Florida prides itself on having transparent, open government where its records (including emails and meeting minutes) are public. Florida’s “Sunshine Law” is designed to make government officials more accountable. According to the Florida Attorney General, the “public has the right to know how government officials spend taxpayer dollars and make the decisions affecting their lives.”
That’s why discussions and meetings are held “in the sunshine,” with announced meetings the public may attend and published agendas and document packets (when applicable), all in accordance with Chapter 286 of the Florida Statutes.
There are times when State, County, City, or School Board meetings are held “in the shade” or in “executive session.” These meetings are not open to the public and in some cases, the details are not made public. Sometimes these decisions have surprising and/or negative repercussions on the public.
Executive sessions may be held when a government entity is in litigation and needs to talk privately with its attorney, such as in the case with the lawsuits against the school board over the 3rd grade testing, or between the City of Brooksville and Hernando County. The sessions must be announced and include the relevant parties, as well as the beginning and ending times of the meetings. In those cases, a court reporter is present, and the transcripts released long after the litigation is resolved.
Collective bargaining agreements are exempt from this rule, and records are not kept. This means the public does not know – nor may they ever know – what was discussed during the meetings. They are contract negotiations, and the decisions made in the meetings can have a profound effect on the citizens. The final contract with all the changes and updates may be filed and available, but the discussions and decision-making are conducted out of the public view, without public input.
This is what occurred at the 03/28/17 BOCC meeting. Notice of the bargaining session between the County and Hernando County Professional Firefighters Local Union 3760 was published on 03/24/17, clearly stating the date, attendees, and reason for the closed session. During the roughly 20-minute session, questions were answered and an agreement was struck. But “who” asked “what” questions and “who” responded?
Once the regular meeting began, commissioners praised Human Resources/Risk Manager Christi Charlow and Union Representative Sean Moulton for their efforts in working together. Dukes and Nicholson described it as a direct contrast to the previous contract negotiations they attended when first elected. Nicholson characterized that shade meeting as being filled with “yelling and screaming and hollering.”
Dukes commented on the benefits of change in the personnel involved, from the HR manager to the Fire Chief to the Union President. The three-year contract, with which will expire 09/30/19, has some distinct changes from previous agreements and drafts. A quick overview of the contract shows the following changes:
• a transition from vacation time to PTO (Paid Time Off), beginning the first pay period after the contract was signed;
• Uniform purchases;
• Staffing at fire stations;
• Staffing of volunteer firefighters
• Probationary periods
• Overtime and the Step Pay program
• Union time pool
• Specialty team staffing and pay (eg., HAZMAT)
• Grievance policy
• Apprenticeship program
• Tuition reimbursement
According to the agenda item, there will be “minimal” impact for this year. Hernando County Consolidated Fire Fund 1661 (fire protection for unincorporated areas) and Hernando County Consolidated Rescue 1691 (EMS services in the County except Spring Hill) are expected to be the funding sources for the 2017 budget. Upcoming budget meetings will need to account for the changes and find the resources. The first 2018 budget workshop is scheduled for 06/06/17 at 9:00 am.