TR was the first to report on the catering discount and the use of the FSU football tickets.

In the settlement Fernandez acknowledges violations of various ethics statutes. However, Fernandez disputed all probable cause findings which related to accepting or soliciting gifts with the understanding that his official actions or judgment would be influenced.

The settlement recommends a public censure and reprimand and a civil penalty totaling $6,000.

Amid the controversy, Fernandez resigned from his city manager position with the City of Tallahassee on January 3, 2018 and, as part of the separation agreement, received $94,000, or 18 weeks of pay.

If the Commission on Ethics accepts the settlement, a trial by an administrative hearing officer will be avoided and  the matter will be closed.

Following an ethics complaint filed by Dr. Erwin Jackson on August 22, 2017, the Commission on Ethics found probable cause related to twenty of the twenty-four allegations in the the ethics complaint involving six sections of the Florida Statutes.

The violations related to a discount on the catering price for his daughter’s wedding reception from the Edison restaurant and the use of FSU football tickets provided by city lobbyists.

The settlement states that Fernandez admitted to the following violations:

• Respondent failed to report as a gift in excess of $100 related to the discount on catering for his daughter’s wedding reception in excess of $100.
• Respondent solicited a gift (football tickets) from a vendor, lobbyist, and/or the partner, firm, employer or principal of a lobbyist of the City of Tallahassee.
• Respondent accepted gifts  in excess of $100 vendor, lobbyist, and/or the partner, firm, employer or principal of a lobbyist of the City of Tallahassee.  The gifts were FSU football tickets to Charleston Southern, North Carolina, Wake Forest and Boston College games.

In addition, TR has verified that Kilpatrick’s wife works with the City of Tallahassee and his daughter, Cowan Kilpatrick Duggar, was recently hired in the city’s Gas Administration Department.

The latest city organizational chart indicates Mr. Kilpatrick reports directly to the City Manager Rick Fernandez.

These revelations come after a City of Tallahassee audit found an “appearance of conflict” related to transactions between City Commissioner Nancy Miller’s husband, John Buss – a city employee – and his brother, a city vendor.

Kilpatrick was part of the controversial city reorganization that took place in early 2016 after the appointment of Rick Fernandez as City Manager. The reorganization resulted in a 15% raise increasing his salary to $130,000. Also, he became a direct report to City Manager Rick Fernandez.

Before the reorganization, Kilpatrick was the Manager of the Business and Information Technology for the City of Tallahassee Underground Utilities. He was first employed with the City of Tallahassee in 2009.

Also during the reorganization, the daughter of Rick Fernandez, Kristina Fernandez, was moved to a position under Kilpatrick in the Technology and Innovation Department.

Based on a city organizational chart, Kristina Fernandez’s immediate supervisor within Kilpatrick’s department is Turqouis James.

TR verified, after receiving tips from disgruntled city workers, that Ms. James was awarded a promotion during the reorganization that resulted in a 27% pay raise in 2016.

TR also verified that City Commissioner Nancy Miller’s step-son works under Kilpatrick. TR first reported about the city’s employment of City Commissioner Miller’s step-son in July.

TR has also verified that Mr. Kilpatrick’s wife – Donna Kilpatrick – took a job with the Water Quality Department in 2014.

And finally, recently TR was alerted by sources and verified that Jonathan Kilpatrick’s daughter was hired in a temporary position in June of this year in the Gas Administration Department.

Sources within the city have complained to TR about friends and family receiving preferential treatment when it comes to open jobs, promotions, and raises.

Sources say that these actions by management, coupled with the recent layoffs have resulted in morale problems with the city’s rank and file employees.

Tallahassee Reports first broke the story about the City Manager taking football tickets from Adam Corey in August, 2017.

A City of Tallahassee press release issued just before 5:00 P.M. today stated:

Today, Tallahassee City Manager Ricardo “Rick” Fernandez notified the City Commission that he will be taking administrative leave effective immediately until the matter before the Florida Commission on Ethics is resolved.

