Walton Commissioners Visit Lawmakers in D.C.

[wrobert]

From WMBB.com:
February 29, 2008

Commissioners Meet with Florida?s U.S. Congressional Delegation
Walton leaders travel to D.C. to urge federal leaders to fund major county projects
DeFuniak Springs, Fla ? Walton County commissioners Larry Jones, Sara Comander, Scott Brannon and Kenneth Pridgen met throughout the day Thursday with Florida?s congressional delegation in Washington, D.C. to urge federal funding for the county?s top project needs. Delegation members include U.S. Senator Bill Nelson, U.S. Representative Allen Boyd, U.S. Representative Jeff Miller and representatives of U.S. Senator Mel Martinez?s office. Commissioners also met with representatives of Florida Governor Crist?s state office in Washington, D.C. to request support of the county?s federal funding needs with the congressional delegation. Walton County Chamber of Commerce president & CEO, Dawn Moliterno and member Michael Lawson also attended meetings with commissioners to offer chamber support for funding requests.
Walton County commissioners explained to the United States senators and representatives the importance of obtaining federal funds for six major projects: $7 million towards widening U.S. Highway 331, $5 million towards widening the Choctawhatchee Bay Bridge, $3 million for a new wastewater treatment facility in Mossy Head, $350,000 for a mobile health unit, $500,000 to support an environmental assessment and the development of long term plans to preserve the county?s 15 named coastal dune lakes, and $600,000 for beach nourishment projects.
?I feel very good about meeting face-to-face with our federal leaders,? says District 3 Commissioner and Board Chair Larry Jones. ?They asked good questions and seemed sincerely interested in our top funding needs.? District 4 commissioner and Vice Chair of the Board Sara Comander agrees. ?Commissioner Jones, Commissioner Brannon, Commissioner Pridgen and I all took turns explaining to each of our federal leaders the significance of these projects to our districts and county,? she says, ?and I feel more encouraged about securing federal funds for these projects than ever before.?
The 2009-2010 federal budget begins in October. Federal leaders begin reviewing projects for funding considerations such as Walton County?s in June through the Congressional Appropriations Committee.

 

[Santiago]

If every Mossy Head in America gets $3,000,000 for a wastewater treatment facility, I think I just figured out why we can't balance the budget.

 

[GoodWitch58]

I wonder why the Commissiners have to go to Washington to visit with the delegation? Why can't the Members come to Walton County? They all have Florida offices; it seems it would save lots of money and it would give the Members an opportunity to actually see what needs to be done...

Why we might even be able to afford recycling or pave some more roads if the travel budget was reduced....

 

[wrobert]

I wonder why the Commissiners have to go to Washington to visit with the delegation? Why can't the Members come to Walton County? They all have Florida offices; it seems it would save lots of money and it would give the Members an opportunity to actually see what needs to be done...

Why we might even be able to afford recycling or pave some more roads if the travel budget was reduced....

In addition we also hired a Federal lobbyist a couple of years ago or so.

 

[BeachSiO2]

I think they do this every year while they are attending the National Association of Counties Meeting in DC. It makes sense to me to see the delegation if they are in DC anyway.

Plus, right now is when the delegation is developing their funding requests so it is good business to go and talk about those issues when it is top of mind. The legislators require all funding requests to be in after the President's budget is announced on the first Monday in February but by mid-March at the latest. For the County to be successful they need to convince the delegation that their needs are more important than the other constituents.

As for meeting at home, it is important to meet again with the legislators when they are home in the summer also because this is when there is more time to educate the legislators and give them "ammunition" to fight for their project when they are working with other legislators.

 

[wrobert]

I think they do this every year while they are attending the National Association of Counties Meeting in DC. It makes sense to me to see the delegation if they are in DC anyway.

I understood they were skipping the conference and just meeting the officials.

 

[BeachSiO2]

I understood they were skipping the conference and just meeting the officials.

Gotcha. I just remembered in the past that they did it while they were there for the conference. By the way, I checked and all legislative request forms for Boyd, Miller, Nelson and Martinez were due by Friday so maybe their goal was to follow them up with face time.

 

[Andy A]

Gotcha. I just remembered in the past that they did it while they were there for the conference. By the way, I checked and all legislative request forms for Boyd, Miller, Nelson and Martinez were due by Friday so maybe their goal was to follow them up with face time.

Your posts are quite good and right on point. There is a lot to be said about face to face meetings in D.C. and most of it is good. When I worked in state government, I found that conferences and direct meetings with elected officials were always a good, and usually productive exercise. Usually, it is not wasted money as some citizens seem to think. I think of it as necessary interaction between our elected officials.

 

[BeachSiO2]

Your posts are quite good and right on point. There is a lot to be said about face to face meetings in D.C. and most of it is good. When I worked in state government, I found that conferences and direct meetings with elected officials were always a good, and usually productive exercise. Usually, it is not wasted money as some citizens seem to think. I think of it as necessary interaction between our elected officials.

Thanks Andy I have been working to secure federal funding for projects for a few years so I have a little history with the process. Another thing to keep in mind is that Walton County is requesting approximately $16.5 million for their projects. So, a DC visit on behalf of the County probably isn't too much to ask, especially since other municipalities are there pitching their projects.