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Touart received He was appointed [[Escambia County Administrator]] on [[April 4]], [[2002]], by a Bachelor of Science degree unanimous [[Escambia County Commission]] vote in Community and Regional Planning from the University of Southern Mississippi and a Master's Degree in Public Administration from Troy State Universitywhich he was selected over four other candidates.<ref>[http://www"Touart picked to lead Escambia.co.escambia.fl" ''Pensacola News Journal'', April 5, 2002.us/departments/board_of_county_commissioners/CountyAdministratornew.php County bio]</ref> He and his wife officially took the position on [[Barbara Touart|BarbaraApril 22]], replacing interim administrator [[Bob Halfhill]] have four children: Christy, Amberwho had served since the resignation of [[Tom Forrest]] on [[December 3]], [[Matthew Touart|Matthew2001]] and Jacob.
{{sectstub}}Escambia County administrator George Touart plead "No Contest" to illegal hunting and illegal possession of game birds.The charges stem from a hunting trip to Wisconsin in 2005.Touart has to pay a fine of just over 23-hundred dollars and will lose his privilege to hunt in Wisconsin for 3 years.Escambia County Sheriff Ron McNesby And County Commissioner Mike Whitehead were also on the hunting trip.They plead no contest to their charges last year.
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| subject_name =George Touart
| image_name =Touart.jpg
| image_size =175px152px
| image_caption =
| date_of_birth =[[August 24]], [[1948]]| place_of_birth =Pensacola| date_of_death =[[January 24]], [[2014]]| place_of_death =Pensacola| occupation =[[Escambia County AdministratorrAdministrator]]<br/>([[2002]]-[[2007]], [[2012]]-[[2014]])
| religion =
| spouse =Barbara Touart
}}
{{for|the early Escambia County resident of the same name|George Touart (19th century)}}
'''George Touart''' (pronounced TOO-ar[[Wikipedia:IPA chart for English dialects|IPA]]: /ˈtuɑɹ/, born [[1948]]) is the former [[Escambia County Administrator]]. He was appointed on , serving in that position from [[April 422]], [[2002]] until [[September 6]], by a unanimous [[Escambia County Commission2007]] vote in which , when he was selected over four other candidatesreplaced by interim administrator [[Bob McLaughlin]].<ref>"Touart picked He was rehired to lead Escambia." ''Pensacola News Journal'', April 5, 2002.</ref> He officially took the position in an interim capacity on [[April 22December 1]], replacing interim administrator [[Bob Halfhill2012]], who had and served since the resignation of [[Tom Forrest]] until his death on [[December 3January 24]], [[20012014]]. Touart During his tenure he presided over the [[soccer complex corruption scandal]] and the resulting removal from office of several [[County CommissionerCommission]]sers, as well as the County's reconstruction efforts following [[Hurricane Ivan]]. In [[2007]], He has also been at the center of a $1.4 million land purchase approved by the County was reconsidered and eventually canceled after undisclosed business relationships between Touart and the property's seller, [[Neal Nash]] number of [[Martine's Corp.#Controversies|controversies]], were revealedincluding those leading to and surrounding his resignation. As public scrutiny increased, Touart disclosed additional dealings with other entities that do business with [[Escambia County]]. Facing likely suspension He and citing an "atmosphere of distrust" that made it "almost impossible to continue as county administrator,"<ref name="resigns">"Touart resigns." ''Pensacola News Journal'', September 7, 2007.</ref> Touart announced his resignation before the wife [[Board of County Commissioners]] on [[September 6Barbara Touart|Barbara]]have four children: Christy, Amber, [[2007Matthew Touart|Matthew]]and Jacob.
==Education and early career==
Born in Pensacola, Touart previously received a Bachelor of Science degree in Community and Regional Planning from the University of Southern Mississippi and a Master's Degree in Public Administration from Troy State University.<ref>[http://www.co.escambia.fl.us/departments/board_of_county_commissioners/CountyAdministratornew.php County bio]</ref> Before returning to Pensacola, Touart served as administrator in two Mississippi counties, Jackson County (from 1989 to 2001) and Madison County (from December 2001 to April 2002). He was also a City Councilman in Pascagoula, Mississippi, from 1984 to 1989.
==Controversies==
===Illegal hunting trip===
===Connections to County land deal===
Commissioner [[Mike Whitehead]] dismissed Touart's nondisclosure as "just an oversight," but added, "in this post-W.D. era, we just got to have disclosures on this stuff." Commissioner Robinson said, "The worst thing it did is we are trying to build trust with the people and this pushes us back and we've lost trust."<ref name="future"/>
On [[August 23]], [[2007]], the County Commission voted to cancel the land deal. At the same meeting, the Commission also voted to put off until [[September 6]] any decision on reprimanding or penalizing Touart for his lack of disclosure. The ''Pensacola News Journal'' and other media outlets published editorials calling for Touart's retirement.<ref name="retire">"Time for Touart to retire as county administrator". ''Pensacola News Journal'', August 26, 2007</ref> Touart resigned at the [[September 6]] meeting.