The decision comes after City Commissioner Gil Ziffer informed his colleagues on Monday that he had asked Fernandez to place an item on the city’s November 8th agenda addressing his suspension until the investigation was complete.

And that is what happened here in Tallahassee after more questionable activities at city hall surfaced yesterday.

Jon Ausman, who chaired the Leon Democrat Executive Committee for 20 years and was the longest-serving member of the Democratic National Committee in Florida history, posted a comment on Facebook calling for the resignation of Tallahassee City Manager Rick Fernandez and Mayor Andrew Gillum.

Ausman said,  “For 22+ years I worked at the FDOT. I never forgot that the public owned: the desk I used; the desk’s contents; the computer assigned to me; and, the computer’s contents. Mr. Fernandez appears to have disgraced himself by forgetting this fact. He should now resign.”

With regards to Mayor Gillum, Ausman said:

The Mayor also forgot this fact. His staff willfully mislead the public about his NYC trip and his staff has yet to be disciplined. I doubt he will discipline the City Manager.

The Mayor also apparently forgot he has served 14 years in office and Tallahassee has had the highest crime rate in Florida for the last three years. He is directly responsible for allowing such to happen on his watch. If he wants to run for Governor he should resign his office now so we can have a full time Mayor addressing the City’s needs.

The comment was posted on a Tallahassee Democrat opinion piece questioning City Manager Rick Fernandez’s truthfulness and the city’s handling of public records requests.

His recent publicity from presentations at the city commission meetings and his regular Facebook posts have generated numerous phone calls from individuals who claim to have witnessed the misuse of city resources by high ranking officials.

Information from these phone calls and subsequent meetings was the focus of allegations addressed at a press conference held today by Dr. Jackson.

The allegations are supported by some documents, but mostly rest on statements made by current and former city employees and other individuals.

The allegations center around the personal use of city employees in the City’s Underground Utilities Department by city officials. These officials include Mayor Andrew Gillum and City Manager Rick Fernandez.

At the time of these allegations, current City Manager Rick Fernandez was the Assistant City Manager over the Underground Utilities Department and Mayor Andrew Gillum was a city commissioner.

At the press conference, Jackson outlined four specific allegations and said he was taking the information to law enforcement officials.

Water Pipe Repair for Fernandez Family

City employees have told Jackson that a work crew was directed by Mike Tadros, head of Underground Utilities, to replace a water pipe on the customer side of the water meter at a home owned by the family of City Manager Rick Fernandez.

City employees said they told management that the faulty water pipes were the responsibility of the homeowner.

The work was valued at approximately $700-$1,000 and took place around 2010.

Property records show the home at the center of the allegation is located at 435 Richview Park Circle East and was owned by the Rick Fernandez, his wife, and his daughter from 2003 to 2015.

Fernandez Pool Work

City employees claim that Tim Potter, the Manager of Operations for Underground Utility and Public Infrastructure, picked up a city employee from an active city work site and headed to the home of City Manager Rick Fernandez at 3516 Raymond Diehl Road to work on a pool pump.

Sources say the two employees stopped by a Lowes Home Improvement store on the way to the city manager’s home to pick up materials.

Property records show Rick Fernandez currently owns 3516 Raymond Diehl which was purchased in 1989.

Repairs at Gillum’s Home

Jackson provided city documents that show city employees were directed to City Commissioner Andrew Gillum’s home at least three times within five weeks in 2010.

On November 10, 2010 a work order shows that a city employee was sent to 5325 St. Ives Lane to investigate a water leak. The work order shows that the city employee determined the problem was a “customer leak.”

On December 15, 2010 another work order was created and a city employee informed Tim Potter that the leak was “on his side.”

On December 16, 2010 another work order was created and again noted the leak was in the back yard and was the customer’s responsibility.

Dr. Jackson reported that several individuals have come forward to say that the City of Tallahassee repaired the leak in the back yard of Gillum’s home.

