Interested in how a town of Perdido would work? Learn more Monday
The nonprofit organization We Are Perdido is hosting an informational meeting Monday evening to discuss the results of a feasibility study on incorporating Perdido into its own town.
We Are Perdido began in September 2022 after a growing number of residents began asking if there was a better way to address local issues and guide their own future, according to the organization's website.
The nonprofit ultimately engaged the firm BJM Consulting to develop a feasibility study and a proposed five-year budget for the prospective town.
BJM Consulting has completed its six-month study of the Perdido community and will publicly present its findings 6:30 p.m. Monday at Liberty Church, 2221 S. Blue Angel Parkway in Pensacola.
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Joe Mazurkiewicz Jr., president of the firm, will share the information learned in the study.
"This report takes no position on incorporation. We draw no conclusions and make no recommendations," Mazurkiewicz said in a statement. "We lay out the facts."
BJM Consulting will provide a five-year general fund budget projection and a summary of tax revenues that would turn over to the proposed town.
"We looked at a government lite concept with no more than five employees who would administer contracts," Mazurkiewicz said.
Government lite-style cities are different than typical full-service cities in that they contract out most of their services and focus on specific issues important to the community, often with significant cost-savings, a We Are Perdido news release said. The structure enables towns to operate with just a handful of employees.
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BJM Consulting has conducted over 30 such studies, beginning with its first feasibility report prepared for Fort Myers Beach, incorporated in 1996. Using the government lite model, that town's first-year administrative costs were less than 10% of the total budget.
We Are Perdido contends contends that "by incorporating our area as a municipality, we can directly address the local issues we face, make decisions ourselves, and return a more significant share of tax dollars to our local community. We can reduce the overall burden on our county by taking control of our own destiny. Citizens can have a local voice in their own city government. Together, we can improve the quality of life for us and our neighbors in the surrounding unincorporated county."
Residents will be able to submit questions to Mazurkiewicz during the meeting regarding the feasibility report. Citizen’s questions regarding the overall process can be searched and submitted at weareperdido.org/questions/. The event will be live-streamed on We Are Perdido's YouTube channel.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: We Are Perdido hosts feasibility study results at Liberty Church
