Texting by public officials: Does it violate Sunshine laws in meetings?
May 2, 2009: "Text messaging is an everyday habit for many, but if public officials use it to talk about public business, they could be violating the law.
It's a complaint throughout Florida: How do you make text messages a matter of public record if they disappear into thin air with the delete key?
One area city commission has this solution: a ban on texting during public meetings." Read the full article here.
Jacksonville city employees' overtime millions over limit
April 27, 2009: "Some of Jacksonville's city employees doubled their income with overtime. Others earned enough to rake in six-figure salaries.
And one out of every six hourly workers on the city payroll received at least $10,000 in overtime in 2008.
A Times-Union analysis of Duval County's 2008 payment records shows taxpayers were funding individual annual overtime payouts as high as $79,000 at a time budget planners said they were scrambling to cut costs and avoid a tax increase. The overtime total exceeded $32 million, $4 million more than in 2007." Read the full article here.
Florida's Public Records Law: An Unmistakable Message
April 26, 2009: "The remarkable decision by State Attorney Jerry Hill to prosecute the Polk School Board lawyer for violating Florida's Public Records Law should send a clear and unmistakable message to all public agencies and officials here.
The message: The Public Records Law means what it says, and those who show contempt for it may face criminal penalties." Read the full article here.
Hallandale fights blogger seeking mayor's e-mail list
April 20, 2009: "City officials are trying to block an Internet blogger's request for information about an e-mail Mayor Joy Cooper sent from her personal e-mail account that discusses city issues.
A private attorney hired by the city filed a civil lawsuit in Broward Circuit Court Friday against Michael Butler, a Hallandale Beach resident who runs the http://ChangeHallandale.com blog. Butler wants to know who received Cooper's e-mail." Read the full article here.
| 
