Tallahassee ethics board closes complaint, reviews $251,000 remaining budget

The City of Tallahassee Independent Ethics Board voted April 15 to close a sworn complaint and reviewed the ethics office's budget at a meeting in the Tallahassee Room at City Hall.

The board asked staff to dismiss a sworn complaint filed by Stanley Sims regarding the demeanor of a chair at a CRA meeting; Diane Williams Cox was identified in the complaint as the subject. Ethics Officer Dwight Floyd summarized the office's handling of the matter and recommended closing the file. A motion to recommend closing the complaint was made and seconded; the board approved the recommendation. The motion was recorded during the meeting but the transcript does not list a roll-call tally by name for that vote.

Floyd also reported on departmental finances, saying the office began the fiscal period with about $463,000 and has spent a little more than $200,000 over the past six months, leaving approximately $251,000. He listed travel, conferences and routine operating expenses among the outlays and said he does not expect the office to exhaust the remainder before the next reporting period.

Floyd told the board he and staff continue to deliver monthly ethics training, respond to complaints, meet with the city attorney on board recommendations and coordinate with Human Resources and the IT department on learning-management-system issues. He noted two referrals that fell outside city jurisdiction and described one contact who presented as a possible sovereign-citizen complaint handled as a county matter.

The board did not take additional formal action on budget allocations during the meeting. Floyd said staff would continue routine tracking and would report back if additional resources or budget changes become necessary.

The board's next steps include following up on referrals and continuing routine complaint processing and budget monitoring.