William McCray - Civility Code Take 4

SUNSHINE LAW BELOW

286.011 Public meetings and records; public inspection; criminal and civil penalties.— (1) All meetings of any board or commission of any state agency or authority or of any agency or authority of any county, municipal corporation, or political subdivision, except as otherwise provided in the Constitution, at which official acts are to be taken are declared to be public meetings open to the public at all times, and no resolution, rule, or formal action shall be considered binding except as taken or made at such meeting. The board or commission must provide reasonable notice of all such meetings. (2) The minutes of a meeting of any such board or commission of any such state agency or authority shall be promptly recorded, and such records shall be open to public inspection. The circuit courts of this state shall have jurisdiction to issue injunctions to enforce the purposes of this section upon application by any citizen of this state. (3)(a) Any public officer who violates any provision of this section is guilty of a noncriminal infraction, punishable by fine not exceeding $500. (b) Any person who is a member of a board or commission or of any state agency or authority of any county, municipal corporation, or political subdivision who knowingly violates the provisions of this section by attending a meeting not held in accordance with the provisions hereof is guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. (c) Conduct which occurs outside the state which would constitute a knowing violation of this section is a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. (4) Whenever an action has been filed against any board or commission of any state agency or authority or any agency or authority of any county, municipal corporation, or political subdivision to enforce the provisions of this section or to invalidate the actions of any such board, commission, agency, or authority, which action was taken in violation of this section, and the court determines that the defendant or defendants to such action acted in violation of this section, the court shall assess a reasonable attorney’s fee against such agency, and may assess a reasonable attorney’s fee against the individual filing such an action if the court finds it was filed in bad faith or was frivolous. Any fees so assessed may be assessed against the individual member or members of such board or commission; provided, that in any case where the board or commission seeks the advice of its attorney and such advice is followed, no such fees shall be assessed against the individual member or members of the board or commission. However, this subsection shall not apply to a state attorney or his or her duly authorized assistants or any officer charged with enforcing the provisions of this section. (5) Whenever any board or commission of any state agency or authority or any agency or authority of any county, municipal corporation, or political subdivision appeals any court order which has found said board, commission, agency, or authority to have violated this section, and such order is affirmed, the court shall assess a reasonable attorney’s fee for the appeal against such board, commission, agency, or authority. Any fees so assessed may be assessed against the individual member or members of such board or commission; provided, that in any case where the board or commission seeks the advice of its attorney and such advice is followed, no such fees shall be assessed against the individual member or members of the board or commission. (6) All persons subject to subsection (1) are prohibited from holding meetings at any facility or location which discriminates on the basis of sex, age, race, creed, color, origin, or economic status or which operates in such a manner as to unreasonably restrict public access to such a facility. (7) Whenever any member of any board or commission of any state agency or authority or any agency or authority of any county, municipal corporation, or political subdivision is charged with a violation of this section and is subsequently acquitted, the board or commission is authorized to reimburse said member for any portion of his or her reasonable attorney’s fees. (8) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1), any board or commission of any state agency or authority or any agency or authority of any county, municipal corporation, or political subdivision, and the chief administrative or executive officer of the governmental entity, may meet in private with the entity’s attorney to discuss pending litigation to which the entity is presently a party before a court or administrative agency, provided that the following conditions are met: (a) The entity’s attorney shall advise the entity at a public meeting that he or she desires advice concerning the litigation. (b) The subject matter of the meeting shall be confined to settlement negotiations or strategy sessions related to litigation expenditures. (c) The entire session shall be recorded by a certified court reporter. The reporter shall record the times of commencement and termination of the session, all discussion and proceedings, the names of all persons present at any time, and the names of all persons speaking. No portion of the session shall be off the record. The court reporter’s notes shall be fully transcribed and filed with the entity’s clerk within a reasonable time after the meeting. (d) The entity shall give reasonable public notice of the time and date of the attorney-client session and the names of persons who will be attending the session. The session shall commence at an open meeting at which the persons chairing the meeting shall announce the commencement and estimated length of the attorney-client session and the names of the persons attending. At the conclusion of the attorney-client session, the meeting shall be reopened, and the person chairing the meeting shall announce the termination of the session. (e) The transcript shall be made part of the public record upon conclusion of the litigation. History.—s. 1, ch. 67-356; s. 159, ch. 71-136; s. 1, ch. 78-365; s. 6, ch. 85-301; s. 33, ch. 91-224; s. 1, ch. 93-232; s. 210, ch. 95-148; s. 1, ch. 95-353.

Racial tensions rise at city hall as new district lines created

by Andrew Abramson

Some prominent black residents, and others in West Palm Beach, are not happy with the city’s current district configuration, and they’re becoming increasingly vocal about it.
The argument has intensified as the commission prepares to set the new district boundary lines. The city has seen a big shift in the last decade, with the western communities exploding in population and the south end losing residents.

