As one of those responsible for the passage of the 2014 city charter amendment that created the Independent Ethics Board (IEB), friends often ask, “Whatever became of that board? I’m still reading about alleged corruption in city government, yet nothing seems to be done about it!”
Recently a complaint was brought against Bugra Demirel, the developer of SoMo Walls, whose PAC has helped fund the campaigns of a majority of city commissioners. One recipient of the PAC’s largesse, our mayor, appointed Demirel in late 2022 to a citizen’s advisory committee that recommends projects funded by the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA).
The CRA reinvests additional tax revenue collected due to property appreciation. The agency consists of the five members of the city commission. A 2024 City Charter Amendment explicitly affirmed that the ethics board has jurisdiction over the CRA Board.
On Jan. 12th, Knight Creative Communities Institute proposed that the CRA provide a $30,000 grant for artwork at Demirel’s development. Although he recused himself from the final vote, he participated in the discussion and was present when the vote was taken. He also pledged $30,000 himself to make the project a reality.
So, why didn’t the ethics board consider the complaint?
At its April 21st meeting the ethics board expressed little doubt that Demirel’s failure to leave the room during the vote presented a conflict-of-interest. After all, city commissioners are required not only to recuse themselves when they have a conflict-of-interest but must be absent during the discussion and the vote.
The problem, as so often in matters that come before the ethics board, is the absence of legal sufficiency to pursue the complaint. In other words, the city’s current ethics ordinances fail to require advisory boards to avoid common-sense improprieties.
The ethics board has hardly ignored the disconnect. It has asked the city commission to strengthen recusal provisions of Citizens Advisory Committees (CACs) by demanding not only recusal but identifying the reason for the recusal and requiring the physical absence of the recused during the issue’s discussion and vote.
At its meeting On May 19th, the ethics board further agreed that the ordinance should require recusals from votes that would benefit not just CAC members but family and business associates, including employers or clients.
The board has also asked the commission, under its charter powers, to apply the same standard to its own members.
The issue is expected to come before the commission at its June meeting. Citizens for Ethics Reform urges the commission to adopt this common-sense proposal to ensure that CACs abide by the same standards as the commission.
The commission also should resolve conflicting interpretations between the city attorney and the ethics board regarding the jurisdiction of the board over members of the Citizens Advisory Committees. Citizens for Ethics Reform supports the ethics board’s position that ethics and lobby registration and disclosure requirements apply both to advisory boards and to commissioners’ service on interlocal agencies.
Let’s give the Independent Ethics Board the full set of tools required to do its job to ensure that public officials, including advisory boards, serve the interests of the governed.
Peter Butzin is a founding member of Citizens for Ethics Reform. He has supported ethics reform, open government and voting rights in Florida since 1973.
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: City must empower ethics board with the tools to do its job | Opinion
Reporting by Peter Butzin, Your Turn / Tallahassee Democrat
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