Governing Principles

No matter whether Port St. Joe manager Charlie Weston ultimately keeps his job or how the three city races are decided this week, there is work to do among city commissioners.

The past few weeks spilling into several months have not been the city's shining hour. The hostility, the sniping and the gruff sometimes confrontational tones taken during a financial workshop last week which accomplished not one thing was sufficient evidence.

The city commission is making the Board of County Commissioners seem statesmanlike, no mean feat.

Some suggestions on steering the train back on the tracks.

Conduct a Workshop on the Sunshine Laws

Call the First Amendment Foundation in Tallahassee, invite other governing bodies in the county, and have a member of the foundation facilitate a workshop on Florida's laws pertaining to open meetings and public records.

They are the law of the state and, without passing judgment on allegations made in the past weeks, there are elected officials sworn to uphold those laws who are range from dismissive to openly hostile to idea.

One commissioner explained last week that the Sunshine Laws were one of the worst things to happen to government, as far as he was concerned.

It is evident just from the debate in recent meetings that two or more commissioners had discussions, during meetings but most importantly outside of a public meeting or workshop, concerning the dismissal of city manager Charlie Weston.

Also clear is that at least two commissioners engaged in discussions concerning a potential replacement for Mr. Weston, including tapping a current employee of the city's largest vendor - can we spell conflict of interest.

The business of the city is not to be done at the morning breakfast club or over dinner or any other place but in an open and public meeting. Two or more commissioners are barred by law to discuss business that might come before the board.

This is not rocket science, but in the last few months some city commissioners have treated open government as a stain to be treated and washed away.

Change the Charter

A city charter that allows a special meeting to be called by two commissioners provided all commissioners are served with notice - forget about the public in this equation - within six hours prior to the meeting flies in the face of state law.

The attorney general's opinion, as detailed on Page 38-39 of the Government in the Sunshine Manual, is that any special or emergency meeting be preceded by 24 hours of notice.

There might be some legal parsing that somehow frees commissioners to ignore open meeting provisions, but that is word-twisting.

This provision of the charter was attempted to be used by at least two commissioners to force a meeting last Thursday on the fate of Mr. Weston, with no public notice.

Forget about perception, the reality is that is just plain sneaky.

Maybe that section of the charter worked in another era, but this is the 21^st Century.

Time to amend the charter.

Pay Attention and Stop the Blame Game

One of the most illuminating aspects of last week's financial workshop is that the same commissioners pushing for Mr. Weston's exit seemed to be enjoying their first glimpse of the reality of where the city stands as far as certain accounts and outstanding expenditures.

This seems particularly puzzling since they were facing the same numbers, the same presentation in fact, on the same sheets of poster paper, as that provided in January to the same commissioners. The general public has been looking at the same numbers of five months.

And instead of reaching across collegially and crafting solutions, commissioners, particularly the three heck-bent on Mr. Weston's ouster, seemed more interested in playing the tit-for-tat game that county commissioners have made an art form.

Who was in office when, who was told what, who was party to this or that, it was like watching two-year-olds battle in a sand box and it was disheartening and a complete waste, an exercise in finger-pointing that certain city commissioners.

Grasp the problems and find solutions - not someone in the room to blame.

The Costs

There has been some talk about dealing with the city's situation as men of faith and with professionalism, but in certain instances it has been just that, talk.

No one should be flogged in public as Mr. Weston has for weeks, made to live with the street talk that he was gone while some worked to make that happen.

And a mere two months after receiving a two-year contract with a bump in salary.

How much will it cost the city, taxpayers, for the agenda of three individuals to remove the city manager, without a formal review or recitation of allegations which would be a staple in the private sector, and replace him - even if the city could in light of the machinations of the past few months?

Indeed, this has not been the city's finest hour.