Property records show Gillum owned the home at 5325 St. Ives Lane from 2004 through 2015.

Replacement of Pressure Reducing Valve for City Employee

On April 21, 2009 a work order shows that a pressure reducing valve was replaced at 3493 Gardenview Way.

City employees claim that the replacement of a pressure reducing valve is the responsibility of the customer not the City of Tallahassee.

Property records show that the owner of the home in 2009 was Michelle Bono, who at the time was the assistant to City Manager Anita Favors.

The ethics questions surrounding the transaction involve a possible gift received by Fernandez from a city vendor and a job given to the former Edison employee Eddie Kring, who was the catering manager for his daughter’s wedding reception.

Here are four questions and four answers based on the investigation and previous reports.

What role did Fernandez play in securing the vendor for the catering event?

Previously Fernandez told the Tallahassee Democrat that “I just paid the bills.”

However, the documents show that City Manager Fernandez played a role in securing the Edison as the caterer for his daughter’s wedding through a private meeting with Adam Corey.

Also, the investigation shows that Fernandez talked to Edison owner Adam Corey when there were logistical problems running up to the event.

Who gave the discount and why?

Three former employees of the Edison told city ethics officials they believed the Edison owners directed catering services be discounted and by how much.

However, no witness ever heard or believes that Mr. Fernandez asked for a discount.

Also, the employees indicated Mr. Corey did occasionally give percentage type discounts for services, mainly for political events.

Did Kring talk to Fernandez about a city job?

Yes. The investigation reported the following:

“Rick ran into Kring weeks or months after the wedding when Rick first learned that Kring was job hunting. Kring said he “would love to get back into community relations”. Rick told him to submit an application to HR, as he does all the time in his position when he is approached by an aspiring job hunter, which is often. Rick had no more to do with Kring’s job hunt.”

However this statement seems inconsistent with other facts.

First, the investigator uncovered an email from Fernandez’s daughter asking her father why Kring was not still working at the Edison. Her father’s response was:

“He has been talking to me about coming to the City. I’ll find out.”

And second, the head of the Communications Department, Alison Faris, told TR that since Mr. Fernandez is her boss, he was aware of the hire.

Did Adam Corey talk to Fernandez about a job for Kring with the city?

TR has previously reported that sources indicate that Adam Corey talked to Fernandez about a job for Kring.

However, Jerry Currington, the lawyer for the Ethics Board that interviewed Fernandez, never asked Fernandez if he talked to Adam Corey about a job for Kring.

In 2016, when the discussions took place, Corey was a vendor with the City of Tallahassee and a registered lobbyists representing multiple interests before the City Commission.

In January 2017, the former Edison employee at the center of the discussion, Eddie Kring, was hired into a position that was only advertised to people in the city’s communications department where Kring had previously secured a part-time job.

Kring was hired into the full-time position by the head of communications department, Alison Faris, who reports directly to city manager Rick Fernandez.

The discussions of possible employment would have come during 2016 when City Manager Fernandez received a $5,000 “owners discount” from the Edison on a catering event for a member of his family.

Tallahassee Reports published a story about the catering discount which took place in March 2016.

Both the Florida Commission on Ethics and the city’s Independent Ethics Board is investigating the discount and the hiring of Eddie Kring.

Also in 2016, Tallahassee Reports confirmed that city manager Rick Fernandez received a number of football tickets directly from Adam Corey for exclusive seats in a private box at Doak Campbell stadium.

Sources say the tickets were distributed to city employees and members of the city manager’s family.

Sources also say that the alleged undercover FBI agents bought several season tickets from Mr. Corey during the 2016 FSU season.

The Florida Commission on Ethics is also investigating the the ticket issue.

This latest revelation adds to the connections between city manager Rick Fernandez and Adam Corey, who is a central player in the federal investigation of public corruption.

The letter was first reported on by the Tallahassee Democrat.

