New police chief introduced; board reminded about Sunshine Law duties

The Code Enforcement Board received a brief introduction to Lake Clark Shores’ new chief of police at its Aug. 27 meeting and received a reminder about Sunshine Law restrictions on communications among board members.

The new chief of police described his background in nearby jurisdictions and said he began working with the town earlier in the year as assistant chief before taking the chief role; he thanked board members and staff. The board also requested a Sunshine Law orientation. Bill addressed the board and said members must avoid communications about pending cases outside of public meetings, including email, text, telephone calls and social media posts, and he urged disclosure of any visits to properties that could be relevant to an agenda item. "The main thing is ... you can't talk to the board members. You can't email. You can't text. You can't telephone, about any case that's gonna come up," Bill said.

Why it matters: the introduction familiarizes the board with the police leadership it may coordinate with on public-safety and code-enforcement matters; the Sunshine Law reminder highlights legal limits on ex parte communications to preserve open-meeting obligations.

The board scheduled further orientation on the town’s code-portal and other administrative items before future meetings.