What the Florence Public is Saying

 

Yesterday we touched on the lack of preparation in the City of Florence. A few, very few, called foul on our remarks, but these were coming from the citizens. Let's look at a few of these comments:

the police department can't even get the city to clear their parking lot ?

yea it’s ridiculous and the people of Florence have a reason to be upset. I work out of town and just came back last night and was astonished on the conditions of the roads compared to Huntsville and Athens. Total mismanagement and resources and planning and just not caring. People have to get to work or risk getting fired and to the grocery store and the hospital and other places. When your main city roads are still in such bad shape after 5 days it’s uncalled with the a city the size of Florence.

He said they dropped 1 ton of salt already. I asked "WHERE?" I know they have but I've seen zero evidence of any loose salt or gravel on the road anywhere. 1 ton is salt is nothing. To be proud of that is astonishing to me. We've been stuck inside for 6 days now, trucks cannot get to the grocery stores, shelves are empty, commerce is halted - all because of complete mismanagement.

it won’t do any good but I will write my grievances to him. That’s hilarious that he is pleased with the progress on the roads doesn’t surprise me though. He doesn’t care

Please write Andy Betterton ABetterton@florenceal.org with your grievances. I've been in touch and of course he dismissed it like it was a "me" issue not a shared community problem. He said he was pleased with the progress that was made on the roads. Clearly he hasn't been out on them. He has ample notice and he dropped the ball.

The city of Florence is a joke for the letting the roads still be in as bad shape as they are. Completely incompetent and inexcusable and a embarrassment to the rest of the state.

I just don’t have much patience when incompetence threatens my livelihood

A state of emergency was declared so extra funds were released. our Mayor was asleep at the wheel.

They could have plowed and salted as soon as it stopped falling. If they don’t have snow plows they could invest in the snow plow attachments that go in the front of trucks. It’s almost like they just threw their hands up. Kids need to get back to school. Businesses need revenue. There’s no doubt that more could’ve been done.

Don't forget the half million of our tax dollars going to UNA every year. Our Mayor & City Council members voted for that. We got 2 City Council members on UNA'S payroll. Then our wonderful Mayor Andy Betterton & the Florence City Council have allotted 700 hundred thousand to re-purpose Pine St for UNA. Florence City had snow removal accessories and salt trucks at one time. They must have decided they were no longer needed. UNA could use our tax dollars more than our property owning tax paying Citizens. No matter the Citizens can't get out. How many missed important Dr. appt. ??? Our Mayor & City Council could care less about the Citizens. I for one am sick of seeing our tax dollars go to a Liberal Arts College with a 47% graduation rate. SA rate is not very good either, but UNA keeps that on the down low. UNA is a moral hazard and nothing more than a legal money racket. Kitts making 267 thousand with all his perks. Male coaches make 97 thousand a year & female coaches making around 12 thousand less a year. UNA don't even practice what they teach. DEI UNA.....REMEMBER ALL THE TAX PAYER MONEY GIVEN TO THIS FAILING INSTITUTE WITH A 47% graduation rate. They can't even graduate every 1 out of 2 students, but the 53% that did not graduate still have student loans debt. YET KEN KITTS still gets his money. The coaches get their money, and the students and tax payers are left paying the bill for them to live the highlife. If a student defaults on their loan you think UNA is going to help or even care. Nope they got their money. This is insanity. Continuing to do the same thing expecting different results...

The above are just remarks from city residents. The remarks from Waterloo and other county areas are not publishable using our language guidelines. Hopefully, those fine folks will find safe passage to the grocery store shortly and no kittens will be harmed in the making of dinner.

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Hi, I'm Tomato, but I don't want to be anyone's lunch. I'm a five month-old girl who should have fluffy long hair. Come see me at the Florence shelter on Roberson in the industrial park: