Community VoicesTraining meeting for Riviera Beach’s Planning and Zoning Board covered open records and meeting rules.
Riviera Beach’s Planning and Zoning Board completed training last month on their responsibilities under Florida’s Government in the Sunshine Law.
Why it matters: This is serious business. Violating the Sunshine Law can result in criminal penalties. It can lead to removal from office and a reversal of the decision, attorney Glen Torcivia told board members at their Jan. 29 meeting.
A lawsuit against Riviera Beach helped establish how and when meeting agendas can be modified, Torcivia said.
In 1996, the Fourth District Court of Appeal found that while the public is entitled to notice of when and where a governmental meeting is to be held, a government commission or board can consider matters not on an agenda.
The court’s ruling came in Law & Information Services v. Riviera Beach. Torcivia told the zoning board that, in 1994, the City Council called a public meeting to interview city manager candidates. Near midnight, the council decided to hire the acting city manager, Gerald Adams.
The plaintiff argued that the public lost a chance to participate because the vote was made after a late-night addition to the agenda. The appeals court found that if a meeting itself is properly noticed, there is no requirement that a governmental body give notice of a potential deviation from the announced agenda.
Board members can make additions or deletions from a meeting agenda at any time during a meeting, Torcivia acknowledged.
What they’re saying: “Do I advise you to ever do that? No,” he said. “If you are going to have additions or deletions, do it early.” It may be lawful, but it could also draw another lawsuit, he said.
Here are the four other things we learned:
- Zoning board members cannot speak to each other about city business before them, but a member can discuss it with another city board member, Torcivia said.
- It takes two people to violate the Sunshine Law. If one person texts another about city business and the person does not reply, there is no violation, he said.
- A tape recording does not count as the minutes of a meeting. Minutes must be written.
- The public has to have a reasonable opportunity to be heard.
Yes, but: There are more than 1,000 exemptions to Florida’s Sunshine Law.
Go deeper: You can watch the meeting here.
Who wrote this story: This story was reported by Community Voices writers Abigail Guillaume and Mikala Graham.
What is CV: Community Voices is a partnership between Stet News and Inlet Grove High School. Stet News is underwriting the pilot to train and pay students to cover Riviera Beach.
Inlet Grove journalism teacher C.B. Hanif and Stet’s Carolyn DiPaolo contributed to this story.
