By Alabama Public Radio
Florence, AL – Nearly half of the Florence residents who responded to the 2003 Shoals Quality of Life Survey said they have "not much" or "no trust" in their city council to govern wisely. Florence Mayor Dick Jordan blames the city council for not presenting a united front. He says council members need to work out their issues and stop attacking each other personally. Jordan also has made it clear he will not seek re-election. The study by the University of North Alabama and the TimesDaily newspaper shows more than half of respondents rated local government leadership as "fair" or "poor," and almost 76 percent rated the Florence City Council as "fair" or "poor." The city governments of Muscle Shoals, Sheffield and Tuscumbia fared much better.