by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
The City of Jacksonville has sought transparency in its duties since enacting an ethics code in 1999 and it expects the same from its independent agencies. The Ethics Commission was created to promote government in the light and that commission is seeking legislation to bring the financial background of the board of directors of the Jacksonville Port Authority back into the light.
“We are just looking for some consistency,” said Braxton Gillam IV, member of the Ethics Commission and its legislative subcommittee. “All other quasi-governmental organizations report financials from their board of directors, so we just wanted the Port Authority to be consistent with other agencies.”
At the request of the Port Authority in 2007, the Florida Commission on Ethics reviewed the independent status of the Port Authority and found that due to changes in law, the Port Authority wasn’t required to file an annual statement of financial interest. The change occurred because the Port Authority was now classified as a “dependent special district” similar to a “health facilities authority.” Other agencies — like the Jacksonville Transportation Authority, the Jacksonville Electric Authority and the Jacksonville Aviation Authority — are considered “independent,” so they are require to file financial statements.
The legislative subcommittee of the Ethics Commission — which consists of Gillam and Kirby Oberdorfer — recommended requesting someone from the Duval Delegation create a Jacksonville Bill to require the Port Authority to file financial statements.
“Just to be clear, we are asking for financial reporting from the top officials of the Jacksonville Port Authority,” said Steve Rohan, deputy general counsel for the City of Jacksonville.
The legislation needs to be enacted by Oct. 1 in order to go into effect for the next fiscal year.
In other news from the Ethics Commission Monday, five ethics cases were reviewed by the commission that were received from the ethics hotline.
The first case involved allegations that work is being done on fire stations without bids. The Office of Inspector General completed an audit on June 4. Findings from the audit included “the support facility does not utilize an inventory system management system to track inventory; there are no written procedures on inventory and items are subject to theft or loss because there is no alarm system.
“Access was granted to inventory to people who were no longer working for the City.”
• The second case involved an employee noticing that Prologic invoices were on stationery from Gate Petroleum.
• The third case was an inquiry about a park on Ft. Caroline Road being leased to a developer for a project without a bidding process. A representative from the City’s Parks and Recreation Department informed the Inspector General that the department had been contacted, but nothing had been done.
• Another call questioned forged invoices by someone in Animal Services from Lowe’s. An investigation revealed that it was done during an emergency by an employee that had signatory power, but wasn’t on the signatory list.
• The last case reported problems with Fraternal Order of Police President Nelson Cuba and the Mayor’s Hispanic American Advisory Board (MHAAB). A caller alleged that scholarships were inappropriately disbursed. Discrepancies were found in purchasing and records of meetings, but MHAAB had a complete accounting for its funding.
356-2466