning, right around 745 here on the B Team Morning Show, all stitched together byTomCat Custom Apparel. (20:58) byTomCat Custom Apparel, where the peril is made for you, customly. Yeah, what an awesome slogan right there. News is next on 100.3 KROCK. 100.3 KROCK, the classic rock station. Good morning, everybody. How you doing? (21:15) Eight minutes after eight o'clock on a Tuesday. Beautiful sunshine outside your window right now, 84 degrees, a high today of 92. We'll check that full forecast here in just a little bit. Got a 50% chance of seeing a few pop-up showers and thunderstorms, some of those isolated cells here after one o'clock this afternoon. But anything widespread, not in the forecast for today. The B Team Morning Show brought to you by our friends at Stripes Pub & Grill in Navarre, as well as Okaloosa Gas and Outkast Sushi in Miramar Beach. (21:51) Don't forget, tonight, Bobby, is Boomin' Tuesday out there at Sandestin at Baytown Wharf. Yeah, it is. Got an evening with DJ Onsite cranking up the tunes. They're also going to have all sorts of shops and restaurants around Baytown Wharf that are going to be doing sidewalk sales and specials tonight. And then, of course, at 9 p.m. tonight, they will light up the sky with fireworks. Boomin' Tuesday's going on at Baytown Wharf tonight. (22:21) Now, this hour, don't forget, Bobby's going to give you a trivia question here in just a little while. Maybe. For a chance to win a 7 1⁄2-inch sub today from Lenny's Subs and Grill and get yourself qualified to win a picnic for the Fourth of July from Lenny's for you and 20 of your closest friends. So stick tight. We'll get to that trivia question here in just a little bit. (22:48) But the number to have your phones ready to dial is 850-895-7625. 850-89-KROCK. That's right. KROCK. And we're going to take the 250th caller. No, we're not. (23:04) Good idea. We'll table that one for the next day or so. But get 850-895-7625 on your speed dial and ready to call here in just a little bit. Well, speaking of the Fourth of July, people love to barbecue and picnic and drink cold beer. But apparently, America's love affair with beer may be going flat. (23:30) Yeah. Yeah. New numbers show that beer sales fell 3 percent last year and breweries produced the lowest amount of beer in a decade. Industry experts say it's not just one thing, but more people are reaching for non-alcoholic drinks like THC beverages and other alternatives. (23:50) And they're also spending less time at bars, parties and other social gatherings where beer is usually on the menu. Brewers are also dealing with higher costs from inflation and tariffs. So while they're making less beer, many have raised prices to help offset the expense. But I don't drink as much beer as I used to. (24:11) I don't because I don't like the way it makes me feel. I get all I blowed up like a like the girl that ate the blueberry in Willy Wonka. So, yeah, I feel I'm there. I'm part of that statistic, Bobby. All right. Forerunner Jukebox Hero now on 100.3 KROCK. (24:30) The door is in Lover Madly on 100.3 KROCK. Bobby, how long is that song? Do you know? I have no idea. Three minutes and 13 seconds. Well, there you go. That's right. Hey, so, you know, the funny thing about that is back when I lived in the on-campus apartments when I went to Troy, I was in 313 Doho. (24:49) Were you really? Mm-hmm. All right. Look at that. What a coin-kidding. What a coin-kidding. The baker's dozen. You know what that has to do with anything? Not a damn thing. Not a damn thing. Okay. Good morning, everybody. We are the B Team Morning Show on 100.3 KROCK, the Classic Rock Station. I'm Schuyler Black. He is Bobby Dewrell. By the way, folks, tickets for the Fisher House 19th Annual Helping Heroes Gala are on sale now. This happens in September, on September 10th, out at Hederson Beach Resort in Destin. Tickets for this event always sell out well in advance, so if you would like to go and attend, buy those tickets online before they're gone. (25:31) We've got the link to do so on the events tab at thebteamshow.com. But this morning, we want to give you a chance to win some food from Lenny's Grill & Subs in Mariester. That's right. Every day, we're giving away a free seven-and-a-half-inch sub from Lenny's, and we're qualifying each day's winner to get into a drawing to win a free picnic for you and 20 of your friends for the 4th of July. So in order to win, you've got to call in and correctly answer Bobby's trivia question today. And what is the Brain Buster trivia question for today? All right. Today's question. Now, listen, you got to call in to 850-89KROQ. (26:15) That's 850-895-7625 with the right answer. And the question is, how many original colonies were there? Oh, man. How many original colonies were there? Can I answer? Can I say? I want the food. 850-895-7625. That's 850-895-7625. That's 89KROQ. Call in with your answer, and if you get it right, you get a seven-inch sub. Oh, man. That was a tough one, Bobby. And let's go to the phones. Let's hope it's the first caller. Let's see. Stick tight. We're going to take a break. A look at your forecast is coming up next on 100.3 KROCK. (27:00) 100.3 KROCK. The doobies. Jesus is just all right. And I'm thanking Jesus right now that somebody actually got the trivia question on the first call this morning. No, it was the third call. That's what we told Pittsburgh. Yeah, it's the third call. Oh, no, it's Third Coast Marine. (27:21) Third Coast Marine, Kyle Mann, right here in Fort Walton Beach. Kyle and Kaylee called in. I felt like he phoned in with a phone-a-friend. Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was Kaylee that actually had the right answer. Kyle was just the one that made the call. That's right. That's right. He could dial. Now, the question was, how many original colonies were there? I was just making sure you knew. It sounded like you didn't know. And the correct answer would be a baker's dozen. (27:56) That's right. Fort Walton Beach High School, Brad, right there. Is that what you got from Troy? Yep, she did. Both degrees. We don't look at the past. We focus on the future. (28:12) There you go. That's a diplomatic answer. So yesterday, we asked how many years, what were we celebrating? What anniversary were we celebrating? What anniversary? 250th. It did take two calls to get to that one. It's a true story. (28:31) Yeah, I got to tell you, I've never been so proud of the city I live in. But hey, Kyle and Kaylee, Third Coast Marine, congratulations out there on winning the seven-inch sub. You're now in the hunt for the catered lunch. And Kyle, I know you said you wanted to see it for the whole crew there. So I think Kyle's planning on making that a little Third Coast Marine party. (28:52) Well, if it's on the 4th of July, he's making his staff work on a holiday. Hey, you know what? I got to say, though, that's probably a pretty big Marine day. You're probably right. You're probably right. That's kind of like working in retail and expecting to get any time off in the month of December. (29:09) Yeah. You pretty much know you're working every holiday weekend in retail. Hence the reason I haven't done that for five years now. Yeah, I do not miss it. All right, we're getting out of here in about 15 minutes. There are a ton of local events coming up here the next couple of weeks. Don't forget, Destin Commons doing their fourth annual Star Spangled Food Truck Festival next Friday, July 3rd. Great kickoff to the holiday weekend. It starts out at the Commons at 5 p.m., 25 food trucks on site, live music from local bands 1211 and below. Alabama will keep the energy high all night and then around 9 p.m. (29:51) What the Commons are calling the grandest fireworks display all across the Emerald Coast will happen Friday. July 3rd out at the Commons around 9 p.m. So, you know, they're going to be better than Fort Long Beach fireworks. Well, at least for next year, kids will be out there with sparklers. (30:12) So, city's fireworks this year. Yeah, but the city will only be selling the sparklers for $7.50 apiece. Judas Priest and Breaking the Law. Something that that Scambia County Sheriff's Office colonel did, but we can't tell you anything about it because we have no information about it. (30:32) Yeah, because why would we do that? Yeah, you heard our rant a couple hours ago on that, didn't you? It's 8.52. Again, congratulations to Kyle Mann of Fort Walton Beach for calling in correctly, answering today's trivia question that won himself a free 7.5 inch sub from Lenny's Grill and Subs and got him into a drawing to win a free catering and picnic for the 4th of July from Lenny's. (30:55) So, Kyle, thanks for dialing in and listening this morning, calling in and winning, and we'll have another one to give away tomorrow during the 8 o'clock hour as well. But we are out of time for today. The B Team Morning Show wrapping up. Of course, the B Team Encore Hour coming up here at the top of the hour. (31:11) We want to thank our sponsors, including Stripes Pub & Grill and Navarre Okaloosa Gas at Outkast Sushi and Miramar Beach for bringing you the show each and every single morning. Of course, if you missed anything we talked about today, you can find it all online at our website, thebteamshow.com, from your daily Ask Uncle Bobby feature to local news and events to the national holidays, the show on demand, and so much more, all at thebteamshow.com. (31:37) Hope you all have a safe and enjoyable rest of your Tuesday. Stay cool, stay hydrated. It's going to be a scorcher yet again. Heat index values coming up to about 106 this afternoon. All right, Bobby, I'm done. (31:52) I'm Schuyler Black. You get us on out. Hey, folks, thanks for joining the B Team Morning Show, your leading alternative to quality programming right here on the Emerald Coast. Now, we know you have a choice in what you listen to each and every day, and we appreciate the fact that you settled in on this wild ride that we call a morning show. But it's come that time of day, we've got to get on out of here. (32:09) So you keep on rocking, keep on rolling, never settle for the ordinary. Until the next time, the B Team is out. And that's a wrap on today's B Team Redux.