No support on Commissioner Gass' attempt to censure Poynter and Lentz

Submitted by Eric Bartelt

June 18, 2015 1:40 p.m.

In addition to the controversial Land Development Code Amendment regarding hazardous materials and uses, another controversial item was on the June 16th City Commission meeting agenda - the Resolution censuring Commissioners Tim Poynter and Robin Lentz for allegedly violating the City Charter.

Commissioner Pat Gass had requested at the June 2nd Commission meeting that City Attorney Tammi Bach draw up a Resolution censuring Commissioners Poynter and Lentz for violating the section of the City Charter pertaining to Commissioners communicating with city employees and/or directing the City Manager as to whom to hire and fire.

Commissioner Gass began the discussion by stressing that her request for Censure was not personal, that it was “about living by the rules...” She went on to say that some would say she was guilty of the same violation, and that if they wanted to also censure her, she was fine with that. “We all need to have our feet held to the fire, we need to all be held accountable. ”

She said Commissioners “cannot meet with numerous employees of the city without prior knowledge of the City Manager...” And that “we cannot sit up here and dictate or try to tell the City Manager how to run the City...” She added that if the censure Resolution does not pass or is not seconded, she was prepared to send the information on to the State Ethics Commission and to let them decide if any wrongdoing had been done. With that, Commissioner Gass made a motion to approve the censure Resolution.

Roy Smith (File Photo)

Before asking for a second to the motion, Mayor Boner opened the floor to public comment. Mr. Roy G. Smith spoke, saying he has a problem with Commissioner Gass' attempt at censure because he believed she had “done exactly what they did” when she talked to the Chief (former Fire Chief Higginbotham). He said that if she wanted to do this Resolution, then she should include her name in it, too, because she was “just as guilty as they were, if they were guilty.” He said it was unfair and accused her of making a “grandstand play” over the Fire Dept.

There being no further public comment, Mayor Boner called for a second to Commissioner Gass' motion. The motion was not seconded, and therefore the motion and Resolution died.

In an unusual turn, Commissioner Miller then asked to make a public statement, even though the issue was officially concluded. Miller said that after researching it and after considerable soul searching, he concluded there was a violation of Chapter 10 of the City Charter by Commissioners Poynter and Lentz because they questioned in a public meeting the leadership skills of former Chief Higginbotham. He said they essential said that Chief Higginbotham “was not qualified to be a leader” and that that made it hard for the Chief to lead his department. Miller further said that “when City Manager Gerrity said he had people (Commissioners) coming into his office telling him who to hire and fire, that is a blatant violation of Chapter 10.”

Commissioner Miller then went on to explain why he didn't second Commissioner Gass' motion. He said that mutual respect for fellow Commissioners prevented him from seconding the motion. He said he didn't think this violation rose to the level of the kinds of obvious and blatant censures that had happened in the past, and that if neither Commissioners Poynter or Lentz admitted to the violation, it would turn into a “he said, she said” situation that wouldn't do anyone any good. He said he didn't think anyone did anything wrong on purpose, that it was a mistake that was done for the right reasons. He asked then if the Commission could schedule a workshop to go over “pitfalls of other Commissions” because “this stuff happens all the time”, where a Commissioner unintentionally does something wrong and gets called out by another Commissioner.

Mayor Boner agreed with Commissioner Miller in that he didn't think Commissioners Poynter's and Lentz's actions were egregious, and that's why he didn't second the motion. The Mayor then asked if the Commissioners could just move on to the next item, asking if everyone was “good with that.”.

Commissioner Lentz said, “No, not really. I'm not good with that.” She explained that she didn't think she was guilty of violating the Charter, and that she never told the City Manager how to do his job; only that she asked if a group of the disgruntled firemen from the union could be included on a panel as part of the hiring process for a new Fire Chief. She added, that, “The majority of my conversations with firemen happened prior to my election, when they invited me to a union meeting.” Any other information she has gotten, she said, has been through public information requests. She concluded by saying about the controversy, “tonight, I'm hoping we bury it” and that she was “here to move forward and get positive things done.”

Commissioner Tim Poynter

During commissioner comments at the end of the meeting, Commissioner Poynter spoke to the failed censure. "I've been silent on this issue . . . I'll continue to be silent . . . I will try to move the city forward and that is what we are suppose to do."