West Palm NAACP director Gaines

Former City Commissioner Littles

After the commission proposed splitting the historic black neighborhoods, with the Northwest shifting to Kimberly Mitchell’s coast-hugging District 3, the outcry from black leaders prompted Mayor Jeri Muoio and commissioners to table redistricting for two weeks and allow additional maps to be created by residents that keeps the Northwest with Coleman Park and Northwood. The commission will have final say on boundary lines.
But that’s just a start for many black leaders in the city, who feel elections are being dominated by voters from western, gated communities who have little in common with their values and don’t understand their needs.

“If we had single member districts that would conceivably give us fair representation because people on the dais would actually represent the communities they live in, and the dais would be significantly different,” resident Elvin Dowling said at Monday’s commission meeting. “Commissioner (Bill) Moss would probably be Raphael Torres because there’s 50 percent Hispanic representation in his district. Commissioner (Sylvia) Moffett would almost certainly look different because there’s a huge minority population in her district.”
Commissioner Keith James, who is black and represents the affluent District 4, was quiet at Monday’s commission meeting. But in an interview last week, he said single-member districts would only hurt minority representation. Currently, there are two black commissioners in West Palm Beach, including James and Ike Robinson of District 2.
James said he doubts he would have been elected if only District 4 members could have voted for him.
“With the way its structured with single member districts, there would never be, in my lifetime, more than one African American commissioner up there,” James said. “I don’t want to see West Palm move toward that, a designated black commissioner.  I think that’s ridiculous. I’m living, walking proof that this structure can work because you get the best people to run, and they understand that their task is to appeal to all four corners and not just a particular ethnic group.”
There could have been three black commissioners in West Palm Beach. After Molly Douglas resigned her District 1 commission seat to run for mayor, the four remaining commissioners, including James, had to appoint Douglas’ replacement. Robinson voted for former City Commissioner and Northwest resident Robbie Littles, who is black. James voted, along with Moss, to appoint Moffett, who was the favorite of former Mayor Lois Frankel. Muoio was also believed to have favored Moffett.
Had James selected Littles, West Palm would have had a majority black commission for just the second time in the city’s history.
Last week, West Palm NAACP executive director Lia Gaines criticized James for not appointing Littles. She said it wasn’t about Littles’ race, but about his history in the community.
“The community (James) has worked on has had some issues in which Commissioner Littles has championed,” Gaines said. “One of them, which we were doing during the time leading up to the appointment, was the largest contract to a minority contractor.”
James’ own former wife, Gaines said, lost out on the city attorney position with West Palm Beach in the 1990s.
“The community at that time was very upset because one of the candidates we felt was much more qualified was attorney Elaine James who had extensive municipal law experience,” Gaines said. “There were two other African Americans with similar credentials.”
But James said race wasn’t going to play in factor in the appointment decision.
“I had to pick who I thought would be best, and I followed my judgment,” James said last week.
At Monday’s commission meeting, Littles suggested expanding to six districts, along with single-member districts, to accommodate the city’s growth.
“(The western communities), through its prosperity, has grown from 16,000 to roughly 34,000 and it would have what it is justly due,” Littles said. “The rest of city, and more specifically the African American community, would not be split up and essentially politically destroyed.”
Littles said commissioners shouldn’t be concerned with the potential of split votes if the city were to expand to six commissioners. He said other cities with six commissioners rarely have split votes, and the mayor is allowed to vote in the event of a tie.
Any potential changes would have to be approved by the commission and then the voters, unless the court system was to get involved.
Black residents aren’t the only ones concerned about the influence of the western communities. I’ve spoken to several white downtown and south end residents who said they’d prefer single member districts.
Two residents at Monday’s meeting spoke against single member districts and in favor of continuing citywide elections.
“I live in District 1, and I’m a huge minority,” said Mary Margaret Mahon, a north end resident who is white. “We’re much more black than white, and I’m sure there are plenty of Hispanics. As neighbors we face the same issues. Why does it have to be about race? Why can’t it be just be about the person who will represent the ideals of that neighborhood no matter what? I supported Mr. James in his election. I supported Kimberly Mitchell. And it didn’t have anything to do with race. You hear a lot of  complaints about how the west controls elections. It’s because they vote.”
Sean Jackson, a District 1 resident who is black, said Littles doesn’t speak for all of the black community.
“There is no way single member districts in any way, shape or form will benefit any African American resident in this city,” Jackson said. “This is not the past. Single member districts worked then, but it will not work now. There are far more African Americans in this city and this county that if any of them wanted to get up and run for office, if they’re strong enough to run for office, and they’re taken seriously enough to run for office, the community at large will take them seriously.”

Origin site: Here
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