Monday, August 30, 2010

University of Florida Brechner report: Entire Wauchula City Commission facing criminal charges for allegedly violating Sunshine law

Commission accused of breaking Sunshine Law

WAUCHULA – The entire Wauchula City Commission is facing criminal charges for allegedly violating the Sunshine Law, according to The Ledger (Lakeland).
The charges stem from private meetings in September 2009 and March 2010.
A citizen complaint prompted an investigation by State Attorney Jerry Hill’s office, and audio recordings of the meetings were given to investigators.
The September meeting focused on problems with the city manager. Mayor David Royal later stated that the meeting was private because he “didn’t want a big headline story about” issues with the city manager, according to The Ledger.
The March meeting began as a public meeting, with the city attorney warning commissioners about compliance with the Open Meetings Law. But 22 seconds later, Royal asked everyone to leave the room except commissioners and the city attorney.
An audio recording of the closed meeting revealed five items were discussed, none of them falling into a Sunshine Law exemption.
In addition to Royal, commissioners Clarence Bolin, Jerry Conerly, Daniel Graham, Delois Johnson, Valentine Patarini and Yeavone Spieth are charged with two counts of violating the Open Meetings Law.
Each second-degree misdemeanor carries a punishment of up to 60 days in jail and six months probation.
Source: The Ledger

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