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Delray Beach commission votes to hire outside investigator after whistleblower complaint
Summary
At a special April 29 meeting the Delray Beach City Commission authorized the City Attorney to work with outside counsel to negotiate and hire an independent investigator to examine a whistleblower complaint; the probe will remain confidential until completed and one commissioner left the dais and did not participate in the vote.
The Delray Beach City Commission on Tuesday, April 29, authorized the City Attorney to work with outside counsel to negotiate terms and hire an independent investigator to examine a whistleblower complaint involving city personnel.
Mayor Carney said the commission had received a whistleblower complaint alleging misconduct by “certain people within the city” and that an independent review was necessary before the commission could take any action. “Because really until we have findings, we can't make any, we can't take any action,” the mayor said.
The vote came during a specially called meeting after the complaint was delivered to the commission earlier that day. The commission approved a motion directing the City Attorney and outside counsel to negotiate terms and conditions of an agreement to conduct an investigation. The motion was approved by the four commissioners present; Vice Mayor Long left the dais and did not participate in the vote.
The City Attorney told the commission that the investigation and the related disclosures are confidential and protected. “This matter is confidential, the disclosures are protected, which means that none of the information should be shared with anybody in the press, staff, friends, colleagues, anybody,” the City Attorney said. The attorney said records related to the investigation would be treated as confidential and exempt from public disclosure until the investigation concludes and advised commissioners not to discuss the matter further on the dais until the investigator returns with a report and findings.
Commissioners debated procedure and whether anyone should be asked to step down while the investigation proceeds. The mayor said she was not asking the individuals named in the complaint to be placed on leave and instead sought the independent probe to establish findings. One commissioner announced they would abstain under Florida law to avoid the appearance of a conflict and left the room before the vote.
Outcome and next steps: the commission approved the request directing the City Attorney to work with outside counsel to retain an independent investigator; the City Attorney will negotiate terms of the engagement and the investigator will report back with findings for the commission to consider. The commission was advised that, if a public-records request is received, the related records will be treated as confidential and exempt until the investigation is complete.
The meeting ended after the commission voted to authorize the investigation and the City Attorney’s confidentiality guidance. No timetable for the investigation or the identity of any outside firm was specified during the meeting.
