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North Florida Broadband Authority: Perry Pulls Out, City Manager tells Council, "It's just out of whack"


City of Perry Mayor, Emily Weed Ketring listens to City Manager Bob Brown talk about the NFBA.

TAYLOR COUNTY, FL – The North Florida Broadband Authority suffered another casualty when at 6:10pm last night, the City of Perry pulled out of the NFBA. City Manager Bob Brown has been briefing the City Council for sometime regarding the goings on at the NFBA. It took the Perry City Council three minutes to unanimously decide to leave the NFBA behind.

Perry has it together

A walk in the historic downtown of Perry reveals a downtown that is clean, renovated, has a variety of shops and is safe. Perry, the county seat of Taylor County, represents the work of a City Council that cares about its City and clearly pays attention.

Mayor Ketring calls the item

At 6:10pm last night, Mayor Emily Weed Ketring called agenda item 5f: City Council to discuss City's membership in the North Florida Broadband Authority and to consider a resolution.

City Manager Bob Brown began the discussion: 

"We joined the Broadband Authority in 2010. It was part of the stimulus and it was supposed to bring broadband Internet to underserved areas... I think originally its intent was even sold as possibly being free Internet access... Today 100% of the City has broadband access from multiple providers. We have both landline and wireless providers in the City."

Mayor Ketring added: We have satellite, too.

It's just out of whack

City Manager Brown continued:

  ... The Broadband Authority has spent about $10 million or more – they don't have anything up to serve one customer, anywhere. They had their funding suspended last year because of issues.
They are kind of a dysfunctional organization. They pay a lot of high salaries. For example, their executive director makes $150,000 a year and is asking for some enhancements to that.
If you look at what the County Managers and others make, they are running larger budgets on an annual basis to what their $30 million is over their life.
You know -- it's just out of whack.

Mayor Ketring asked, "Where is the executive director located?

City Manager Brown:  They are in Lake City. They were supposed to create jobs -- to the best of my knowledge there have been no local jobs created. They told me at one time they would rather build a tower and pay the engineering fee, rather than to put an antenna on our water tower. They've got a $750,000 loan from a bank.

Mayor Ketring:  For what?

City Manager Brown answered, "Who knows."

Then CM Brown continued, "But anyway, they're kind of not relevant anymore – here... there are a lot of questions about how they are being operated.

Councilman Gunter heard enough

City Councilman Daryll Gunter appeared to have heard enough. He asked, "Have we spent any money with them?"

CM Brown answered, "No, we haven't spent any money."

City Councilman Gunter wasted no time, "Motion to withdraw... Motion to approve the resolution to withdraw."

The City Clerk polled the Council. The vote was unanimous. The City of Perry was out of the NFBA.

Epilogue

The former Economic Development Director of Taylor County, Rick Breer, had strong ties with the North Florida Economic Development Partnership and Jeff Hendry, the group that pushed for the Obama Stimulus Broadband Grant and pounded the pavement to induce various North Central Florida Cities and Counties to sign on.

City Manager Brown explained the NFBA push this way, "The way it was originally sold, there would be free Internet access -- it's not going to cost us anything."

For the City of Perry, as well as Bradford County, it appears free wasn't good enough, as they stood up for values that are fading from America. 

Comments  (to add a comment go here)

On April 15, 2012, Citizen49a wrote:

There seems to be a wealth of local politicians who can identify a scam in a matter of minutes and cut their association with it - once you cross the Columbia County line. Why would that be?

Reading over the summary of the proceedings of the Perry City Council it appears that they, like the Bradford County Commission, exercised two qualities: common sense and integrity. One can only conclude that one or both are in severe deficit here where the NFBA money pot resides.

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Links to the NFBA series:

North Florida Broadband Authority:
Baker County becomes the 7th north central Florida county to pull out of Obama stimulus funded NFBA

(Part XXXVII) (February 19, 2013)

North Florida Broadband Authority: Feds put failing stimulus funded NFBA on life support. 3yrs and $28+ mil later, 60 customers and no revenue model.
(Part XXXVI) (February 15, 2012)

North Florida Broadband Authority: Former Board Clerk sues NFBA for wrongful termination and violation of her constitutional rights
(Part XXXV) (January 30, 2013)

North Florida Broadband Authority: $30 mil later N. Central Florida Regional Planning Council - clueless
(Part XXXIV) (January 25, 2013)

North Florida Broadband Authority: After General Counsel's response, FL's Public Record Laws remain the latest casualty
(Part XXXIII (b)) (January 8, 2013)

• North Florida Broadband Authority: FL's Public Record Laws the latest casualty
(Part XXXIII) (January 6, 2013)

North Florida Broadband Authority: Foot dragging, lack of info cause Suwannee Cnty to call "strike 3" on the NFBA – They're out
(Part XXXII) (January 3, 2013)