The complaint addressed a transaction between a vendor of the City of Tallahassee, the Edison restaurant, and members of Mr. Fernandez’s family.

The letter, drafted by attorney Steve Andrews, stated that “I do not believe that the Ethics Board or its members enjoy the defense of qualified immunity as it relates to Brian and Delia Finnerty and they acted in an ultra vires manner and had no jurisdiction as it relates to the Finnertys.”

The letter then went on to accuse the Ethics Board of defaming the Fernandez family. Andrews wrote, “the allegations impliedly made against Brian and Delia Finnerty were false and defamatory per se, and which I believe constitute a per se invasion of their privacy.”

Mr. Andrews also warned the Ethics Board members about cooperating with the Florida Commission on Ethics. Andrews stated any communication with Florida Commission on Ethics “would act to republish the defamation and again act in a manner which would constitute an invasion of Mr. and Mrs. Finnerty’s privacy.”

Andrews closed the letter by writing, “At this point, I believe it would be prudent that each and every member of the Ethics Board provide the Finnertys with a public apology, and that such apology be submitted to each and every member of the City Commission and be made a permanent record of the City Commission.”

Ben Wilcox, Research Director of Integrity Florida told TR that “the Ethics Board clearly has the legal authority under the 2014 charter amendment to ‘refer ethics and corruption matters to appropriate enforcement agencies.’ The citizens of Tallahassee voted overwhelmingly to create the independent Ethics Board to act as an ethics watchdog in our community and the idea that the Board should apologize for doing its job is absurd.”

The complaint lodged with the Ethics Board over the transaction with the Edison resulted in Dr. Erwin Jackson, a local businessman, filing a separate complaint with the Florida Commission on Ethics.

Dr. Jackson’s complaint addressed the Edison restaurant transaction and also included an allegation about Mr. Fernandez receiving FSU football tickets during the 2016 season from Adam Corey, a city lobbyist and owner of the Edison.

TR reported that Mr. Fernandez accepted several football tickets in Adam Corey’s “Old School Box” at Doak Campbell stadium – valued at $350-$400 – and gave them to family members and City of Tallahassee employees.

That request now seems moot.

Dr. Erwin Jackson, a local business owner and watchdog of local government, has filed a complaint with the Florida Commission on Ethics addressing three separate issues involving Mr. Fernandez.

Dr. Jackson told TR that “an in-depth investigation is required to determine if Mr. Fernandez has violated any ethics laws. I had hoped the Independent Ethics Board would have been able to address this issue. However, the city attorney Lew Shelley, has made that impossible by writing the city’s ethics ordinance in a way that protects city commissioners and city employees.”

The complaint and the statement of facts address a discount that the daughter of Rick Fernandez received from the Edison restaurant for a catering event, the hiring of the salesperson for the catering event, Eddie Kring, without publicly advertising the job, and accepting football tickets from the owner of the Edison restaurant and city lobbyist Adam Corey in 2016.

The formal complaint reads in part:

This complaint concerns a city manager that violated Florida’s Code of Ethics in three ways: 1) he obtained a substantial discount on catering for his daughter’s wedding reception from a company that was a city vendor and partly owned by city lobbyists; 2) the city manager provided an unadvertised city job to an employee of the caterer who helped him obtain the large discount; and 3) the city manager accepted free football tickets in a skybox owned by one of the city lobbyists that owned the catering business.

The complaint seeks to establish the legal requirement for a full investigation into the allegations by the Florida Commission on Ethics.

TR has reviewed the gift records maintained by the Florida Commission on Ethics and no gift disclosure for football tickets was filed by city manager Rick Fernandez over the last two years.

Florida statutes prohibit a government employee, like Fernandez, from accepting a gift from a lobbyist if he or she knows or reasonably believes that the gift has a value in excess of $100.

Corey was a registered lobbyist during 2016.

The “Old School” sky box is actually two sky boxes that has been renovated to be one box seating up to 40 people. The annual cost of the double-box would be approximately $80,000. Individual tickets would be valued at approximately $350-$400.

