Islamorada lacked procedure when it came to complaints lodged against village council members or charter officers, as witnessed earlier in the year with a former manager’s exit.
A recent update to the personnel policy manual, however, added language to incorporate a clear process in times of a substantiated complaint.
During a June 10 meeting, council members unanimously approved six pages of new procedure regarding complaints filed against the village manager, village attorney and council members. The addition came after councilman Steve Friedman during a March meeting requested the council to direct the village attorney to come back with proposed personnel policies and procedures to address and resolve any future staff complaints against the manager, attorney or member of council.
Previously, the employee handbook contained employee complaint procedures but nothing was outlined related to complaints by staff against the village manager, attorney or council.
Friedman said the goal is to avoid the previous process involving then-manager Rob Cole, which resulted in complaints presented to the village council for action without any investigation or recommendation made to council members regarding such complaints. On Jan. 7, the council voted 4-1 on a severance-for-resignation agreement with Cole.
Specifically, information pertaining to a complaint against an elected official, village attorney or manager, as well as processing and resolving the issue, will be kept confidential by those involved in the complaint process in order to protect the integrity of an investigation.
As it relates to a complaint against the attorney or manager, a complaining party must submit a complaint to the human resources director, currently Jaime Terry, via email or regular mail. The complaint can also be verbal; in this case, the human resources director must put the complaint in writing and obtain a signature from the person attesting to the accuracy of the information within the complaint.
“This is necessary to make sure that the facts underlying the complaint are investigated and that the complainant stands by the factual allegations as the investigation proceeds,” reads the new procedure.
As for complaints against an elected official, the party must submit the complaint to the human resources director or village attorney via the same methods as outlined for charter officers. Once received, the village manager, village attorney or a third-party investigator who’s unaffiliated with the village attorney will analyze the complaint to determine if the factual allegations are true and could constitute an actionable offense or an internal investigation is warranted for the alleged matters.
If an investigation ensues against a charter officer or elected official, a report must be completed within 45 days. The person filing the complaint and the subject of the complaint will have the right to be informed of the factual allegations and present information and documentation in support of their respective positions.
For any investigations exceeding 45 days, regular updates concerning the progress of the investigation will be given to the complainant and subject. After the investigation of a complaint concludes, the investigator will prepare a written report with findings. The report will be provided to the village attorney or human resources director, whoever initially received the complaint, who is then responsible for providing the report to village council members for any action they deem appropriate.
The investigative report would be placed on the agenda of a council meeting for final action. The report would be available for the public to see after final action by the village council in an open public meeting.
If a complaint is filed against an elected official, the named person cannot participate in discussion or vote related to the complaint. However, that named council member may defend and respond to allegations in the complaint during the investigative process, and may otherwise fully participate in any investigation of the complaint.
By majority vote, the council may vote to dismiss the complaint if the report finds the allegations are unsubstantiated.
If the allegations are substantiated as it relates to a charter officer, the council by majority vote can terminate the individual or impose a lesser sanction. If the council finds allegations against a council member are substantiated, they can impose an oral or written reprimand, public censure, a referral to the governor or state ethics commission for action or any lawful penalty deemed to be appropriate by the council.
Village Attorney John Quick said the procedure solves some of the issues the village had previously regarding complaints against charter officers or elected officials. Mayor Sharon Mahoney said she likes the fact that the village attorney or human resources director will make the initial decision on how to proceed.
“I think it’s something we should have done years ago,” Mahoney said.
