Lazaro Aleman
ECB Publishing, Inc.
Notwithstanding a last-minute offer of compromise by Clerk of Court Kirk Reams, the Jefferson County Commission last week reaffirmed its commitment to proceed with an independent forensic audit of the former’s office, at the same time it called for Reams’ resignation.
The commission’s decision unfolded against the backdrop of a series of prior back-and-forth emails between Reams and Commissioner Betsy Barfield, wherein the former refused to release an advance payment of $25,000 to the CPA firm of Thomas Ferguson, which the commission has hired to conduct a forensic audit of the clerk’s office.
Reams’ refusal to release the money rests on the argument that the payment is illegal, as he holds that Florida law and a 2002 opinion from the Florida Attorney General clearly establish that county commissions do not have the authority to investigate constitutional officers.
The argument advanced by Reams and his attorney, however, is one that County Attorney Scott Shirley disputes, citing statutory law to argue that both state law and the Florida Constitution authorize county commissions to investigate constitutional officers.
On Thursday evening, April 7, Reams offered to compromise by willingly submitting to an audit by the Florida Auditor General’s Office, instead of the audit by the CPA firm that the commission has hired.
Maintaining his belief of the audit’s illegality, Reams said he was offering his compromise in the interest of sparing the county costly litigation and divisiveness. As part of his concession, Reams provided the commission with the $25,000 check that had been the most immediate point of contention between him and the board.
Reams proceeded to read an email that he acknowledged having sent to all the commissioners earlier the same day. The email reiterated Reams’ objection to the hiring of an outside auditor to conduct the forensic audit, based on his belief that state law did not confer such authority on the commission.
“While I am confident in the legal position that I have taken, I also believe that a prolonged legal battle over this issue will be counterproductive to the efficient management of county affairs, and ultimately, an undue financial burden on the taxpayers,” Reams read, adding that he was already under investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), which was conducting its own audit.
He characterized his proposal to submit to an audit by the Auditor General’s Office as “an effort to avoid a contentious showdown with the commission and in the spirit of cooperation for the benefit of the citizens of Jefferson County.”
“I believe that such an audit will remove ‘personalities’ from the process, and provide the board with the transparency and information concerning the clerk’s finances that it seeks,” Reams concluded.
He added that although his reputation in the community has been injured by rumors and innuendos, he was prevented from responding by his attorney because of the ongoing FDLE investigation. He had faith, however, that once the investigation was concluded, all would come to light and he would be exonerated, he said.
A question arose from the public as to which would be the less expensive of the two options, a $40,000 audit by Thomas Ferguson, or an audit conducted by the Auditor General?
Barfield responded that she had researched the matter and the county would not only have to pay for the Auditor General’s audit, but it would cost more than the independent audit. What’s more, she said, the commission would be unable to control what areas the Auditor General’s audit examined, whereas the board would be able to direct the independent audit to examine specified areas.
Of the several citizens who spoke on the issue, Richard Connell alone expressed support for Reams’ proposed compromise, noting that the FDLE already was conducting an investigation. The half dozen or so other citizens who spoke on the issue, however, expressed support for the board’s decision.
Merry Ann Frisby noted that the office of clerk of court was a public trust. And at present, she said, that trust had been lost. She reminded the board that the biggest issue was Fund 17, the one used by the clerk to make two $5,000 contributions to the Jefferson County Republican Party and Aucilla Chapter of Ducks Unlimited. It is also a fund that Reams has argued is not subject to commission oversight, as it is related to the courtside of his operation.
“I suspect that there will be legal battle over the submission of this fund, which is where the problem seems to be” Frisby said.
That being the case, she encouraged the board to proceed with its decision whatever it took, so that citizens’ trust in the system could be restored.
“Let’s get it done and move forward,” Frisby said. “There’s a lot going on and we need to move forward.”
Commissioner Chris Tuten in his turn raised the ante, noting that the loss of public trust in the system over the last year was going to lead to dire consequences. Absent corrective action by the board, he said, the result was going to be that the current officeholders were going to lose their elected seats to individuals who wouldn’t necessarily have the county’s best interest at heart.
“And with that being said, I think it would benefit the citizens of this county if the clerk resigned from his position,” Tuten said. “And if he doesn’t feel like that’s the right thing to do, then I would like the support of the board to have Mr. Shirley draft a letter to the governor asking that he be removed.”
Rev. Hopkins Thompson praised Tuten’s remarks. He also accused the board of previously having shielded Reams, reminding the members of his earlier removal from the podium for criticizing the clerk. But now, he said, other people could see what was going on.
“He needs to be removed, no ifs, ands or buts about it,” Thompson said, accusing Reams of “having his hand in the cookie jar.”
Chuck Sarkisian told the board that what it was doing was amplifying what he had started months earlier. He told the board that he had been requesting documents from the clerk’s office regarding 1099s and W9s since October and he had yet to receive much of the information.
“I just don’t trust the process anymore,” Sarkisian said, adding that his research indicated that Ducks Unlimited was not listed as a corporation in Florida. “How is a $5,000 check written to a corporation that’s not authorized to do business in the state of Florida?”
Mike Willis offered that if a stranger were to come to Monticello and happen on the ongoing discussion, the individual would swear being in Washington D.C., given how little as was being accomplished locally because of issue’s hamstringing of the officials.
It was a tough statement to make, Willis said, but he agreed with Tuten that the board had a lot at stake in the issue and that Reams needed to step down.
“Kirk, the only thing I say to you is, guilt or innocence does not matter when it comes to politics,” Willis said directly to Reams. “Public perception is all that matters. And as far as the public is concerned right now, there’s no good light shining on anybody.”
Phil Calandra took note that the problem had not developed overnight and the solution wasn’t going to be a quick fix.
“But I’m so happy that you are finally beginning to get your arms back around the control of money,” Calandra said. “I’m really glad that the board is slowly beginning to turn this very large ship in the direction that it needs to go.”
He applauded the board’s decision to proceed with the audit, noting that the FDLE investigation was focused on very specific areas, whereas the scope of the audit could be broader and should reveal if bad practices existed.
When the discussion returned to the board, Tuten reaffirmed his recommendation that Reams resign.
He credited Reams for finally releasing the check. But look at how long and what it had taken to get him to do it, Tuten said. The issue, he said, was that the public had lost trust in the system. And when the public lost trust, the board members would ultimately pay the price, he said
“I don’t trust anybody else to sit in this seat other than myself right now,” Tuten said. “Everything we worked for so far for this county is going to be thrown out the window if we don’t do something and do something different. I would like for him to consider stepping down, and if he doesn’t I would like to for Mr. Shirley to draft a letter to the governor requesting his removal.”
Barfield expressed her support for Tuten’s recommendation, as did Commissioner Stephen Walker.
“Pubic trust is everything in these offices,” Walker said. “The stuff that’s been going on the last couple of months is uncalled for. We didn’t need to go through all this. It spilled over from the clerk’s office and now it’s on the commission. They’re looking to us to represent the county. Are we going to support what’s been going on, or are we going to move in a different direction? I’m for moving in the direction that gives us back the community trust in what we got going. So I support Commissioner Tuten.”
Commissioners Eugene Hall and J.T. Surles likewise expressed support for proposed action, with the latter saying that it was necessary for the county to truly heal and begin moving forward again.
The way it was left, the independent audit will proceed. Shirley, meanwhile, is to research the governor’s statutory authority to remove constitutional officers for reasons other than criminal and report his findings to the board at the May 5 meeting.
You must be logged in to post a comment.