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Third Century Council Member Fined In Sunshine Law Violation Case
March 1, 2019
A third Century Town Council member charged with a civil violation of the Sunshine Law entered a plea before a judge Thursday.
Council member Luis Gomez, Jr., entered a plea of no contest and was fined $250.
Last month, council member Sandra McMurray Jackson and entered a plea of no contest and was fined $200. Council president Ann Brooks also pleaded no contest and was fined $100. Adjudication was withheld in all three cases.
Brooks received a lower fine because “she was left culpable because she was at the meeting legally before Mr. Gomez and Mrs. Jackson arrived,” Assistant State Attorney Greg Marcille previously said. “While she should have left immediately, she did not participate in the meeting to the extent that Mr. Gomez and Mrs. Jackson did.”
The three council members “did unlawfully engage in a discussion or exchange of information with other members of the Century Town Council regarding a matter which foreseeably could come before said board or commission for action, outside of a public meeting, in violation of … Florida statues,” according to the charging documents.
Last summer, three council members attended at least some portion of a closed-door meeting with CPA Robert Hudson, Town Clerk Kim Godwin and the town’s auditors. The meeting was not advertised as a public meeting, which would forbid more than one council member from taking part under Florida’s Sunshine Laws.
The maximum allowable fine was $500 for each council member.
Earlier this month, a grand jury investigated “a number of issues” related to the operation of the town. The results of that investigation have not yet been released.
Pictured top: Century Council members (L-R) Luis Gomez, Jr., Ann Cofield Brooks and Sandra McMurray Jackson at a December 17, 2018, meeting. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Comments
One Response to “Third Century Council Member Fined In Sunshine Law Violation Case”
Not one comment on this development. I guess that means this is just the norm for Century.