Let the Sunshine In …

5.7 Let the Sunshine In …

Controversies: 4.15, 5.20 Key Words: open meetings, sunshine laws, city, request for proposal Case Complexity → Moderate CD: 4.32 Leading with Integrity

Assume you are the newly appointed interim city manager of a community of 23,000. You have a PhD in civil engineering and have worked for the city for ten years. Seven years ago you were appointed the city engineer.

Th e city has issued a Request for Proposal to modernize the airport plan and you are in charge of the selection committee that consists of the mayor, the

fi nance director, the airport manager, and the public works director. There are eight competing consultant firms and a tight deadline to recommend three to

city council. Concerned that you will not be able to get the job done by the deadline, you decide to call a “staff meeting” to short-list the top three consulting firms. Neither the mayor nor the finance director can be found and are therefore not notified of the meeting, which you decide to hold at your home. When questioned by the news media why you decided to hold the meeting in your home rather than city hall, you explained that the managers were in different parts of the county and “that ended up being the easiest way to do it.”

152 ◾ Ethics Moments in Government: Cases and Controversies

Under the state’s Sunshine Law, any committee or ad hoc advisory group that makes recommendations to elected officials is required to meet in public. An apparent violation of the Sunshine Law, the meeting was held at the same time that nine former and current council members were involved in a lawsuit over allegations they violated the Sunshine Law.

Questions

1. Is this a matter of ignorance of the law and therefore excusable?

2. Is the claim that it is only staff work and therefore there isn’t anything wrong about holding the meeting in your home defensible? Why or why not?

3. What steps would you take to ensure that your management team is fully aware of the provisions of the Sunshine Law?

4. Would this incident discourage you from seeking a permanent appointment as city manager? Why or why not?

5. If you were the mayor, would you write a letter of admonishment to the interim city manager? Would you discourage her from seeking the city man- ager’s job?

Case Assessment

Sandra J. Reinke, Associate Professor of Public Administration and Director, MPA Program, University of Central Florida:

In this case, a new interim city manager (but an experienced city engi- neer) holds a meeting to eliminate six of nine bidders on a major con- tract in his home without notifying two of the four members of the selection committee. Public law requires that this be a public meeting, and common sense would dictate that no bidders should be eliminated in the absence of half of the selection committee. Since this is someone who has been city engineer for seven years, this is not likely to be an honest mistake or the result of ignorance of the law (in this case, the state’s Sunshine Law). Rather, this problem seems to be a product of an organizational culture that does not respect the public’s right to know. Given that a significant number (including four current) of council members have been sued for violations of the Sunshine Law, one can only conclude that this is a local government that does not think the public needs to know, or has a right to know, what is happening in the community.

If I were the mayor, I would definitely write a letter of admonish- ment to the interim city manager for violating the Sunshine Law and cutting half the selection committee out of a major part of the selection

Building Organizations of Integrity ◾ 153

process. In addition, I would privately suggest that he or she not com- pete for the post of permanent city manager. This is not someone I

would trust and, as mayor, I need someone I can trust to manage the day-to-day business of the city.

Bruce Haddock, City Manager, Oldsmar, Florida:

I would conclude that a violation of the Sunshine Law did occur. As an advisory group making a recommendation to the elected body, their meetings would need to be open to the public, held at a pub- lic place, with proper notification given in advance. In this case, none of these things occurred. Further diminishing the validity of any action or recommendation resulting from the meeting is the fact that two of the five members of the committee were not even available!

Given the fact the interim city manager has worked for the city for ten years and served as the city engineer for the past seven years, she should be aware of Florida’s Sunshine Law. I don’t think pleading ignorance of the law would be acceptable to most people, especially in light of the current lawsuit regarding alleged Sunshine Law violations. Also, claiming it was staff work would be somewhat misleading as the mayor is a member of the committee, and the mayor is obviously not part of the staff.

Th e action I would recommend would be for the interim city man- ager to remove herself from the selection committee, have the appoint-

ing authority name a replacement, and restart the selection process. It would be best to start from the beginning, with re-advertising, but

it might be possible to have the committee start afresh with the eight proposals they had received.

I would discourage the interim city manager from seeking the appointment as city manager. Given the existing lawsuit, involving nine former and current council members, it is imperative to reestablish accountability, transparency, and trust with the public. This incident would have a significant negative impact on the interim city manager’s ability to do that.

If I were the mayor, I would not write a letter of admonish- ment to the interim city manager, but I would discourage her from seeking the city manager’s job and tell her my reasons as outlined above.

Information Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune, September 26, 2008.

154 ◾ Ethics Moments in Government: Cases and Controversies