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ADVA requests keeping Atmore VSO open
Unless the Escambia County Commission acts against the recommendation of the State of Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs (ADVA), the Atmore Veterans Service Office will remain open to serve Escambia County.
A letter from ADVA Commissioner Clyde Marsh dated April 28, 2010, contains the following: “The ADVA would prefer that the centralized office be maintained in Atmore if suitable office space could be found that would accommodate two employees and their necessary furniture and equipment. Although the Brewton office is slightly larger, it is an older facility and is not properly configured for handicapped access.”
Earlier this year, the ADVA made the decision to consolidate the two offices in Escambia County (Brewton and Atmore) into one office. Closing one office has been the subject of much discussion at the commission table at workshops on April 8 and 22. At the April 8, some commissioners were under the impression that the Brewton office would remain open and the Atmore office would close. However, Commissioner Brandon Smith said he thought the commission would be allowed to determine which office remained open. He made a case for the Atmore office. According to Smith, there are 30 to 40 percent more veterans on this end of the county, and the Atmore office is more accessible with no steps between the parking lot and the office in the satellite courthouse. From that workshop came the decision to ask for a meeting with the state commissioner.
On Wednesday, April 14, Commissioner Brandon Smith and Commissioner Larry White went to Montgomery to talk with ADVA Commissioner Marsh. From that meeting came the letter recommending the Atmore office remain open. The two offices are to be consolidated effective June 24, 2010.
Despite having to close one office, Escambia County is faring better from some of the surrounding counties. In the letter, Marsh said the State of Alabama has been “crucially affected by the nation’s current economic downturn” and the state general fund-dependent agencies are operating under proration. In addition, a mandated hiring freeze has reduced the work force. According to Marsh, the ADVA no longer has veterans service officers in Conecuh, Monroe, or Baldwin counties.
A number of veterans are expected to attend the County Commission workshop Friday, May 7, at 9 a.m.
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