HomeMy Public PortalAboutJonesFoster Correspondence(O'Boyle/O'hare)JOP- SFOSTER.
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John C. Randolph
Attorney
561-650-0458
Fax: 561-650-5300
jrandolph@jonesfoster corn
June 15. 2015
Nowlen, Holt & Miner, P.A
515 North Flagler Drive
Suite 1700
West Palm Beach. FL 33401
Re. Town of Gulf Stream
Our File No 13147 1
Gentlemen.
I am the attorney for the Town of Gulf Stream, Florida Pursuant to your request for
information regarding pending or contemplated suits, judgments or claims against the
Town, please be advised as follows
Attached is the status of lawsuits filed against the Town by Town residents Christopher
O'Hare, Martin O'Boyle and related entities Most of these cases are cases alleging
violation by the Town of the State's Public Records Law. In the event of success in
these cases, Plaintiffs would be entitled to attorney's fees
There are cases pending that are being defended on behalf of the Town through its
insurance carrier by Johnson, Anselmo, Murdoch, Burke Piper & Hochman, P.A. I
recommend you contact Jeff Hochman with that firm to get a status update in regard to
those cases.
Cases not noted as dealing with the public records act relate to Petitions for Writ of
Certiorari, for Mandamus or, in the alternative, Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive
Relief.
There is one suit currently pending, which is a suit initiated by the Town against
Christopher O'Hare relating to the requirement to remove a boat which the Town
contends is not authorized to anchor on certain designated property within the Town
Please also note there is a suit, Town of Gulf Stream and Wantman Group, Inc. vs
Martin O'Boyle, etc., et al, which has been filed by the law firm of Richman Greer.
Please advise if there is further information you need in regard to any of these matters.
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lAW,S C. ADKINS (1915-1994)
LEONARD A. CARSON
JOHN E. GRIFFIN
LUCILLE E. TURNER
Nowlen, Holt & Miner, P.A.
515 North Flagler Drive, Suite 1700
,1 West Palm Beach, FL 33401
/ Re: Town of Gulf Stream
Dear Sir or Madam:
CARSON & ADKINS
Lawyers
June 5, 2015
2930 WELLINGTON CIRCLE
SUITE 201
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 32309
(850)894-1009
FACSIMILE (850) 894-1677
By letter dated June 8, 2015, William H. Thrasher, Town Manager, (the "Client"), has requested
us to furnish you with certain information in connection with your examination of the accounts of the
Client as of September 30, 2014.
We call your attention to the fact that this firm has during the past year represented the Client
only in connection with certain labor relations matters, and has not been engaged for any other purpose.
Subject to the foregoing and to the last paragraph of this letter, we advise you that since
October 1, 2013 we have not been engaged to give substantive attention to, or represent the Client in
connection with material loss contingencies coming within the scope of clause (a) of Paragraph 5 of the
ABA Statement of Policy referred to in the last paragraph of this letter.
With respect to the matters specifically identified in the Client's letter and upon which
comment has been specifically requested, as contemplated by clauses (b) or (c) of Paragraph 5 of the
ABA Statement of Policy, we advise you, subject to the last paragraph of this letter, we are unaware of
any such claims and contingencies.
The information set forth herein is as of June 5, 2015, the date on which we commenced our
internal review procedures for purposes of preparing this response, except as otherwise noted, and we
disclaim any undertaking to advise you of changes which thereafter may be brought to our attention.
As of September 30, 2014, the Client was not indebted to us for billed legal services and
disbursements.
This response is limited by, and in accordance with, the ABA Statement of Policy Regarding
Lawyers' Responses to Auditors' Requests for Information (December 1975); without limiting the
generality of the foregoing, the limitations set forth in such Statement on the scope and use of this
CARSON & ADKINS
Lawyers
MEMORANDUM
To: Erika Bowen, Florida League of Cities, ebowen(a)flcities.com fax: 850-222-3806
From: William Thrasher, Town Manager, Town of Gulf Stream
Re: Public Records Inquiries
Date: October 22. 2014
Thank you for the opportunity to provide you with information related to the effects of the
public records laws upon our community.