TR has reached out to city officials to determine who paid for the tickets. We will publish a response when one is received.

TR has confirmed that Mike Miller, a presumed undercover FBI agent, bought several tickets in the sky box and was present at a number of FSU football games in the 2016 season.

TR has confirmed that Miller’s unused tickets were provided to Fernandez. In addition, city employees were given tickets by Fernandez to attend the games. One employee whose name was verified by sources as a frequent guest in the sky box was Ellen Blair. Ms. Blair is the current Director, Human Resources & Workforce Development at the City of Tallahassee.

Sources stated that Eddie Kring, the former Edison employee, close associate to Adam Corey and recent hire by the City of Tallahassee delivered the tickets to Fernandez.

TR has previously written about the $4,700 catering discount given to the daughter of  city manager Rick Fernandez. Sources say that Fernandez family members attended the FSU games with the tickets provided by Corey.

The decision comes after the full City Commission has repeatedly ignored the Board’s request for more authority to address similar complaints. The decision was reached after reviewing the facts of the complaint in a private meeting with the Ethics Board and staff.

This is the first time the Board has referred a complaint to the Florida Commission on Ethics. TR was told that a complaint will be drafted by Board staff and signed by the Board Chairman, Richard Herring.

The original complaint was based on a TR story documenting a $4,700 catering discount to a family member of city manager Rick Fernandez by the Edison Restaurant. The Edison Restaurant has a contract with the City of Tallahassee.

Documentation obtained by TR showed that the “salesperson” for the catering event, Eddie Kring, was eventually hired by the City of Tallahassee without publicly advertising the position. TR confirmed that Fernandez was aware of the hire.

The Independent Ethics Board was created by a charter amendment that was adopted with almost 70% of the vote in 2014. The purpose of the Board was to avoid the Florida Commission on Ethics by creating a city ethics code with an independent enforcement board.

However, the City Commission, after a formal request, failed to adopt a city ordinance that would give the Ethics Board the proper authority.

Subsequently, an anonymous complaint was filed with the City of Tallahassee Independent Ethics Board. The complaint alleged that Mr. Fernandez received an “improper gift” from a vendor.

On Tuesday, during the monthly meeting of the Ethics Board, the Ethics Officer, Julie Meadows-Keefe, will recommend that the complaint be dismissed.

In the agenda item, Ms. Meadows-Keefe writes that she reviewed the complaint, related documents and spoke with Mr. Fernandez. Based on this investigation, she concludes that there was “no violation of the City Ethics Code.” See document below.

However, Tallahassee Reports has been told concerned citizens will ask the Ethics Board to refer the complaint to the Florida Commission on Ethics.

The Florida Commission on Ethics enforces Chapter 112 of the Florida Statutes which regulates the actions of public officials and government employees. Chapter 112 addresses prohibited relationships with reporting individuals and vendors.

The statutes define a vendor as a business entity doing business directly with an agency, such as renting, leasing, or selling any realty, goods, or services.

The statute addresses gifts from vendors:

“A reporting individual or procurement employee is prohibited from soliciting any gift from a vendor doing business with the reporting individual’s or procurement employee’s agency….., where such gift is for the personal benefit of the reporting individual or procurement employee, another reporting individual or procurement employee, or any member of the immediate family of a reporting individual or procurement employee. “(emphasis added)

“A reporting individual or procurement employee or any other person on his or her behalf is prohibited from knowingly accepting, directly or indirectly, a gift from a vendor doing business with the reporting individual’s or procurement employee’s agency..” (emphasis added)

The statute also addresses the actions of a vendor:

“A vendor doing business with the reporting individual’s or procurement employee’s agency;….. is prohibited from giving, either directly or indirectly, a gift that has a value in excess of $100 to the reporting individual or procurement employee or any other person on his or her behalf..” (emphasis added)

TR will have a follow-up report after the Ethics Board meeting on Tuesday.