Split decision?

LAUREL HILL — This debate literally could split up the city of Laurel Hill.

On one side, a group of citizens — with the support of at least one city council member — advocates dissolving the city.

One the other side is the group wishing to stay the course as an incorporated city.

The issue burst into the public forum during the April 24 meeting of the Laurel Hill City Council.

Mayor James Dunn responded to a tie in a vote to fill a vacancy on the council by asking council members Betty Williamson and Gary Collinsworth if a desire to see the city return to county oversight affected their votes.

Williamson responded by saying she “wouldn’t mind at all” if the city dissolved. Collinsworth didn’t offer an absolute answer, but said he didn’t think Laurel Hill residents “could be any worse off” if the city was absorbed by Okaloosa County.

Dunn said he brought the issue into the open to quiet the “rumor mill” in the city.

“I don’t want to deal with rumors,” he said. “I want to deal with reality, and the reality is the decisions and the attitudes of the people at that (city council) table are the ones that matter.”

Read the full story in the Wednesday edition of the Crestview News Bulletin

Florida statutes
These 2007 Florida Statutes explain the dissolution process
(Source: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/)
165.051  Dissolution procedures.
(1) The charter of any existing municipality may be revoked and the municipal corporation dissolved by either:
(a) A special act of the Legislature; or
(b) An ordinance of the governing body of the municipality, approved by a vote of the qualified voters.
(2) If a vote of the qualified voters is required, the governing body of the municipality or, if the municipal governing body does not act within 30 days, the governing body of the county or counties in which the municipality is located, shall set the date of the election, which shall be the next regularly scheduled election or a special election held prior to such election, if approved by a majority of the members of the governing body of each governmental unit affected, but no sooner than 30 days after passage of the ordinance. Notice of the election shall be published at least once each week for 2 consecutive weeks prior to the election in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality.
165.061  Standards for incorporation, merger, and dissolution.
(3) The dissolution of a municipality must meet the following conditions:
(a) The municipality to be dissolved must not be substantially surrounded by other municipalities.
(b) The county or another municipality must be demonstrably able to provide necessary services to the municipal area proposed for dissolution.
(c) An equitable arrangement must be made in relation to bonded indebtedness and vested rights of employees of the municipality to be dissolved.
165.071  Financial allocations.
(3) The dissolution of a municipal government shall transfer the title to all property owned by the preexisting municipal government to the county, which shall also assume all indebtedness of the preexisting municipality, unless otherwise provided in the dissolution plan. The county is specifically authorized to levy and collect ad valorem taxes in the same manner as other county taxes from the area of the preexisting municipality for repayment of any assumed indebtedness through a special district created for such purpose in accordance with chapter 189.