North Florida Broadband Authority: Suwannee County tells the NFBA – One more strike and you're out
(PartXXXI) (December 20, 2012)

North Florida Broadband Authority: Wracked by gross mismanagement from the feds on down, the NFBA has become the poster child for non disclosure
(Part XXX) (December 18, 2012)

North Florida Broadband Authority: More bad news. Last Mile Wifi CEO, "I knew they were going to extort me."
(Part XXIX) December 10, 2012

North Florida Broadband Authority: NFBA failed to make the grade in Gilchrist County
(Part XXVIII) (November 29, 2012)

North Florida Broadband Authority: Columbia County Pulls Out of Obama Funded Stimulus Project
(Part XXVII) (November 2, 2012)

North Florida Broadband Authority: The NFBA road show traveled to an unprepared Columbia County with misinformation, half truths, and just plain lies
(Part XXVI) (Posted October 9, 2012)

North Florida Broadband Authority: Woebegotten Stimulus funded authority gets another black eye. No one bids to service the $30 mil 14 county network.
(Part XXV) (Posted October 1, 2012)

• North Florida Broadband Auth: Another County pulls out. Dixie says throwing away money a major issue.
(Part XXIV) (Posted September 13, 2012)

North Florida Broadband Authority: NFBA road shows moves to Lake City for a double dose of free money
(Part XXIII) (Posted September 5, 2012)

North Florida Broadband Authority: Secrecy and a lawyer's spread sheet. It's business as usual at the NFBA.
(Part XXII) (Posted August 22, 2012)

North Florida Broadband Authority:  Mainstreet Broadband, NFBA's touted business partner, goes bust
(Part XXI) (Posted August 2, 2012)

• North Florida Broadband Authority: Two cities say "no mas." Refuse free tower space to NFBA
(Part XX)  (Posted July 26, 2012)

North Florida Broadband Authority: Taylor County Says Goodbye, "I don't think our county should be involved."
(Part XIX) (Posted April 18, 2012)

• North Florida Broadband Authority: Perry Pulls Out, City Manager tells Council, "It's just out of whack"
(Part XVIII) (Posted April 11, 2012)

North Florida Broadband Authority: Bradford County Says "No Mas" – Pulls Out
(Part XVII) (Posted April 4, 2012)

North Florida Broadband Authority: Operating in the shadows with the help of the Feds, the NFBA saga continues
(Part XVI) (posted March 29, 2012)

Lake City, City Manager Wendell Johnson looks to make White Elephant deal with troubled North Florida Broadband Authority
(Part XV) (Posted Feb 28, 2012)

North Florida Broadband Authority: Propped up by the Feds, financed by the American People - Who can you trust?
(Part XIV) (Posted Feb 25, 2012)

North Florida Broadband Authority:
"Sunlight is the best disinfectant." Not for them

(Part XIII) (Posted Jan 13, 2011)

North Florida Broadband Authority:
A Lawyer's Dream. A Look At The Numbers
(Part XIIb) (Posted Dec 29, 2011)

North Florida Broadband Authority:
A Lawyer's Dream. Money Is No Object
(Part XIIa) (Posted Dec 28, 2011)

North Florida Broadband Authority:
Feds come to town – Working under the cover of darkness was their MO

(Part XI) (Posted November 23, 2011)

North Florida Broadband Authority:
Feds continue investigation - Interim GM rehires resigned firms employees

(part X) (Posted Nov 11, 2011)

North Florida Broadband Authority: "The greatest threat to this project is the Government"
(Part IX) (Posted November 2, 2011)

• Federal grant for broadband access in rural Louisiana rescinded: Could the North Florida Broadband Authority Be Far Behind?
(Posted October 28, 2011)

• North Florida Broadband Authority: Redefining "Good Business Sense?"
(Part VIII) (Posted October 25, 2011)

• North Florida Broadband Authority: Feds resume funding – Put small vendors first
(Part VII) (Posted October 20, 2011)

North Florida Broadband Authority: Small vendors in big trouble | NFEDP/FSU's Hendry may resign (Part VIb)  (Posted Oct 14, 2011)

North Florida Broadband Authority: Blood in the street (Part VIa)  (posted Oct 13, 2011)

North Florida Broadband Authority: "I don't want to die on principle and not have broadband." (Part V)  (posted Oct. 6, 2011)

NFBA future in limbo - Fed keeps funds locked down - Suspend project  (Part IV) (posted Sept 28, 2011)

The North Florida Broadband Authority. Its world was about to change (part III)  (posted Sept 16, 2011)

"I think we have a failure to communicate." The N Florida Rural Broadband saga continues (Part II)  (posted Sept 14, 2011)

Feds close spigot on $30 million broadband stimulus grant. 15 north central Florida counties waiting for money to flow again
(Part I)  (posted Sept 12, 2011)