SHALIMAR — Staff from the Okaloosa County Clerk of Courts’ Inspector General’s office will evaluate the city of Laurel Hill’s assets and conduct an audit of all of its finances in advance of Laurel Hill possibly being dissolved.
The evaluation and audit received the County Commission’s unanimous approval Tuesday after earlier having received the green light from Laurel Hill officials.
In the March 9 municipal election, registered voters in Laurel Hill will be asked whether to approve a referendum that asks whether the city should be dissolved and become one of the county’s unincorporated communities.
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If the city dissolves, the county eventually would take over various services for Laurel Hill, such as paving certain roads.
However, such a transition would not occur overnight, County Administrator John Hofstad emphasized Tuesday.
“As this board knows, there have been discussions in previous years of dissolving the city of Laurel Hill and revoking its charter,” Hofstad told the commission.
He added that a similar initiative supported by some Laurel Hill residents and elected officials about nine years ago failed to gain traction.
As he did back then, Hofstad said Tuesday that if Laurel Hill’s charter gets revoked and the city dissolves, city residents should not expect the county to “show up the next day and pave roads and fix other problems.”
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Laurel Hill, incorporated in 1905, is the county’s oldest city and covers three square miles.
It currently has about 600 residents, according to a population estimate from the University of Florida’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research. Among the county’s nine municipalities, Laurel Hill is the second smallest in population after Cinco Bayou, which has a little more than 400 residents.
Results of the county’s evaluation of Laurel Hill’s assets and audit of its finances will be shared with Laurel Hill residents and officials at a town hall meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. Feb. 18. It will take place at The Barn at Water Oaks Farm at 4080 Second Ave. in Laurel Hill, according to Commission Chairwoman Carolyn Ketchel.
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County officials at that meeting also will lay out what services the county would provide to Laurel Hill should it become an unincorporated community, Hofstad said.
Among other issues, county and Laurel Hill officials would have to consider how fire protection services would be provided and what entity would assume the city’s water utility.
Hofstad said county officials have been assured by Laurel Hill's staff that the city does not have any general fund debt and only a small amount of debt for its water system.
If the city is dissolved, the county would absorb any of its debts as well as any of its residual reserves and would manage any public spaces currently overseen by the city, he said.
Laurel Hill’s fiscal 2020 budget consisted of more than $668,000 in its general operating fund and more than $691,000 in its enterprise operating fund. The general operating fund total included $59,500 in property tax revenue.
County Clerk of Courts and Comptroller J.D. Peacock told the commission Tuesday that he hopes to get the evaluation of the city’s assets and audit of its finances completed well before next month’s town hall meeting.
At Tuesday’s session, Commissioner Paul Mixon said the vote on Laurel Hill’s referendum on whether to dissolve the city would be “the final straw,” meaning the issue would not have to then go to the state Legislature.
Mixon represents District 1, which includes Laurel Hill.
“I’ve met with many Laurel Hill residents” about the city possibly being dissolved, he said.
Mixon said he is aware of the “unfortunate view” by some Laurel Hill residents that “if we close their city, we’ll be there to take care of their problems” right away.
Instead, roads in Laurel Hill that need paving would be put in the county’s rotation of road projects, said Mixon, who made the motion for the county staff to examine the city’s assets and finances.
In addition to voting on the referendum, voters in Laurel Hill will decide in the March 9 election who will fill the open mayor’s seat.
The current four-year terms of Mayor Robby Adams and City Council members Mike Blizzard and Johnny James expire in April.
In the election, Adams and former Councilman Travis Dewrell will compete for the mayor’s seat. Blizzard and James are the only candidates for the two open council seats and will be automatically re-elected.
If the referendum to dissolve the city is approved, the newly-seated elected officials would help Laurel Hill in its transition to become an unincorporated community.
Echoing some comments by Hofstad and Mixon, Blizzard on Tuesday evening said roads in Laurel Hill would not get paved right away just because they are overseen by the county instead of the city.
Overall, "There's not going to be a big benefit" to Laurel Hill residents if the city gets dissolved, Blizzard said.