Commission Lobbying Trip Cancelled

Did Commissioners Violate State Law When They Went in Past Years?

Why was the City Commission’s annual lobbying trip to Tallahassee cancelled?

Last year’s trip resulted in a contribution of state funds to the restoration of Mead Gardens, and the year before that, funds to assist with electric utility undergrounding. Priorities for this year’s foray included projects such as the acquisition of Howell Branch Creek, green energy generation and the new library. Legislative matters to be discussed included pension reform and dedicated funding for Commuter Rail. For full list, click Here

City Attorney: “Don’t Go”

The decision to cancel, announced in an email to Commissioners from City Manager Randy Knight, was based on advice from City Attorney A. Kurt Ardaman. Ardaman advised that such a trip violates statutes governing the city’s jurisdiction and carries the potential for violations of the Sunshine Law.

In addition to representing Winter Park, Ardaman and his firm, Fishback Dominick, serve the cities of Longwood, Winter Garden and DeBary. Spokesmen for all three cities stated that their Commissioners do not travel to Tallahassee together.

Through a spokesperson, Ardaman stated that the question of lobbying trips for commissioners from these cities had not come up, but that if it did, he would advise against it.

Governing Bodies Can’t Meet Outside Political Boundaries

At the January 11 Commission meeting, Ardaman stated, “Clearly, there are cities that go to Tallahassee, and they have meetings with their legislators and their lobbyists . . . . But the law is what it is, and just because cities do that does not mean that cities do not violate the law. There is actually a statute that spells out when it is . . . allowed for governing bodies of cities to meet outside their political boundaries.”

Ardaman explained that this statute limits such meetings to two specific situations. One is when a city has fewer than 500 residents; the other is when two governing bodies – such as a city and a county – meet to discuss matters of common interest, and those meetings should occur within the county at issue. There is no other exception for a city governing body to meet outside its political boundaries.

Potential for Sunshine Violation

Ardaman said, in addition to the jurisdictional issue, there is the possibility of a Sunshine Law violation.

The Sunshine Law requires that all commission meetings be publicly noticed 48 hours in advance, and that meetings of two or more commissioners may be attended by the public. So, if two or more commissioners travel to Tallahassee, any member of the public is free to ride along and attend the meetings in the state capital.

Ardaman said that he and other City Attorneys agree that these restrictions, however well intentioned, pose an issue the Florida Legislature should address.

Resolution Proposed at Next Commission Meeting

At the following Commission meeting January 25, a draft resolution was brought forth asking Florida legislators to revise the law so that Commissioners can conduct business outside of the city’s political boundaries.

The Commissioners were united in their opposition to the resolution, though each had his or her own widely differing reasons.

Seidel: Let’s Talk to the Experts

Commissioner Greg Seidel suggested an information meeting with representatives from the Sunshine Coalition or the First Amendment Foundation to get clarification on the law.

Cooper: Let’s Build Coalition

Commissioner Carolyn Cooper observed that sending such aresolution to Tallahassee without first building a coalition of interested parties would be premature.

Sprinkel: Bad Idea

Commissioner Sarah Sprinkel was unequivocal in her opposition to the resolution. She noted that the legislators in Tallahassee were dealing with far more important issues.

McMacken: Throwing a Piece of Paper at It Is No Solution

Commissioner Tom McMacken deplored the situation that prevents Commissioners from going to Tallahassee to lobby on behalf of the City, but could not support the resolution as it stood.

Leary: One Person Can Do It

Mayor Steve Leary agreed with Commissioner Sprinkel, that the Florida legislators had “bigger fish to fry.” He stated that the City’s priorities are set, he is willing to take them to Tallahassee, and that one person can handle the task.

Resolution Tabled

The Commission voted 4 to 1 to table the resolution indefinitely. Mayor Leary cast the dissenting vote.

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    By: Anne Mooney

    Anne Mooney has assumed the editorship of the Winter Park Voice from founding editor Tom Childers.

    Mooney got her start in New York as a freelance line editor for book publishers, among them Simon & Schuster and the Clarkson Potter division of Crown Books. From New York, she and her husband and their year-old toddler moved to Washington, D.C., where the two ran a newswire service for Harper’s magazine. “We called it Network News,” said Mooney, “because it was a network of the Harper’s writers, whose work we edited into newspaper style and format and sold to papers in the top U.S. and Canadian markets. We were sort of like a tiny UPI.”

    The newswire ceased operation with the death of Mooney’s first husband, but Mooney continued to write and edit, doing freelance work for Williams Sonoma cookbooks and for local publications in D.C.

    In 2005, Mooney moved to Winter Park, where she worked as a personal chef and wrote a regular food column for a south Florida magazine. She took an active interest in Winter Park politics and was there when the Winter Park Voice was founded. She wrote occasional pieces for the Voice, including the Childers bio that this piece replaces.

    The Winter Park Voice is one of a large number of “hyper-local” publications that have sprung up across the U.S. in response to the decline of the major daily newspapers and the resulting deficit of local news coverage. The Voice’sbeat is Winter Park City Hall, and its purpose is to help the residents of our city better understand the political forces that shape our daily lives.

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