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Residents urge audit over alleged missing funds and warn of camera privacy risks at Live Oak council meeting
Summary
Public commenters at the Feb. 10 Live Oak council meeting accused city actors of large-scale theft, called for a federal audit, and raised security and privacy concerns about the city's block surveillance cameras. Commenters said they submitted an ordinance proposal and presented specific billing discrepancies.
Speakers during the public-comment period at the City of Live Oak's Feb. 10 meeting made several substantive allegations and policy requests, including a call for a federal audit and complaints about surveillance-camera security.
Gerald Bridget, who identified himself as a property owner, told the council he had documentation alleging large-scale theft and asked the council to pursue a federal audit. "Because it's $84,000,000 involved," Bridget said during his appearance, and he described specific water-bill discrepancies for a tenant account including referenced amounts and dates. The transcript does not record a council or staff response to Bridget’s allegations during the public-comment segment.
Az Snyder, who said he has experience conducting security audits for the federal government, urged scrutiny of the city's "block" surveillance-camera program. Snyder said the cameras have been "frightening" based on security vulnerabilities and told the council there have been "literally about a dozen hacks in the past 6 months, 12 months." He said he submitted a proposed ordinance in December to address those concerns and urged the council to review it.
Heather Henderson thanked council members and staff for participating in a recent Florida Executive Officials emergency-management course tied to Senate Bill 180 and expressed interest in continued collaboration on emergency-management training.
Virginia Smith spoke in support of Larry Sessions' evaluations as a city official and promoted an upcoming community event scheduled for Feb. 21.
The transcript shows the council heard these public comments but does not record extended debate or immediate staff directions in response. The allegations of missing funds and the surveillance-security concerns were made by members of the public; the transcript does not include evidence within the meeting record that would substantiate or refute those claims. Any follow-up — such as staff reports, requests for audits, or ordinance introductions — would need to be confirmed in subsequent council minutes or administrative records before drawing conclusions.
