BY TRACY LEE TATE
Special to the Times
The Union County Board of County Commissioners has already had two meetings in February and has not even held their regular monthly meeting. Both of these meetings have been prompted by the release of the report in the investigation by the State Attorney’s Office into the professional activities of County Coordinator Jimmy Williams.
The investigation report was released on January 25, and shows some violations of Florida Building Codes, county Land Development Regulations, a possible conflict of interest, and official misconduct, but nothing of a criminal nature.
The investigation was requested by Union County Clerk of Court Kellie Hendricks Rhoades and Finance Director Pam Woodington.
The board had already called for a special meeting for Monday, Feb. 5, to discuss whether or not Williams should be fired, but an emergency meeting was called, on two hours’ notice, on Thurs. Feb. 1, to deal with a questionable situation.
A county worker, Vicky Barron, had discovered shredded material in the commission office and called Commissioner Mac Johns about it. Johns called Rhoades, who called County Attorney Russ Wade, who advised that a special meeting be called to decide if Williams, as well as Board Secretary Diane Hannon, Building Department Secretary Denise Clemons, and Building Administrator Wilson Whidden, be suspended until the board could discuss what was to be done. The meeting was called for 3:30 p.m. on Feb. 1, and all five commissioners were in attendance.
Wade opened the session, stating that the meeting set for Feb. 5 would still be held as scheduled and that the topic at the Feb. 1 meeting needed to be restricted to the discovery of the shredded material.
He said any discussion and motions needed to be restricted to that topic and that, should the board vote to declare the meeting an emergency, there would be no need to provide time for public comment. Johns made the motion, seconded by Commissioner Willie Croft, that the meeting be declared as an emergency, and the vote passed 4-1, with Commissioner Jimmy Tallman calling the meeting “ridiculous” as he cast the dissenting vote.
Johns described why the meeting had been necessary and called Vicky Barron to the speaker’s podium to relate what she had told him. Barron is in charge of the cleaning and basic maintenance of the county offices and courthouse, including emptying trash receptacles in the offices. She told the board that she found shredded papers in the trash receptacle under the paper shredder in the commission office, which is not a regular occurrence. She emptied the receptacle and threw the bag away, then thought better about it, retrieved it, and called Johns. In light of the recent investigation, Johns said he thought that the clerk should be made aware of the situation. Barron then turned the bag over to Rhoades, who kept it in her office. Johns asked that the bag be brought into the commission meeting room, and when that was done, he said he was surprised and pleased that the bag (shredded material) was so small (a tangled, loose mess of shredded paper not much larger than a football). Johns then asked Barron who was in the office when she was there, and she said Board Secretary Diane Hannon and Building Department Secretary Denise Clemons.
Tallman asked Johns why there was such a concern about shredded paper. Tallman added that it was his understanding that the investigation was complete and that the State Attorney’s office had taken what they needed already. He questioned the need for an emergency meeting.
Sheriff Brad Whitehead agreed with Tallman that the matter was of no concern as the State Attorney’s office had already taken the documents they needed, and the investigation was over.
Commissioner Donna Jackson said that Rhoades had called her regarding an issue of concern, and she spoke with Clemons about the shredded paper. Clemons said she had been cleaning up her desk and work area and had personal paperwork like bank statements, that she had shredded.
Jackson said she also had a conversation with Whiddon concerning the incident.
“I did not get the sense I was being lied to,” Jackson said.
Jackson said she saw no reason to suspend Hannon, Clemons, or Whiddon, but she felt she needed to look into the matter more closely and would agree to a suspension with pay for Williams for 30 days or until the Feb. 5 meeting.
Johns made the motion to suspend all four, and the motion failed 2-3, with Tallman, Jackson, and Commission Chair Channing Dobbs casting the dissenting votes.
Jackson then made a motion to suspend Williams with pay for 30 days until the scheduled meeting, and the motion passed 3-2, with Tallman and Dobbs dissenting.
Tallman spoke to the board, saying there were still items in the investigation report that needed to be cleared up, as well as some errors and inaccuracies.
“If someone has a black eye from all this, it is the board, not Jimmy Williams,” Tallman said. “There is another force driving all this, and it needs to be brought out.”
When asked if Williams would be allowed to attend the Feb. 5 meeting while on suspension, Wade said he had conferred with the county’s outside council and that Williams should be allowed time on the agenda for him and his attorney to speak as needed. He said how their testimony would be handled would be determined at the meeting.
