Commission declines to ratify county administrator’s attestation on State appropriations request after contested outreach to lobbyists

The Citrus County Board of County Commissioners voted 5‑0 on April 8 to deny ratification of an attestation form that had been filed in Tallahassee naming the board on a state appropriations request tied to County Road 491.

What happened: Chair Rebecca Bays and county administrator Steve Howard had been approached by an outside lobbying firm (identified in public records as the Southern Group) and a developer interest about an appropriations request related to the 491 corridor. The filing — an attestation submitted in March — listed the county as the recipient of an appropriation. Multiple commissioners said they first learned about the filing from public reports and a blog, not from staff or the chair.

Why it matters: Commissioners said the process bypassed normal board discussion and public notice for a large transportation project. Several commissioners described the filing as a breakdown in established processes and said county staff and a commissioner had engaged privately with a lobbyist and a developer while a formal board action had not been taken. Concerns included the content of the submitted forms (inconsistent budget figures and schedule) and the optics of county staff providing information to an outside lobbying firm without full board authorization.

Board debate and outcome - Commissioner Diana Finnegan moved to deny ratification of the signature/attestation; Commissioner Janet Barrick seconded. The motion to deny passed unanimously, 5‑0. - Commissioners described a months‑long exchange of emails and calls in which staff filled out forms supplied by the Southern Group; publicly available copies of the forms showed different dollar figures and mismatches between the stated project components and the funding lines. - Commissioner Finnegan said she would bring a proposed ordinance for the board’s consideration aimed at prohibiting commissioners or county staff from assisting developers or their lobbyists with lobbying when— and where — the developer has a pending application with Citrus County or when the BOCC has previously acted against a project. She said she would present draft language at a future meeting for board consideration.

Staff response and next steps County Administrator Steve Howard said he accepted responsibility for the confusion and called it a mistake, apologizing to the public and the board. Howard said he would institute additional sign‑offs in the internal process and sought to assure commissioners that he would not repeat the steps that led to the public controversy. Some commissioners called for personnel discipline; others urged a measured internal corrective process and changes to policy to prevent reoccurrence.

Public reaction: residents and advocacy groups raised questions about transparency and asked for a public audit of communications (emails, texts and meeting records) related to the filings. Commissioner Finnegan said she had already filed public records requests and would bring a motion in two weeks to author an ordinance that restricts staff and commissioners from helping external lobbyists when a developer has a pending application.

Ending: The board’s vote to deny ratification rescinded a formal acknowledgement of the March attestation; staff were directed to report process improvements and the county attorney indicated counsel would advise on whether additional personnel or policy actions were required.