===Additional Other connections===
After the fallout of the [[Bauer Road]] land deal, some of Touart's other business relationships were criticized for presenting potential conflicts of interest for the county administrator.<ref name="morelinks">"George Touart reveals more business links." ''Pensacola News Journal'', August 29, 2007.</ref>
*Touart is a partner in Mississippi-based employee staffing firm [[Global Employment Services]], which has done work for the Disaster Recover division of [[R. W. Beck Group]], which in turn was awarded millions by Escambia County for debris removal after hurricanes [[Hurricane Ivan|Ivan]] and [[Hurricane Dennis|Dennis]] and was pending approval to cleanup Escambia's coastal waterways. Touart insists that his relationship to the company is not improper, as Global Employment Services (GES) has never done work in Escambia County. He told the ''[[Independent News]]'', "I've checked with the state ethics commission and with ([[Escambia County Attorney]]) [[Janet Lander]]. I don't have an ethics issue because the R. W. Beck contract with county was signed before we (GES) did any work with them and because my company (GES) does not work in Escambia County."<ref>[http://inweekly.net/article.asp?artID=5431 Touart offers up his side]</ref>
*In [[2005]], Touart and then-[[County Commission]]er [[Bill Dickson]] partnered with Dickson's cousin, CPA [[Barry Dickson]], to purchase an 8% share in a waterfront investment property in Mississippi. Barry Dickson was offered the share by his clients, developers [[Allen Levin]] and [[Cliff Mowe]]. "This was Barry Dickson's deal," Touart said.<ref name="morelinks"/> Touart and Dickson assert there was nothing illegal in the partnership, as the property in question is in Mississippi, not Escambia County, but others have questioned the propriety of such an arrangement. ''[[Pensacola News Journal]]'' columnist [[Mark O'Brien]] posited, "Imagine if Touart messed up as administrator. A commissioner might have trouble disciplining a guy he was partners with on a development deal."<ref>"By George, the man is the Donald Trump of the Panhandle." ''Pensacola News Journal'', September 3, 2007.</ref>
*Touart's son [[Matthew Touart|Matthew]], of the Arety's Angels scandal, is employed by [[Cantonment]]-based contractor [[Roads, Inc.]],<ref>[http://roadsinc.com/id2.html Roads, Inc. website]</ref> which is regularly awarded contracts by [[Escambia County]] government.
===Retirement===
At the [[September 6]], [[2007]] [[Board of County Commissioners]] meeting, facing criticism and likely suspension related to his private business dealings and citing an "atmosphere of distrust" that made it "almost impossible to continue as county administrator,"<ref name="resigns">"Touart resigns." ''Pensacola News Journal'', September 7, 2007.</ref> Touart announced his intention to retire "effective April 22, 2008 … pending the approval of the settlement and release agreement setting forth the severance terms and conditions for my retirement." He was granted temporary administrative leave by the Board while the terms of his retirement could be negotiated, and assistant administrator [[Bob McLaughlin]] was appointed to serve until a permanent replacement could be found.
Touart had requested to remain on paid leave until April 2008 so he could retire with the Florida Retirement System's pension plan, which would be worth up to $1,275 per month. At the time of his stepping down, Touart was vested in the FRS investment plan (similar to a [[Wikipedia:401(k)|401(k)]]), and allowing him to remain on the county's payroll long enough to qualify for the pension system would have required a change in his contract. It was one of three severance options recommended by [[Escambia County Attorney]] [[Janet Lander]], only one of which consistent with his current contract.<ref>"Touart's exit could pay off." ''Pensacola News Journal'', September 12, 2007.</ref>
On [[September 18]], the [[County Commission]] voted 3-2 to deny Touart's request to amend his contract. Commissioners [[Kevin White|White]] and [[Gene Valentino|Valentino]] supported the motion tendered by [[Marie Young]], who said, "If you don't qualify for retirement, you don't qualify. This is nothing personal. It's just the way it is."<ref>"Touart forced to resign." ''Pensacola News Journal'', September 19, 2007.</ref>
In a [[September 28]] letter to county officials, attorney [[P. Michael Patterson]] wrote that Touart had been assured by the Board's staff that the terms of his retirement would be approved. He added, "The [[Board of County Commissioners|BCC]] should not and can not terminate Mr. Touart's employment under the ruse of accepting his announced retirement and then rejecting any agreement implementing his retirement effective April 2008."<ref>[http://ricksblog.biz/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/touart-letter.pdf Letter from Patterson]</ref>
In an [[October 2]] response, Lander disputed the authority of any informal assurances made by county staff, citing the contract's wording that any modification "shall be binding only if evidenced in writing signed by each party." She said that Touart "will continue to receive his salary and benefits through [[December 31]], [[2007]] and at the end of this period he will receive a lump sum payment of all accrued PTO, MOB and ELB and will receive information regarding the distribution of [investment plan] retirement funds which are held by the FRS."<ref>[http://ricksblog.biz/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/lander-response.pdf Response from Lander]</ref>
==References==
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{{incumbent succession box | before = [[Bob Halfhill]] (interim) | title = [[Escambia County Administrator]] | start years = 2002—2007 | after = [[April 22]], [[2002Bob McLaughlin]]}}
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[[Category:Escambia County employees|Touart, George]] [[Category:Touart family]]
