GOVERNMENT

Naples City Council rejects ordinance that would have created ethics commission

Naples

Note: This story has been updated to more accurately reflect councilwoman Michelle McLeod's position.

The Naples City Council on Wednesday rejected a proposed ordinance to establish an ethics commission.

It was another failed attempt to resolve a conflict between the council and a political action committee seeking to amend the city's charter through an ethics referendum.

The proposal to establish an ethics commission was rejected 4-3, with council members Michelle McLeod, Terry Hutchison, Linda Penniman and Gary Price dissenting.

Price, who voted against the proposed ordinance, said he doesn't see a need for an ethics commission.

"The majority of the people I’ve talked to about this can’t figure out why we’re spending so much time on it," Price said.

"I'm not a fan of big government, and now we're going to create another commission to try to solve one problem in 20 years?" he asked.

Price was referring to Penniman's 2017 complaint to the Florida Commission on Ethics against then-Councilman Sam Saad. Penniman accused Saad of violating state ethics laws by voting to approve a controversial real estate development involving his business associates. The state ethics commission dismissed the complaint, finding no probable cause to pursue it.

"It doesn't make any sense to me," Price continued. "I'm not going to support this commission."

In case you missed it:Penniman of Naples Council files ethics complaint vs. peer Saad

And:Florida ethics panel dismisses case vs. Naples Councilman Sam Saad

McLeod has been a vocal opponent of Ethics Naples’ initiative from the beginning, often noting that the council goes through extensive ethics training annually. She said she agreed with Price that a commission is unnecessary, which is why she did not support the ordinance.

Hutchison said he did not support the ordinance because he thinks residents should have an opportunity to vote on the proposed referendum first.

Collier Circuit Court Judge Hugh Hayes ruled in October that the referendum could go before voters, but the City Council has appealed the ruling, leaving a special election in some doubt.

"I'm concerned that council has taken steps to spend taxpayer resources and goodwill and not honoring the requirement to move this ethics commission to the ballot," Hutchison said. "A group of Naples voters have met the requirement to place this charter amendment on the ballot, so regardless of if we disagree with what's on it, they've met the requirement."

The biggest point of contention between the council and Ethics Naples, the PAC behind the referendum, involves the selection of commission members. Some council members want to select the members. However, Ethics Naples has argued that allowing that would compromise the commission's independence. Wednesday's failed ordinance gave council the power to appoint the commission members.

Penniman recommended a compromise in which the Collier County sheriff, the state attorney or public defender, and a former elected official would appoint three of the five board members and City Council would appoint the remaining two.

"One of the things that I think we're at an impasse with is that the commission remain independent," she said. "And I think this is a formula for seeing to it that that happens."

Penniman also recommended that the city drop its appeal so the citizens can vote on Ethics Naples’ referendum during a special election March 26. Then if voters approve the charter amendment, the city can put forth its own charter amendment on another referendum in March 2020 to make Penniman’s recommended changes.

Although Penniman previously recommended putting the city's own version of the referendum on any special election ballot with Ethics Naples' version, she said she now believes that doing so would create more division within the community. She said it would be better to unite the citizens behind one referendum and ask voters to change it later than have two competing referendums on one ballot.

Ray Christman, executive director of Ethics Naples, called Penniman’s plan “a very reasonable proposal.”

Hutchison supported Penniman’s recommendation to drop the appeal. However, Price said the city should see it through to a ruling.

“I wasn’t a fan of suing the people, but we’re in that process now and I think we should go through the process,” he said.

Previously:Ethics Naples, City Council try to come to terms on ethics referendum

And:Naples Council changes course, will appeal ruling on creating ethics panel

Ethics Naples collected the required number of signatures in April to move its ethics referendum forward, but council members questioned its legality and voted to let a judge decide whether it should appear before voters. That led to Judge Hayes's ruling in October.

In response, the City Council unanimously voted not to appeal Hayes' decision and to schedule a special meeting with Ethics Naples to discuss its concerns and provide its own framework for an ethics commission.

The two sides discussed the problems the city has with the referendum, including how a proposed ethics commission would be formed and how many votes the council would need to override its decisions.

However, the city and Ethics Naples were unable to come to terms.

The council met behind closed doors for almost 1½ hours at its Nov. 7 meeting before voting 5-2 to continue its legal battle against Ethics Naples. Penniman and Hutchison cast the two dissenting votes.

The council's vote reversed the decision it made at its Oct. 17 meeting to not appeal Hayes' decision.

Council members had talked about putting their own version of the referendum on a special election ballot with Ethics Naples' version if the 2nd District Court of Appeals upholds Hayes' ruling and the city does not take try to bring the case before the Florida Supreme Court.

If competing measures were to go onto a ballot and get approved, the likely result would be that the one with the most “yes” votes would prevail, according to City Attorney Bob Pritt.

A March 26 special election would cost the city $35,000 to $40,000, according to Trish Robertson, spokeswoman for the Collier County Supervisor of Elections Office.

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