Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward doesn’t want to explain his September 2015 decision to settle the lawsuit brought against the City of Pensacola by former City Administrator Bill Reynolds.
When City Public Information Officer Vernon Stewart issued a series of statements to the daily newspaper defending the settlement agreement that was done without the approval or knowledge of the Pensacola City Council, Inweekly asked Stewart to provide the documentation that supported those statements.
On Friday, Sept. 30, Hayward’s Sunshine Center provided the paper copies of the City Charter and FY2015 Comprehensive Annual Financial Statements (CAFR) and a link to the city’s code of ordinances.
Public Records Coordinator Matt Shaud wrote, “The volume and nature of your records request requires extensive use of personnel to process in a timely manner. The City of Pensacola has completed part of your request, and we are providing that portion to you now.”
What did Inweekly request of the city PIO on Sept. 13 that he forwarded to the Sunshine Center:
From: Rick Outzen
Subject: Request for clarification
Date: September 13, 2016 at 10:27:18 PM CDT
To: Vernon StewartVernon,
The Pensacola News Journal published these statements attributed to you:
1. The city was sued in an employment contractual dispute and defended the dispute as with any other lawsuit the city is required to defend.
2. In providing that defense, the case was evaluated based on factors relevant to the legal merits and strategy, defense costs and insurance coverage.
3. The outcome of the lawsuit was uncertain, therefore a determination was made that it was in the city’s best interest to settle the case.
4. Since September 2015, the case file and the settlement agreement have been a public record and have been available upon request.
5. The settlement of this case was within the authority of the mayor pursuant to the city code and city charter.
6. The settlement cost was included in the monthly and quarterly financial reports to the city council and available to the public. The settlement cost was included in the Fiscal Year 2015 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report of the City.Please provide the following documentation:
Any documentation that supports the evaluation of the factors relevant to “legal merits and strategy, defense costs and insurance coverage†-as stated in no. 2.
Any documentation that outlines how the outcome of the lawsuit was uncertain-as stated in no. 3.
The code and charter sections that gave the mayor the authority to settle the lawsuit without council approval.
Show where in the 2015 CAFR there is a reference to the settlement with Mr. Reynolds.
Thank you,
Rick Outzen
Rather than provide any documents – such as emails, memos or reports – or even point out the specific sections of the code, charter and CAFR that support the mayor’s only written explanation of his decision, City Hall only released three city documents accessible to everyone: code, charter and CAFR, none of which expressly support the mayor’s decision.
After Inweekly made its request, the State Attorney’s Office contacted City Attorney Lysia Bowling who explained her recommendation to settle the lawsuit. Therefore, we know there was a discussion of the settlement between the mayor and Bowling, and the city attorney shared that with the Chief Assistant State Attorney Greg Marcille.
However, we don’t know if anything is in writing. If no documentation exists, then the paper should have been told that, not “the volume and nature of your records request requires extensive use of personnel.”
The Sunshine Center was created in August 2013 after the State Attorney’s Office had blasted the Hayward Administration for how it handled public record requests. It’s mission is to provide public records within 10 days. In its three years, the center has had three different coordinators.
We’ve asked the State Attorney’s Office to intervene on this request. This is the third time we have had to do so since Shaud took over the Sunshine Center in late June.
Sigh.