PB: Shady Village Council Fights Transparency
by SDM
Shade Session Transcripts Should Be Released to the Public Now
Florida law is very clear on when the transcripts of village shade session must be released:
The transcript shall be made part of the public record upon conclusion of the litigation. § 286.011, Fla. Stat.
But in Palmetto Bay, the land of transparency when convenient, there are many ways to interpret the law to avoid disclosure to the public:
1. The six different lawsuits are “intertwined” according to Village Attorney Eve Boutsis.
This despite the fact that the legislature did not provide for withholding public records based on such an undefined concept. Nor has Palmetto Bay adopted a policy stating that it will withhold from the public certain records of lawsuits when the actions are hypothetically “intertwined.”
Boutsis stated clearly that the Attorney General “punted” on whether “intertwined” lawsuits is an exception to the law that states shades session transcripts for concluded litigation “shall be made part of the public record.” (In fact, the letter from the A.G., to which SDM linked in yesterday’s post PB: Roberts Rules Guest Post by Vice Mayor John Dubois, does not address intertwined lawsuits.)
SDM Says: Given that the statute is mandatory – note the use of the word “shall” – the conservative reading of the statute is that the transcripts must be released. Any attorneys out there want to opine on this question?
2. Mayor Stanczyk argued that the village “can’t extract one thing,” presumably meaning that the council debated settling all the lawsuits together so there is no way to separate the discussions on the concluded and pending lawsuits.
The village would have to argue in court that the legislature’s use of the word “shall” permits an exception when the council is entertaining a global settlement of multiple lawsuits with the same party on the same facts. Of the arguments made at the Monday meeting, this one is most technically intriguing.
SDM Says: The problem with the Mayor’s argument is that courts have already solved this problem; they regularly require redaction. Therefore, under The Stanczyk Exception, the clerk should make a good faith effort to release the transcripts with any comments related to pending litigation redacted from the document. To argue that every comment or statement made during the shade sessions is privileged under the statute strains credulity.
3. Mayor Stanczyk proffered another rationale for withholding public records when she articulated what SDM calls the “Little Village Exception” to the Public Records Act.
Though both the county and Palmetto Bay are governed by the same statutory provisions, Stanczyk argues that the village should hide records from taxpayers because the county is a “mighty beast” and Palmetto Bay is just a little (backward and mismanaged) municipality. [Okay, SDM added something there. 
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SDM Says: This is just more nonsense and the Village Attorney has a duty to advise the Mayor that there is no exception to the Public Records Act based on a municipality’s size or wealth.
The bottom line is really a question of public policy: should the taxpayers be granted access to their government’s official deliberations once the litigation is concluded? Three of Palmetto Bay’s elected officials – Mayor Shelley Stanczyk, Councilwoman Joan Lindsay and Councilman Tim Schaeffer (The Three Amigos live!) – voted to keep the facts from the people who elected them.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Palmetto Bay Officials also Withhold Their Laws from the Public
SDM went on municode.com while researching this post. The village directs the public to Municode to review the village’s code of ordinances, including the charter. Would you be surprised if SDM told you that the village has not updated Municode since June 4, 2012?
SDM Says: The Village of Palmetto Bay and its leaders pay lip service to transparency and anyone who continues to believe their assertions to the contrary is ignoring the plain facts and some serious incompetence.
Thanks for the info. One more item to add to my Bar complaint against the Village Attorney.
At least Palmetto Bay is listed on municode. Cutler Bay isn’t even listed.
I’ve received more emails from my last blog than ever before. Some disparaged the present Village Attorney for the blatant error she made at the last Council meeting and some were requesting an update on the Recall since there has been very little information released lately.
Currently, we have two individual petitions drafted which call for the removal of both Mayor Shelley Stanczyk and Councilwoman Joan Lindsey. These petitions can be used at any time to put the Recall in motion by collecting signatures. Counsel has advised us that petitions are bulletproof.
I, along with other individuals who are involved in the Recall, agreed to put the Recall on hold until we could make the judgment call whether Mayor Stanczyk and Councilwoman Lindsey have actually learned anything from the last election. I think it was just obvious that the Citizens of Palmetto Bay have had enough of the infighting, games, attacks on Schools and Churches, etc. Somehow all of this is unbelievably still continuing.