(1) Budgeting.
(a) Legal expenses. The Town of Gulfstream does not separately budget for public
records requests; however, many of the costs of litigation and compliance
associated with the public records laws fall within the category of legal
expenditures. In 2013, the Town budgeted $114,000, but spent more than
$411,000. The Town then budgeted $440,000 for 2014, but now projects
expenses exceeding $540,000. Our 2014-2015 budget can be found online at:
http://www.gulf-stream.org/images/Finalbudhearing092314.pdf
(b) Information technology expenses. The Town of Gulf Stream is proud to note that
it is especially proactive in posting material online. For example:
• The Town Code for the Town of Gulfstream is accessible through municode.
https://www.municode.com/library/fl/gulf stream/codes/code of ordinances
• Agendas, minutes, and even videos of our Town Commission meetings are
all posted online. http://www.gulf-stream.org/minutes-agendas.htmi
• And other online documentation includes searchable folders related to
Architectural Review, the Building Department, Finance, Legal, Public
Records Requests, and a Town Clerk category that includes Agendas
Contracts & Agreements, Elections, Minutes, Notices, Ordinances, and
Resolutions. You can find these online folders by clicking "I want to" ... "Find
a town record" using the menu tabs on our web page http://www.gulf-
stream.org/
Like the legal compliance and litigation expenses, the online publication process
is also costly, requiring the Town to substantially increase its information
technology expenditures. In 2013, the Town spent $75,000 on a new server that
could handle the large volume of data management being undertaken, plus an
additional $37,000 on installation and software expenses. For approximately the
past 9 months, the Town of Gulf Stream has also spent $19 per hour, on a full-
time basis, for a contractor who has been scanning and uploading documents
online for public access — another $26,000 in taxpayer dollars.
(c) Cumulatively, the Town of Gulf Stream has spent 10 to 15 percent of its entire
annual budget (approximately $3.2 million in 2013 and $3.5 million in 2014)
exclusively on public records related matters. This does not include staffing,
further discussed below.
(2) Estimates
(a) Our Town receives hundreds of public records requests monthly. In the past two
years, we have received nearly 1600 public records requests (many of which can
be traced to two people and their porporations or associates). For example, 2013
and 2014 public records requp-sts can be found at the following address:
(b) Our Town Hall has 16 -1 -/Z -,'employees: a Town Hall staff of four, 11-1/2
policemen, 1 water department employee, and 1 maintenance employee. One
Secretary spends 35 hours per week or more (necessitating overtime) to respond
to the public records requests. Our Town Clerk estimates that she spends more
than 20 hours each week on public records issues. Our Town Manager estimates
that he spends 5-10 hours each week on public records issues. Our policemen
have spent 3-10 hours each week on public records. And our water department
and maintenance employees have had to respond to public records, too.
Collectively, our Town staff regularly spends 60 to 80 hours per week working on
matters related to the public records laws.
(3) Lawsuits
(a) As noted in (1) above, the Town spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on
public records compliance and litigation. Since October 3, 2013, the Town has
received 42 different public records lawsuits, and incurred tens of thousands of
dollars in litigation defense costs. As recently as 2010, our monthly legal bills
were well under $5000, and sometimes even under $1000. In 2013 and 2014,
due to the public records laws, our legal bills routinely exceed $20,000 monthly,
and sometimes much more.
(b) The public records laws also affect the Town's litigation decisions on other
issues. For example, in 2013, the Town of Gulf Stream approved an agreement
to pay one homeowner $180,000 to settle a zoning dispute, to voluntarily dismiss
20 public records lawsuits, and to withdraw hundreds of public records requests.
The dispute received local newspaper coverage too.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/qulf-stream-millionaire-challenging-
state-alto rnev/nZY8 C/
(4) Unusual experiences. In the Town of Gulf Stream, the unusual use of the public
records law has become the norm. Our Town receives public records requests
asking for records that the requester already possesses, simply to force the Town to
respond to the request. We routinely receive requests for records that require us to
spend time and effort to develop estimates for the costs of production, and when we
do send the response, the estimate is never paid. We have been sued for
'.unreasonable delay" after we responded to a public records request in 2 days.
