By John Pacenti
The Delray Beach City Commission met hastily on April 29, with Mayor Tom Carney announcing a whistleblower complaint had been filed. City Attorney Lynn Gelin told commissioners they were not to speak about the complaint — especially to the media — to protect the employee who has sought protections under state law.
“I don’t even think we should be having any further discussions on the dais until the investigator comes back, provides you with a report and findings and you can discuss it at that time,” Gelin said.
Commissioner Juli Casale said the allegations were already known in some circles of the city. “These are allegations at the highest level,” she said. “This is tragic.”
The special meeting took place right before a workshop on “permitted zoning use and code enforcement standing” involving the Subculture coffee shop.
At the special meeting, Carney said commissioners needed to approve authorizing Gelin to engage with outside counsel to hire an independent investigator to look into the complaint.
Commissioner Rob Long then recused himself to avoid an appearance of a conflict of interest, but did not elaborate on what the conflict would be. “I fully support my colleague’s decision to have an outside investigation,” Long told The Coastal Star, but would not elaborate further.
Casale said she thought the individuals named in the complaint should be put on paid administrative leave. Carney said that would not be done.
“That’s typically what we do in the city, throughout every department,” Casale said.
Commissioner Angela Burns agreed with the mayor, saying she was unaware of the allegations but that the investigation should be conducted without any staff being put on leave.
“How is the individual in the city who made the complaint supposed to function adequately in their job under the circumstances?” Casale said.
Under the Florida Whistleblower’s Act, complaints are confidential during the investigation to protect the individual who made them from retaliation. The disclosure can be lifted if it is deemed necessary to protect the public health, safety or welfare, or is necessary for the investigation.
Rodney Mayo, owner of Subculture, speaking during the public comments portion of the workshop, seemed to indicate that the whistleblower’s complaint may be tied to complaints to the Code Enforcement Division involving his establishment at 302 NE Sixth Ave.
“We are the scapegoats in this. There’s a political issue going on. There’s something going on (within) the city,” he said.
Carney was livid with the staff at the April 29 workshop, saying that commissioners had asked in January about complaints regarding outside activities at the coffee shop to come back before them. Instead, he said staff went and gave Subculture approvals for such events.
“That is really subverting, in my view — and I’m using that word truthfully — what I thought was at least the will and the consensus of the commission,” Carney said.
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