September 22, 2024
Hi Everyone,
I hope you all are doing well. Everyone keep your fingers crossed and hope that we make it through hurricane season unscathed.
Your turnout at our commission meetings has been amazing, Let’s keep it up! Thank you all for supporting your community. Participation is essential to the health and well-being of our city and you are having an impact.
Accountability
According to Google, “accountability is the idea that someone is responsible for their actions and can be held answerable for their performance or behavior.” For a more in depth explanation, click here to view what Wikipedia has to say about it.
In the context of Oak Hill City Government, over the past two years, I’ve been asked many times, “how can they get away with that?” Generally speaking, anything short of a full-on crime is dealt with politically. If you go to a city meeting and you are denied your right to “meaningful” participation (the right to be heard), the remedy would be to seek relief from the court. That’s expensive and time consuming. So, on one side you have an elected official who has pledged an oath to uphold the law and the other side is left with hope that an elected official will do the right thing. A person who has very little in the way of time and money is left to rely on the integrity and moral character of an elected official or administrator to protect his or her rights and represent their interests. Litigation is expensive and can take years. Many elected officials know this and rely on it to seek their own agenda without recourse. Click here to view and example of this.
As I’ve said before, our laws or rules are there to level the playing field. They provide a mechanism for citizens to know what to expect. For example, when a citizen is given notice of a pending development project, there are reams of ordinances that dictate the process. The recipient of the notice, assuming that he or she is interested enough, should be able to take that notice to city hall and ask to view the plan. It’s public information that must be made available upon request – in fact, the notice, if properly crafted, should actually tell the citizen that. Florida Statute 163.3215 contains some interesting reading on this subject that I believe all city commissioners should be familiar with before they start running their mouth online about whether or not an aggrieved citizen or group has a right to seek redress through the court. Understanding this statute would go a long way toward curbing the “I decide who lives or dies” mentality of some.
So, what happens when a citizen receives notice of a development project and goes to city hall? The expectation is that he or she will be allowed to examine the application, development plan, and evidence of paid application fees. What happens if the request is denied? That informed citizen may wonder, how can this be when Florida State law requires that the document be for examination. Our own city ordinance says the notice must be sent out at least 15 days before the hearing of development application and plan. Depending on the scope and complexity of the project this could take days or in some cases a week or more to sort through and understand. Denying access to the documents infringes on a citizen who is trying to understand how this project may impact his or her property, home or business. An incomplete application is supposed to be sent back to the developer so they can correct the shortcoming. A citizen’s wellbeing and livelihood dependent on its elected official and administrative staff to protect their interests and a well-run city should do just that.
What’s a person to do when their rights are violated by an elected official, commission or city staff? What recourse do they have? A citizen with little means might capitulate while another one with means may seek a remedy in the court system. Either way, the system is designed to facilitate both. One may rely on the rules to compel a government official to “do the right thing” while the other relies on the judicial system. Either way it goes, the system always works best when your government is well run and follows the law. When one or more fails in this endeavor and pursues their own agenda, the system fails and everyone suffers. The ultimate remedy can be found at the ballot box. Even the little guy can find balance when he or she votes. Unfortunately, a lot of damage can be done to a community in between elections but the system we have is the only one that’s accessible to all citizens, rich or poor.
GET INFORMED AND GET OUT AND VOTE. It’s how you balance the other side of the scale – It’s how you hold them accountable! Election day is November 5th…
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Monday will be a busy one, at 4:30 PM there’s a workshop to discuss the Oak Hill Town Center Community Development District (CDD) again, here’s the agenda pack. On September 9th, at the Oak Hill City Commission meeting, Mr. Posey (Storch Law firm) and our city attorney spoke for over an hour on this subject. Then at 5:30 PM we have a special meeting to vote on the millage rate and to adopt a new budget, here’s the agenda pack for that one.
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Our regularly scheduled City Commissioner’s meeting is Monday, September 23, 2024 at city hall. The time is 6:00 PM. Click here for the agenda pack.
Please come and let your voice be heard. Your presence and participation are how we hold our commission to account.
As always, it’s my pleasure to serve you, I appreciate your support. Please let me know what I can do to help. I’m here to represent you…
Thanks again,
Joe Catigano
Oak Hill City Commissioner
Seat 3