Many requests are made anonymously to shield the requester from exposure. For all
these reasons, at our Town Commission meeting on October 10, 2014, the Town
authorized the retention of special counsel to assist with a potential lawsuit based
upon the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. http://www.gulf-
stream.org/images/TCAG101014 pdf
JAMES C. ADKINS (1915-1994)
LEONARD A. CARSON
JOHN F GRIFFIN
LUCILLE E. TURNER
Nowlen, Holt & Miner, P.A.
515 North Flagler Drive, Suite 1700
West Palm Beach, FL 33401
Re: Town of Gulf Stream
Dear Sir or Madam:
CARSON & ADKINS
Lawyers
June 5, 2015
2930 WELLINGTON CIRCLE
SUITE 201
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 32309
(850)894-1009
FACSIMILE (850) 894-1677
By letter dated June 8, 2015, William H. Thrasher, Town Manager, (the "Client"), has requested
us to furnish you with certain information in connection with your examination of the accounts of the
Client as of September 30, 2014.
We call your attention to the fact that this firm has during the past year represented the Client
only in connection with certain labor relations matters, and has not been engaged for any other purpose.
Subject to the foregoing and to the last paragraph of this letter, we advise you that since
October 1, 2013 we have not been engaged to give substantive attention to, or represent the Client in
connection with material loss contingencies coming within the scope of clause (a) of Paragraph 5 of the
ABA Statement of Policy referred to in the last paragraph of this letter.
With respect to the matters specifically identified in the Client's letter and upon which
comment has been specifically requested, as contemplated by clauses (b) or (c) of Paragraph 5 of the
ABA Statement of Policy, we advise you, subject to the last paragraph of this letter, we are unaware of
any such claims and contingencies.
The information set forth herein is as of June 5, 2015, the date on which we commenced our
internal review procedures for purposes of preparing this response, except as otherwise noted, and we
disclaim any undertaking to advise you of changes which thereafter may be brought to our attention.
As of September 30, 2014, the Client was not indebted to us for billed legal services and
disbursements.
This response is limited by, and in accordance with, the ABA Statement of Policy Regarding
Lawyers' Responses to Auditors' Requests for Information (December 1975); without limiting the
generality of the foregoing, the limitations set forth in such Statement on the scope and use of this
CARSON & ADKINS
Lawyers
Nowlen, Holt & Miner, P.A.
June 15, 2015
Page 2
This will confirm as correct the advice given you by the Town that we are aware of no
material contingencies relating to unascertained claims and assessments involving
matters with respect to which this firm has been engaged and to which it has devoted
substantial attention on behalf of the Town in the form of legal consultation and
representation.
The information set forth herein is as of the date of this letter. Except as otherwise
noted, we disclaim any understanding to advise you of changes which may hereafter be
brought to our attention.
This response is limited by, and in accordance with, the ABA Statement of Policy
regarding lawyers' responses to auditors' requests for information (December 1975),
without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the limitations set forth in such Statement
on the scope and use of this response (Paragraphs 2 and 7) are specifically
incorporated herein by reference, and any description herein of any "loss contingencies"
is qualified in its entirety by Paragraph 5 of the Statement and the accompanying
Commentary (which is an integral part of the Statement).
Consistent with the last sentence of Paragraph 6 of the ABA Statement of Policy, and
pursuant to the Town's request, this will confirm as correct the Town's understanding as
set forth in its audit inquiry letter to me that whenever, in the course of performing legal
services for the Town with respect to a matter recognized to involve an unasserted
possible claim or assessment that may call for financial statement disclosure, we have
formed a professional conclusion that the Town must disclose or consider disclosure
concerning such possible claim or assessment We, as a matter of professional
responsibility to the Town, will so advise the Town and will consult with the Town
concerning the question of disclosure and the applicable requirements of Statement of
Financial Accounting Standards No 5
Sincerely,
JONES, kOSTER, JOHNSTON & STUBBS, P A
,Ydhn C Randolph
JCR/ssm
Enclosure
cc: William H Thrasher, Town Manager
padocs113147=00WtA1=6780 docx