Cape Publications, Inc. v. City of Palm Bay, 83-1771
| Citation | 473 So.2d 222,10 Fla. L. Weekly 1588 |
| Decision Date | 27 June 1985 |
| Docket Number | No. 83-1771,83-1771 |
| Parties | 10 Fla. L. Weekly 1588 CAPE PUBLICATIONS, INC., Appellant/Cross-Appellee, v. The CITY OF PALM BAY, et al., Appellees/Cross-Appellants. |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Florida (US) |
Joe Teague Caruso, of Wolfe, Kirschenbaum, Caruso, Mosley & Kabboord, P.A., Cocoa Beach, for appellant/cross-appellee.
Nicholas F. Tsamoutales, Palm Bay, for appellees/cross-appellants.
Cape Publications, Inc. appeals the order of the trial court denying its motion for attorney's fees and the City of Palm Bay and its city manager, Robert G. Matte, appeal the order of the trial court finding that certain activity of the City and the city manager violated Florida's Sunshine Law, section 286.011, Florida Statutes (1983). We reverse the order finding a Sunshine Law violation, and because there was no violation, the order denying the award of attorney's fees is affirmed.
The facts of this case are not in essential dispute. The City's charter places the sole responsibility for the selection of a police chief in the city manager. When the need arose to select a new chief of police, the city manager (Matte) determined some general criteria and, with the assistance of the city's personnel director, advertised for applicants. When the applications were in, the city manager reviewed each application and selected three for interviews.
The city manager then asked certain people to sit in with him during the interviews. Those persons were: the city personnel director, the city attorney, a member of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and a deputy police chief of the City of Orlando. The latter two persons were not employed by or otherwise connected to Palm Bay. The sole function of the group was to sit in when the city manager interviewed the applicants he had selected, to ask questions of a technical nature such as would help the city manager better understand the qualifications of the applicant, and to offer such comments to the manager as they deemed pertinent on the qualifications of the applicants. The record supports the City's position that the city manager screened all applicants, determined who would be interviewed, established the procedures for the interviews, was present during each interview, would decide which applicant to further interview, and would ultimately select the new police chief. The group was delegated no authority; they did not select or screen applicants, and they were not authorized or delegated the responsibility of making recommendations. Their sole function was to assist the city manager in acquiring information by asking questions during the interviews and then discussing with the city manager the qualifications of each candidate after the interview, so that he could decide which of the three candidates he wished to interview further on a one-to-one basis.
The pertinent statute is section 286.011(1), Florida Statutes (1983), which provides:
(1) All meetings of any board or commission of any state agency or authority or of any agency or authority of any county, municipal corporation, or political subdivision, except as otherwise provided in the Constitution, at which official acts are to be taken are declared to be public meetings open to the public at all times, and no resolution, rule, or formal action shall be considered binding except as taken or made at such meeting.
In addressing the issues raised by Cape Publications, Inc. in its action for mandamus seeking to compel the City to open the interviews to the public, the trial court found that the group constituted a "board" and that its meetings were required to be open to the public. This result apparently flowed from the fact that two members of the group were non-employees of the City, because the trial court's order specified that the Sunshine Law would not apply if the interviews were conducted by the city manager individually, or together with only members of the city staff.
The trial court relied heavily on Krause v. Reno, 366 So.2d 1244 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979), but that case is clearly distinguishable on its facts. In Krause, the city manager of the City of Miami selected five people to meet together and screen applications, conduct interviews, evaluate candidates, and recommend four or five of the best qualified candidates for the position of Chief of Police for Miami and to assist the city manager in making his final selection as to a police chief. One member of the group was an employee of the city. It was stipulated that the city manager had, at all times, the power to make the final decision as to who would be the next police chief. The issue before the court was whether the advisory group was a "board" within the meaning of the Sunshine Law and whether the city manager fell within the definition of an "agency." The court stated, "[t]here can be no doubt that an advisory board appointed to make recommendations to an appointing authority is subject to the dictates of the Sunshine Law." Id. at 1251. But the facts in Krause...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Sarasota Citizens For Responsible Gov't v. City of Sarasota
...or information gatherers are not subject to section 286.011. See Lyon, 765 So.2d at 789; Cape Publ'ns, Inc. v. City of Palm Bay, 473 So.2d 222 (Fla. 5th DCA 1985); Bennett v. Warden, 333 So.2d 97 (Fla. 2d DCA 1976). This is not a situation where Bullock and the individuals he consulted made......
-
Advertiser Co. v. Wallis
...that the governing body is a group that holds meetings subject to the Sunshine Law. We do not find Cape Publications, Inc. v. City of Palm Bay, 473 So.2d 222, 225 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.1985), inconsistent with this interpretation, even though it states that "it is the nature of the act to be per......
-
Knox v. District School Bd. of Brevard, 5D01-2384.
...to working conditions of career employees and thus was not governed by the Sunshine Law). See also Cape Publications, Inc. v. City of Palm Bay, 473 So.2d 222 (Fla. 5th DCA 1985) (group which assisted city manager in interviewing persons for the position of police chief was not governed by S......
-
Finch v. Seminole County School Bd.
...respect, its meetings were subject to the Sunshine Law. This court spoke on the fact-gathering issue in Cape Publications, Inc. v. City of Palm Bay, 473 So.2d 222 (Fla. 5th DCA 1985). In that case the Palm Bay city charter placed the sole responsibility for the selection of the city police ......