Ask the Governor: Where's the Help for Northwest Florida?
“We haven’t really had to lay off state employees. I vetoed a reduction in their salaries during the (2009) legislative session. So we’re doing everything we can to hold up the economy here in Tallahassee, in addition to supporting higher education, giving (the universities) more flexibility as it relates to tuition. We did that reluctantly, but the universities made a strong argument that it was necessary to improve higher education, and that affects Tallahassee, hopefully in a positive way, as it relates to the people employed at the university. Hopefully we’re coming out of this economic downfall.”
Where’s the help for Northwest Florida? Originally published in the Feb/Mar 2010 issue of 850 Business Magazine
Q: Community banks depend upon mortgage aggregators, such as Taylor, Bean and Whitaker, to offer residential mortgage loans at competitive, secondary-market rates. The recent failure of Taylor, Bean and Whitaker emphasizes the importance of the role the state of Florida plays in supervising mortgage bankers and mortgage brokers. What steps has the state taken to assure confidence in and continuity of service of the mortgage industry? Andrew Stein, President and CEO, Summit Bank NA, Panama City
Gov. Crist: “We’ve already done some things. There is a federal act called SAFE (the Secure and Fair Enforcement Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008) that provides greater accountability and appropriate regulation for individual loan originators. During our (spring 2009) session, the Legislature passed and I signed into law Senate Bill 2226 to implement the minimum standards of the federal SAFE Act in Florida. It makes a number of changes in terms of screening, requiring background checks on individuals lending money, (to ensure) that they are appropriate to do so, and (providing) checks and balances to restore faith in the mortgage lending industry and those who are originating those loans.”
(Editor’s Note: The new regulations, passed after media reports that thousands of individuals with criminal histories were selling mortgages in Florida, are designed to combat the state’s reputation as a mortgage fraud capital and are among the toughest in the country. The law requires annual criminal background and credit checks on anyone who sells loans, bans convicted felons from becoming mortgage brokers, and sets up a fund to help anyone who has been scammed.)
Q: State government and higher education have been the economic drivers of the Tallahassee economy. Because of cutbacks in state government and higher education in Tallahassee, the community is losing jobs and the economy is suffering. The impact is the same as if a major employer closed or laid off many employees. Yet the state ignores Tallahassee’s situation and only pays attention to those communities where industry creates difficulty because of cutbacks and layoffs. Why won’t the state consider Tallahassee in the same light and provide assistance to the community to improve our economy? J. Michael Pate, Program Director for Tallahassee, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Gov. Crist: “We haven’t really had to lay off state employees. I vetoed a reduction in their salaries during the (2009) legislative session. So we’re doing everything we can to hold up the economy here in Tallahassee, in addition to supporting higher education, giving (the universities) more flexibility as it relates to tuition. We did that reluctantly, but the universities made a strong argument that it was necessary to improve higher education, and that affects Tallahassee, hopefully in a positive way, as it relates to the people employed at the university. Hopefully we’re coming out of this economic downfall.”
Q: With the talk of connecting Central and South Florida hubs with a high-speed passenger rail system, has there been any talk of linking the North Florida area to those hubs, or of implementing a North Florida axis, say Pensacola-Tallahassee-Jacksonville? J. Adam Watson, CPA, Watson & Associates, PA, CPAs, Tallahassee
Gov. Crist: “There has never been a better chance. There was never anything to link (North Florida) up to until we got this legislation (passed in a December special session to establish a commuter rail system in Central Florida and possibly elsewhere in the state). Now we have that possibility in Florida’s future, for North Florida. Before we got this passed, that wasn’t even something that was on the table. It could be a great augmentation to the new airport outside Panama City. We are offering all kinds of additional transportation opportunities to the entire state. It doesn’t have to be that far in the future.”