You will recall that two incumbents were voted out of office in November. If you go back to a prior election an additional incumbent was booted. That makes three incumbents who have lost in two elections. What more could clue Mayor Stanczyk and Councilwomen Lindsey to the fact that the Village is not conducting itself in a way that represents its constituents?
We were also hoping that the new Council could bring some professionalism to the Village deliberations. It seems to be somewhat balanced at this time and we’re hoping this helps the Village heal from some of the wounds inflicted over the past two years.
I’ve received a few hate emails since I’ve started blogging and it really doesn’t faze me because I believe everyone has a right to their opinion. My favorite phase is “let’s just agree to disagree”. In other words, a disagreement should not impede an honest civil discourse. For instance, both Mayor Stanczyk and Councilwoman Lindsay have totally different opinions that I have when it comes to how this Community should be run. I can accept that. What I can’t accept is the constant misinformation they both disseminate to reach their goals. Waste a couple hours of your time and watch any of the Council Meeting – you may not be able to detect it as a casual viewer, but if you check their “facts” – they most often are not true.
It seems as though some individuals will vote for any candidate no matter how morally bankrupt or dishonest they are as long as they have the same political agenda. It’s purely a means to an end. There are people out there that have, would and will vote for both Mayor Stanczyk and Councilwoman Lindsey again because they have the same goals and don’t really care how dishonestly they are achieved.
I would like to think that any damage that has been bestowed upon the Village of Palmetto Bay by Mayor Stanczyk and Councilwoman Lindsey will be reversed in two years by a New Mayor and Council once these individuals have been unceremoniously elected out of office.
Isn’t that what Mayor Stanczyk and Councilwoman Lindsey are currently attempting to do, reverse an agenda implemented by former Mayor Gene Flynn and the prior Council? The Village built a Skate park in 2006, now it’s time to tear it down and spend $250,000 for mini soccer fields in 2013. The Mayor would misinform you that it’s a litigation nightmare, but, a public information request for all litigation associated with the Skate Park so far reveals nothing.
To my point, the Mayor can basically state anything she wants on the dais, but she very rarely has real facts to support her position. They just aren’t there. Now is that considered lying or putting out misinformation? I’ll let you be the judge. It is what I wrote “a means to the end”.
As for the Recall, we stand ready to start the process of collecting signatures and commencing the process at a moment’s notice. In the spirit of fairness, new council members Tim Schaffer and John DuBois deserve some time to find their bearings to see if they can right a ship that’s been listing for an extended time. Maybe they along with Patrick Fiore will help steer our Village back down an honest and moral path.
David Singer
The Case of the Missing Councilwomen.Last Monday Night 9/22/2012 I attend what shluod have been a routine Zoning hearing for a guy that was trying to get a variance to build his home to the same height as every other in his community. Why he needed to be subjected to this in the first place is another story. I arrived at City Hall and noticed the normal group of Shelley, Brian and Joan supporters were not there. At every meeting for the last two years they’re is an average of 10 of them. Only Warren Lovely showed up. Quite Curious? Next, Joan Lindsay did not show and it was announced she was sick. Joan has never missed a meeting since being elected. More reason to be curious?Well, to make a long story short, the 4 remaining council members voted to give this guy his variance and rightly so. But wait a minute, why so generous? This council is known for not giving out a variance. Were there political favors paid back here? Was there collusion here? [The writer suspects that the Three Amigos got together in advance of the meeting, which would be a violation of the Sunshine Law if true. He believes they agreed that they would grant a variance in this situation.] Joan who never supports a variance chose to stay at home and not vote. That way she could not be accused of giving out a variance. Everyone gets what they want.Well folk’s, [violating the Sunshine Law] is illegal. I am saying, I believe your Vice Mayor committed collusion on this variance. I want you all to know who you are voting for if you vote for Brian Pariser. Brian lies about the budget. Brian lies about Palmer Trinity. Brian commits collusion at most every Council meeting. Brian votes to keep law suits going using your tax dollars to fund them, even though our own city attorney recommends otherwise. Shame on you Brian.Stay tuned for more!Oh by the way, Joan was sighted at City Hall looking perfectly well the next day. Quite a recovery Joan. Even more Curious?[SDM Ed Note: Sometimes people make comments that SDM believe go too far. If you do so, your comments will be edited. Be forewarned.]