Code enforcement issues at center of controversy
By John Pacenti
The Delray Beach City Commission is reeling as a leaked document, social media outrage, and defiant statements followed the revelation that a whistleblower complaint had been filed over the potential strong-arming of a new city director over a code violation at a popular restaurant.
The whistleblower complaint remains sealed while an independent investigation is conducted, but a redacted page from it, under the subject “Code Enforcement Concerns,” has leaked to The Coastal Star and some residents.
Trouble in the Code Enforcement Division first surfaced in October when an officer was arrested and charged with shaking down a resident selling ribs out of his home — the case remains open, though state prosecutors so far have declined to file charges.
Then it came to light that a supervisor had liens removed from a home she owned after resolving longstanding code violations—without alerting city officials that it was her property. The supervisor resigned in February.
An investigation by the city’s Human Resources Department didn’t look at the arrest of the officer or the allegations of conflict of interest by the supervisor until City Commissioner Juli Casale insisted.
Whatever problems were lurking in Code Enforcement were supposed to be excised by the hiring of Jeri Pryor as the director of Neighborhood and Community Services who oversees the division.
Leaked Document
But now it is Pryor who has filed the whistleblower complaint in the form of an email to City Attorney Lynn Gelin, sources say.
The City Commission at a special meeting on April 29 instructed Gelin to retain a private firm to investigate the whistleblower allegations. Gelin told commissioners the allegations are exempt from public disclosure and that no one should be talking about the matter while it is under investigation.
City Commissioner Rob Long recused himself from the discussion and vote on hiring an outside firm to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest, but he did not elaborate at that time on the reason for his decision.
The redacted email that was leaked does not show Pryor’s name but is from a city director — overseeing code issues — who started Jan. 21. That’s the same date that Pryor was to begin her new position, according to City Manager Terrence Moore’s Jan. 10 Commission Information Letter about her hiring.
“I regret to inform you that I am sending this email to address conflicting directions I have received,” the whistleblower writes in the email to Gelin dated April 29. When contacted for comment by The Coastal Star, Pryor deferred any questions to a city spokeswoman.
In the email, Pryor said she took the job that oversees the Code Enforcement Division “despite the division’s unfavorable public history.”
Moore, according to the email, called her on Feb. 20 to talk about a local restaurant, Dada, which had been issued a violation for using an A-frame sign for their valet services. Pryor said she told Moore that code enforcement officers were cracking down on all businesses that were using the A-frame signs, which are not allowed.
Dada is a restaurant owned by Rodney Mayo and has been a mainstay of downtown for nearly a quarter century. His Subculture coffee shop on Federal Highway has also been the subject of much discussion by commissioners regarding alleged code violations. It was a topic in a heated commission workshop, also held on April 29.
Though Long’s name does not appear in the unredacted portion of the email that was leaked, he has issued a statement — in response to Coastal Star questions — that he was on the Feb. 20 phone call with the city manager and the employee.
After a five-line redaction in the leaked email that comes as the phone call is being mentioned, the whistleblower wrote to Gelin: “I am only doing what I was told to do and it sounded like selective enforcement and I won’t do that.”
Moore then told her to “be more educational and not automatically issue notice of violations. Do more public outreach and only focus on the big code violations, allowing long-term business owners to use A-frame signs,” according to the email.
Long’s statement
Long’s statement to The Coastal Star said an accusation contained in the whistleblower complaint — one that is not visible on the redacted page — that he threatened the job of the employee with the phrase “if you want to stay here” is false.
“To be clear: I have never — and would never — threaten a city employee or direct staff outside of the City Manager or City Attorney, and only then as part of commission consensus,” he wrote. “I remain committed to integrity, transparency, and serving the people of Delray Beach.”
Long said the call in question was initiated by Moore while he was meeting with the city manager in person. “I was completely caught off guard by the accusation, which was made over two months after the referenced conversation,” he said.
Long said the complaint has been “weaponized” with details — exempt from public disclosure — made available to the media.
“The whistleblower process exists to protect people from retaliation when serious wrongdoing occurs — not to be used as a vehicle for malicious attacks cloaked in confidentiality,” Long said. “Undermining that process threatens its credibility when it truly matters.”
Mayo, in an interview with The Coastal Star, said that his businesses are caught in the political crossfire. “This whole thing has absolutely nothing to do with Subculture, right? We are caught in the middle,” he said.
The perception, Mayo said, that he and Long are best friends and “doing all this bad stuff” is false. He said Long and Commissioner Angela Burns responded to his efforts to reach out to the city to solve any code issues with the coffee shop. “Obviously, I met with Rob. I met with Angela right away,” Mayo said.
Mayor Tom Carney, at the April 29 workshop, accused the staff of “subverting the will” of the consensus of the commission when it came to Subculture. The mayor said staff was directed in January to come back to the commission, but instead instituted a new occupational use for the establishment.
Previous complaint
Though never officially named by the city as the whistleblower, Pryor has already been the subject of social media posts after the announcement by Carney that the complaint had been filed.
A 2024 newspaper article surfaced about Pryor when she was working as chief of staff for Fort Lauderdale Commissioner Warren Sturman. She filed a complaint against Commissioner Steve Glassman there for using an expletive in her presence on Jan. 9, 2024, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
Sturman told the outside investigator that Pryor used stationery with his letterhead — on which she wrote her complaint — without his permission. Pryor accused Glassman of “violent, hostile and aggressive behavior.”
The investigator ended up recommending that the Fort Lauderdale City Commission adopt a code of conduct, concluding that Glassman’s comments did not constitute harassment or bullying.
Delray Beach social media erupted over the posting of that story.
“I’m deeply concerned that someone is trying to expose and discredit the whistleblower in the matter involving a Delray Beach City Commissioner — before any investigation has even started,” Ingrid Lee, administrator of the Facebook group Delray Matters, posted.
“It suggests someone in power is trying to shut this down before the truth comes out.”
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