Commission Budget Workshop Meeting Minutes

The workshop meeting of the Lady Lake Town Commission was held in the Commission Chambers at Lady Lake Town Hall, 409 Fennell Blvd., Lady Lake, Florida. The meeting convened at 10 a.m.

Mayor Jim Rietz

STAFF PRESENT:

William Lawrence, Town Manager; Derek Schroth, Town Attorney; Nancy Slaton, Town Clerk, Pam Winegardner, Finance Director; and Nancy Wilson, Deputy Town Clerk

1. Review of Commission Meeting Protocol and the Sunshine Law (Derek Schroth)

Town Attorney Schroth stated that the information for this workshop has been reviewed with some of the current Commissioners before, although he has included some updated material. He requested that the Commissioners ask any questions as they come up.

Mr. Schroth stated there are three components of this presentation: the Sunshine Law, public records law, and then our ethics component. He proceeded to review the points noted in his PowerPoint presentation (on file in the Clerk’s Office), beginning with the Sunshine Law.

Mr. Schroth stated that if a Commissioner has any kind of issue with the Sunshine Law or if they think they may have inadvertently violated it, they should contact the Town Attorney, the Clerk’s Office, or the Town Manager. He stated a violation can be cured by disclosing it at a public meeting.

Mr. Schroth reviewed public records; stating that public records are broadly defined.

Commissioner Freeman asked Mr. Schroth to give him an example of what type of personal email he received could be considered a public record.

Mr. Schroth replied that if one of Commissioner Freeman’s constituents sent email to his personal email regarding items that may come up before the Commission, that could be considered a public record and it would be best to forward it to the Clerk’s Office, or to the Commissioner’s own Town of Lady Lake email. It would be considered a public record as a document concerning Town business to an elected official. He stated he would also consider text messages in this same regard.

Mr. Schroth reviewed the ethics component, which is defined by the statute that “as a public official, it is essential to the proper conduct and operation of government that public officials be independent and impartial, and that public office not be used for private gain other than for renumeration provided by law”.

Mayor Rietz asked Mr. Schroth whether a Commissioner can contact other entities such as the Lake County Board of County Commissioners on their own.

Mr. Schroth confirmed this.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:29 p.m.

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Nancy Slaton, Town Clerk

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Jim Rietz, Mayor

Minutes transcribed by Nancy Slaton, Town Clerk