State Attorney Charges Four Members Of Century Board With Sunshine Law Violation

August 18, 2016

State Attorney Bill Eddins announced Thursday that four members of the Citizens Advisory Task Force, an advisory board to the Town of Century City Council, have been charged with noncriminal violations of the Florida Government in the Sunshine Law.

Alfonzie Cottrell, Helen Mincy, Sylvia Godwin, and Robert Mitchell have been charged for having a public meeting that was not properly advertised. On July 26, 2016, a meeting was advertised to begin at 4:00 p.m. The meeting was actually held at 2:00 p.m. preventing  the public from attending. In addition, a letter has been sent to the Town of Century recommending changes to their procedures to prevent this from happening in the future.

This case is set for arraignment on September 7. At that hearing, the four will have a chance to enter a plea or move forward with a trial in front of a judge, most likely in one to three weeks after the arraignment. They face a maximum penalty of a $500 fine, according to Eddins.

The State Attorney’s Office investigation began after a July 27 article on NorthEscambia.com “Century Holds Meeting In Apparent Violation Of State Sunshine Law“. NorthEscambia.com arrived the previous day for the 4 p.m. meeting to find the front doors of the Century Hall locked  and the parking lot empty. We later learned that the meeting had been held at 2 p.m. The town provided a public notice on Wednesday, July 27 and re-held the meeting on Thursday, July 28.

To read the documents associated with this case, click here (pdf).

A letter from Eddins to Century Mayor Freddie McCall spells out the allegations and recommended actions. The letter reads:

“This office has completed its review of allegations that members of the Citizens Advisory Task Force violated the Florida Government in the Sunshine Law by holding a public meeting at a time other than what was advertised in the public  notice. Based upon our review, we have determined that a Sunshine Law violation has occurred. As a result of that decision, we have filed noncriminal infraction charges against the members of that task force. We have also determined that the Town of Century bears considerable responsibility in this matter.

“In this case, public notices were advertised on NorthEscambia.com and in the Tri-City Ledger that the Citizens Advisory Task Force would hold a public meeting on July 26, 2016, at 4:00 p.m. The time listed on the notice was incorrect and should have stated 2:00 p.m. The meeting  was held at 2:00 p.m. and concluded before 4:00 p.m. As a result, this meeting was held outside the Sunshine and without proper notice to the public. It is unclear if the problem with the erroneous time was ever discussed at the meeting. To avoid this issue occurring in the future, we recommend that at the beginning of all public meetings, the advertised notice be clearly reviewed on the record to determine that the meeting has been properly advertised.

“It is also apparent that the members of the Citizens Advisory Task Force were not sufficiently educated as to their responsibilities under the Florida Government in the Sunshine Law. We recommend that the Town of Century immediately establish training programs for all individuals serving on Sunshine boards or committees. We recommend that an outside agency such as the First Amendment Foundation be used for the training.

“Finally, concerns have been raised that the Town of Century has not adequately advertised the  dates and times of public meetings. We recommend that the Town follow the suggestions of the Attorney General’s Office regarding public notices. These recommendations indicated that all meetings, with the exception of emergency or special meetings, should be advertised at least seven days prior to the meeting. Special meetings should be given notice of no less than 24 hours but preferably at least 72 hours notice should be given to the public. Emergency meetings  should be afforded the most appropriate and effective notice under the circumstances. This notice should contain the date, time, and place of the meeting, as well as a copy of the agenda or statement of the general subject matter to be considered.”

Pictured top: CATF members Helen Mincy, Robert Mitchell and Sylvia Godwin during a CATF meeting on Thursday, July 28. Alfonzie Cottrell was not present at the July 28 meeting. Pictured inset and below: The Century Town Hall was locked and the parking lot empty at 4 p.m. Tuesday, July, the time of a publicly noticed town task force meeting.


Comments

11 Responses to “State Attorney Charges Four Members Of Century Board With Sunshine Law Violation”

  1. William on August 19th, 2016 5:58 pm

    >>Why did William Reynolds and the State Attorney’s office just assume that the meeting of this group had to comply with the Sunshine Law.

