The youngest offender was 18, the oldest 66, and most had trails of arrests behind them already–64 felony and 95 misdemeanor convictions between them, Sheriff Rick Staly said, including one, Twain Slater, who’s been arrested more than a dozen times since becoming an adult (he’s 31), for a combined 23 felony and misdemeanor convictions.
Backgrounders
Palm Coast Taxes Would Rise About 14% To Pay for 7% Budget Increase, Including 5 More Deputies
In its first comprehensive recommendation to the Palm Coast City Council for the coming year’s budget, the city administration is proposing a 7 percent budget increase that includes money for five new sheriff’s deputies, two new firefighters and a fire inspector, and nine additional administrative positions. But it would require a tax increase.
‘I Don’t Belong Here,’ Eddie Branquinho Says, Storming Out of Council Meeting After Not Getting His Way
Palm Coast City Council member Eddie Branquinho walked out of a workshop meeting this morning and is considering not completing the four months left in his term after fellow-council members refused to go along with his demand that they issue a tendentious two-question survey on apartment and single-family home construction in the city. Branquinho, a staunch opponent of apartment construction, likened current trends to turning Palm Coast into Newark–coded language about race and crime.
1,200-Home Eagle Lakes/Radiance Development Clears County Commission Against Opposition, 3-1
In a victory as major for the developer of future phases of Eagle Lakes as it is a blow to existing residents of Eagle Lakes, the Flagler County Commission this evening cleared the way for a 1,200-home development on 612 acres at the south end of Old Kings Road, a development one commissioner likened to Palm Coast’s Grand Haven, at least by size.
‘I Run the County,’ Commissioner Joe Mullins Tells FHP; A Trooper Calls Him ‘Belligerent’ and ‘Disrespectful’
Flagler County Commissioner Joe Mullins, who has made a chronic habit of speeding, getting pulled over then attempt to get out of a ticket by abusing his authority, told a Florida Highway Patrol trooper that “I run the county” in one such attempt on I-4 last month, video of the encounter shows, and another trooper called him “extremely condescending, belligerent, illogical, and disrespectful.”
Flagler Schools Get B as Florida Resumes Grading, But Rymfire-Buddy Taylor-FPC Pipeline Is a C
After two years of Covid, when the state did not grade schools and districts, Flagler County schools earned a grade of B this year, with only three of its schools earning an A and four earning a C. Two earned a B. It was a middling performance coming off the disruptions of the pandemic and a decline from the A the district had scored in 2019.
Developments Could Stall If County, Cities and District Can’t Agree on School Construction Payments
As they hurtle toward an arbitrary Aug. 31 deadline that could potentially bring some local development to a halt, the Flagler County School Board on one side and the county, Palm Coast and Bunnell on the other remain in sharp opposition over how to collect money developers owe the district to ensure there are enough schools for incoming students.
School Board at Impasse With County and Palm Coast Over Billing Developers for New Schools
The Flagler County School Board says it needs to collect a larger portion of impact fees up front to plan for $175 million in new school construction. The County Commission and Palm Coast object, proposing a plan that would let developers pay a smaller share up front, and pay as they go.
Taxable Values Surge at Highest Pace in 16 Years, Setting Up Windfall for Government
Taxable values in Flagler County rose 18 percent in 2021, higher than initially estimated two months ago. Values rose nearly 20 percent in Palm Coast, 14.5 percent in Flagler Beach and 22 percent in Bunnell. The school board’s taxable values increased by 25 percent. For local governments, the surging values can translate to surging revenue–if the governments do not hold the line on tax rates.
Palm Coast Opts for FCC Environmental After 16 Years With Waste Pro, Dismissing Pleas and Accusations
The Palm Coast City Council voted 4-1 to approve a $32 million, seven-year contract with FCC Environmental, ending what will be a 16-year relationship with Waste Pro, whose employees and supporters unsuccessfully attempted to sway the council back their way Tuesday evening.