Florida Commission on Ethics staff next week will present a recommendation of “no conflict of interest” for the Jacksonville Port Authority’s selection for CEO.
At JaxPort’s request, the City Office of General Counsel on July 8 submitted a request for advisory opinion to the commission to review the background of Brian Taylor and determine if a separation agreement with his former employer, presented a conflict of interest to serve as port CEO.
Taylor is a former executive vice president and chief operating officer for Horizon Lines Inc., a logistics company that operates out of the port.
He resigned Nov. 8 and is due compensation from the company until 2014, including two years at a $370,000 base salary.
The nine-member commission will consider a proposed opinion recommended by its staff at the July meeting that states, “a prohibited conflict of interest under Section 112.313(7)(a), Florida Statutes, would not exist were the executive director of a port authority to hold a severance package from his former private employer.”
Commission members with local ties are Matt Carlucci, a State Farm Insurance agent and former Jacksonville City Council president; and Stanley Weston, an attorney with Moseley Prichard. Both have served on the commission since 2012.
JaxPort’s request will be one of five advisory opinions considered at the July 26 meeting in Tallahassee.
“(The agenda) seems a little light to me from the normal amount of information we receive. It is common to have to consider a lot of information at the meetings because we meet every six months,” said Weston.
The JaxPort board at its July 2 meeting decided to pursue a binding opinion from the commission to make sure it was correctly operating under the law.
The board made the decision after Assistant General Counsel Jason Gabriel informed it that Horizon Lines is a subcontractor of APM Terminals at JaxPort and does not have a direct relationship with the port, so there would not be a conflict if Taylor were hired.
The CEO search process began in February after the JaxPort board of directors voted at its Jan. 28 meeting to hire executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles to conduct its CEO search.
The board reopened the search in May after its first pick, Juan Kuryla, Port of Miami deputy director, withdrew his name from consideration and chose to stay in Miami.
@photojoe71
(904) 356-2466