Ethics commission waives $1,500 late-filing fine for former Palm Beach County employee

The Florida Commission on Ethics at a special meeting unanimously voted to resend a default order and waive a $1,500 fine assessed for the late filing of a 2021 financial-disclosure Form 1 by a former Palm Beach County employee.

Assistant General Counsel Graden Schaefer told commissioners the appellant — a former Palm Beach County water-resources coordinator who served from September 2018 to March 2022 — failed to file his 2021 Form 1 by the July 1, 2022 deadline. Schaefer said the filer also missed the statutory 60-day grace period that ran through Sept. 1, 2022 and therefore accrued $25-per-day penalties that ultimately reached the statutory maximum of $1,500.

Schaefer said the commission and the Palm Beach County supervisor of elections sent three pre-grace-period notices to the filer’s work address (301 North Olive Avenue, West Palm Beach): an initial notice from the supervisor of elections, a certified-mail notice and an ethics-commission postcard. The appellant submitted a resignation letter showing he left county employment in March 2022 and — the staff said — there is no evidence he received the notices because they were mailed to the county office and were not forwarded to him.

"Because there's no indication here the appellant received timely notice of his need to file the appeal, I would recommend for due process reasons that you treat this appeal on the merits as if it were timely filed," Schaefer told commissioners, and recommended finding "unusual circumstances" that would warrant rescinding the default order and waiving the $1,500 fine.

Commissioners questioned whether the commission has statutory authority to treat an untimely appeal as timely. Several members argued strict filing windows are jurisdictional under appellate rules; other commissioners and staff countered that equitable tolling and due-process principles apply where a party can show they did not receive notice. Commissioners referenced a similar case decided by the commission in June in which staff recommended, and the commission granted, a waiver under comparable circumstances.

A motion to accept the staff-recommended order to resend the default order and waive the $1,500 fine was moved and seconded. After further discussion about precedent and whether the commission or the courts should resolve the timeliness question, the commission voted unanimously to accept the recommendation.

Schaefer said the commission will provide a status update to the First District Court of Appeal and, after resending the default order and entering the administrative disposition, will move to dismiss the court appeal because the administrative order on which the court appeal was based will have been rescinded.

The meeting record shows the appellant had filed the 2021 Form 1 before the commission acted; the vote addressed only the procedural default and the fine. The commission did not adopt any change to the statutory filing deadlines. Commissioners signaled an interest in pursuing clarifying statutory language and operational fixes to reduce future mail/notice gaps.

The commission adjourned after concluding the appeal item; staff indicated it will notify the court and take the necessary procedural steps to implement the commission’s order.