SAO confirms HCDC investigation

The State Attorney’s Office has confirmed that officials have opened an investigation regarding accusations the Holmes County Development Commission (HCDC) violated Florida’s Sunshine Law.

The complaint stems from alleged private discussions regarding officer nominees for the upcoming year.

HCDC board member and Nominating Committee Chair Stephanie Cloud states she did initiate phone calls to board members Brian Schultz and Kenneth Capps the day prior to the Tuesday, October 15 meeting regarding the nominees but stresses no HCDC business was discussed.

“I called [Schultz and Capps] and advised them they were on the nominating committee and mentioned that there was a slate of names,” said Cloud. “There was no discussion of development commission business; I just passed along information.” Cloud added that she has not yet heard from anyone with the State Attorney’s Office.

Schultz declined to comment but states he stopped the conversation when Cloud told him the purpose of her call because he was worried the conversation would violate the law.

Joe Rone has served with the development commission for nine years – four as a board member and the last five as Executive Director – and told The Advertiser in an October 28 phone interview that the agency is exempt from requirements other agencies have under the Sunshine Law, citing Florida Statute 288.075, which deals primarily with confidentiality of records. 

“We follow our bylaws,” said Rone. “Florida Statute 288.075 allows us to conduct business differently than other boards. In the nine years I’ve been with the board, never have we been required to advertise committee meetings or hold them publicly. Also, no committee has the ability to conduct any business; it is only for recommendations which are then brought to the board in a public meeting. Nothing is voted for in a committee meeting; business decisions are only made in public, and those meetings are advertised and held publicly with minutes taken.”

Rone, who went on to point out HCDC board members are unpaid volunteers as opposed to elected officials, said the development commission is seeking an official opinion from the Florida Attorney General’s office but will operate fully under the more rigid Sunshine Law until that opinion arrives.

“We have sent for an opinion as to whether we fall under Sunshine laws for certain meetings,” wrote Rone in an email to The Advertiserthat accompanied a copy of the HCDC charter. “In the recent past, we established a policy review committee.  That committee was made up of two board members and our attorney … They determined we did not fall under Sunshine for certain meetings.”

According to Rone, that policy review committee included the late (retired) Circuit Judge Russell Cole, HCDC board member George Robertson who has had numerous ethics training certifications, the board secretary, and County Attorney Nate Nolin.

“I was a HCDC Board Director for four years and have been the Executive Director for the past five years.  We have never followed the guidelines for sunshine for committee meetings,” he added. 

“But… until we receive an opinion back from the State Attorney General, we will follow all the steps needed to comply with Sunshine rules.” Rone further asserts the development commission’s charter, which was created and went into effect in 1961 – six years before the Sunshine Law was enacted in 1967 – also provides exemptions.

HCDC Attorney Ben Armstrong did not return a phone call from The Advertiser requesting comment; however, several board members say the attorney did state in the October 15 meeting that he was unaware the phone conversations had taken place and cautioned board members that the conversations appeared to have taken place outside of the Sunshine. 

HCDC Vice Chairman Jeremy Rolling, who served as acting Chairman for the October 15 meeting, also expressed concerns over voting on the nominees due to the Sunshine Law; however, he declined to comment further.

This is not the first time the board has dealt with an investigation by the State Attorney’s Office. Holmes County Commission Brandon Newsom – who has feuded openly with Rone during public meetings – filed a complaint against the agency in 2023 after an email exchange with Rone revealed the commission had deleted audio recordings of regular sessions.

“We have not kept the audios,” Rone replied to Newsom’s public records request. “When the meeting minutes are finished and approved, the audios have been erased and our old recorder would be used for the next meeting. Now that we have a new recorder, we will have a way to upload every board meeting by a written set of minutes and audio … All of our minutes should soon be available on our website.”

That complaint resulted in a December 21, 2023, letter addressed to attorney Ben Armstrong from State Attorney Larry Basford.

“This letter will confirm our recent telephone conversation concerning Florida Public Records laws, specifically as related to the Holmes County Development Commission,” Basford told Armstrong in that letter. 

“The first point to be addressed is the fact that the Holmes County Development Commission is a public entity and therefore must comply with Florida laws, specifically, Title X (Public Officer, Employees, and Records) Chapter 119 (Public Records).”

Basford went on to urge the commission to have all board members and officers to attend Ethics Training as outlined in the Statute. 

Rone states the board currently has ethics training scheduled for November and is erring on the side of caution until HCDC receives an official opinion from the Attorney General.

Holmes County Advertiser reporter Hannah Collins contributed to this article.