    NorthEscambia.com did not assume, and State Attorney’s Office does not assume either.

    The are subject to the sunshine law because this group was appointed by the Town Council for the purpose of make recommendations to and providing advice and information. Clearly subject to the sunshine law. They were not appointed by a grant writer, and they did offer a recommended action to the town council.

    “Advisory Task Force” — even clear from the name, and in the State Attorney’s Office findings.

  2. Tammy on August 19th, 2016 4:31 pm

    Why did William Reynolds and the State Attorney’s office just assume that the meeting of this group had to comply with the Sunshine Law. From what I know, the group was never appointed by either the Town Council or the Mayor, and was not given any authority to take any action by them. Rather, a grant writer for the Town asked the group to get together because it make it easier for her to get the grant.

    If this group was never comprised by the Town, but rather by a private individual to make it easier for her to secure a grant (i.e., make it such that she could get paid if the grant was awarded), then it would appear that there was never a need for a meeting of the group to comply with the requirements of the Sunshine Law. If that was the case, then how could there be a basis for charging them with violating a law that did not apply to them?

  3. Resident on August 18th, 2016 9:11 pm

    >>I really don’t see why any group like this should fall under the sunshine laws, they can only give suggestions and advice and don’t have any real power to tax or make laws

    Any town group such as this that gives “suggestions and advice” to the town falls under the Sunshine Law. These citizens were empowered with making an official recommendation to to the council on an action to take involving public funds.

  4. Jim Stanton on August 18th, 2016 8:57 pm

    I really don’t see why any group like this should fall under the sunshine laws, they can only give suggestions and advice and don’t have any real power to tax or make laws. It’s just a group of citizens that really care for their community and are giving their time to try to improve it. Makes you think twice about volunteering to help your community, since it looks like you can get into some serious trouble for just wanting to help. By the way Sam, these people aren’t elected, but if it makes you feel better to blame the citizens of Century, please go ahead and blame them.

  5. Cuz (Danny Hall) on August 18th, 2016 8:02 pm

    The Sunshine Law is mostly simple – Keep / Conduct all government matters out in the Public (don’t hide things from us). Do like they did to Hillary , get the FBI on it – then lie to them . . .

  6. Willene Bryan on August 18th, 2016 7:18 pm

    This is so sad. I myself do not know any thing about the Sunshine law. There will be no more volunteers to do any thing now because of being scared to death they will have to go to court. I know I sure wouldn’t volunteer now. I wish Nadine McCaw was still here because she would have told them what to do about the meeting if it was against the sunshine law.

  7. Sedition on August 18th, 2016 6:32 pm

    Corrupt politicianl?
    Here’s my shocked face.

    :l

  8. Nod on August 18th, 2016 5:24 pm

    Use the hillary defense, “I did not mean to do it .” It seems to be working for her so why not these people because I am sure they did not try to deceive anyone. It was just an innocent mistake not the end of the world.

  9. sam on August 18th, 2016 4:04 pm

    whoa! there are 2 Sams now? this one votes for freddy. he was not in town i believe. this was done through lack of knowing the rules about the sunshine law. obviously they should have known better. century residents voted for the people in the meeting. blame them.

  10. Sam on August 18th, 2016 11:44 am

    Please remember these kind of stupid things this Town does when you go to the polls in a couple weeks. It is as much the mayor and councils fault as it is the board. Please lets all work to put some fresh blood into Century. Time to go out with the old and in with the new.

  11. jeeperman on August 18th, 2016 11:39 am

    Robin Phillips of Jones-Phillips and Associates should be fired by Century.
    It was her firm that made the mistakes and when it was discover she did not advise a delay to the advertised time.
    Century relied on her consulting and expertise and she failed twice.

    Robin Phillips of Jones-Phillips and Associates should also be charged by the SAO same as the Task Force members.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News