A trip by four Polk County commissioners to Tallahassee on the sheriff’s aircraft for annual meetings with state legislators was called out for costing too much by a former K-9 sheriff’s deputy at the Feb 17 Polk Commission meeting.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Chairwoman Martha Santiago, and Commissioners Bill Braswell, Becky Troutman, and Rick Wilson flew together on the round-trip flights to Tallahassee.
Further, Bobby Block, executive director of the First Amendment Foundation, said the flights together are at least against the spirit of Florida’s Sunshine Law, designed to ensure transparency in government matters.
Two commissioners denied discussing any public policy matters on the flights and said they followed state laws regarding open access to government for its citizens.
But Block sees the situation differently.
“To be fair, scout’s honor isn’t a satisfactory guarantee of government Sunshine,” he said. “That elected officials got together with a local constitutional officer and later swore to the fact that they never talked business is not transparency.
“Would they admit to it if they did? Would they acknowledge they committed a crime?” he asked rhetorically.
“The law is there to put these doubts to rest,” Block said. “If this act doesn’t violate the letter of the law, it certainly steps on the spirit of it. Elected officials offered a group ride on a sheriff’s airplane should take a page from Nancy Reagan’s advice to kids about drugs, ‘Just Say No!’”
Commissioners and their attorney say no violations occurred
Commissioner Bill Braswell said, “Of course, we did not discuss public business. We are all well aware of Sunshine Laws and respect them.”
Troutman said, “No public policy was discussed in any group setting. Period.”
“Colleagues traveling together, whether by plane, at an event, or simply riding in the same car is no different than any other incidental interaction,” she said.
She added, “Elected officials are allowed to have conversations about their families, their schedules, community events, or life in general without it becoming a policy discussion.”
Santiago and Wilson did not respond to attempts to contact them for comment.
County Attorney Randy Mink, who represents and advises the county commissioners, said he was not familiar with the details of the flights when asked via email. But he added that the commissioners know how to comply with the Sunshine Laws.
“Two or more commissioners being together, by itself, does not violate Florida Sunshine Laws,” he said. “The Florida Sunshine Laws do not prohibit county commissioners from being together but prohibits them from discussing a matter that may foreseeably come before the commission.”
“I believe the commissioners are aware of what they can and cannot talk about outside a publicly noticed meeting,” Mink said.
Was there a cheaper way to Tallahassee?
Former Sheriff’s K9 Deputy David Butler said the plane ride was too much of a burden on taxpayers.
“Our taxes continue to go up,” he said during public comments at the Feb. 17 commission meeting. “But once again, y’all took our plane to Tallahassee, didn’t you?
“You got mad last time I said that. You cut me off. Pointed your finger at me last time. Told me that you didn’t like my attitude. I don’t like y’all wasting our taxpayer money for that. It’s a whole lot cheaper to drive. That plane is roughly $1,000 an hour to fly,” he said, a figure disputed by the Sheriff’s Office.
Butler added, “It takes away from the public safety aspect ― six to 10 hours to go up there and come back. We definitely could be doing patrols. Stop wasting our money, please.”
What’s in Florida’s Sunshine Laws?
Florida’s Sunshine Laws prohibit private discussions between two or more members of a board on matters that may foreseeably come before them occur in public.
The laws also require commission meetings to be publicly noticed, among other requirements.
Grace Nzekwesi, a legal fellow at the First Amendment Foundation, said via email, “The Sunshine Law extends to the discussions and deliberations as well as the formal action taken by a public board or commission.
“There is no requirement that a quorum be present or that an item be listed on a board agenda in order for a meeting of members of a public board or commission to be subject to statute (286.011, F.S). As the Florida Supreme Court said, ‘collective inquiry and discussion stages’ are embraced within the terms of the statute,” she said, citing the case of Town of Palm Beach v. Gradison.
“The question becomes whether the Polk County Commissioners discussed matters that will be taken for a discussion and or voted by the commission on the plane informally.
“It is reasonable to assume that informal discussions may have been made while on a plane together, and if so, then it would be a violation of the Sunshine Law,” Nzekwesi wrote.
Sheriff’s Office defends the flights
According to Scott Wilder, communications director for the Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Grady Judd, who receives a budget annually from the commissioners, was not on board the airplane to Tallahassee.
Since the Jan. 16 start to the current state legislative session, Wilder said, “We made two round-trip flights on our fixed-wing airplane to Tallahassee from January 16th to now. Both were to transport four county commissioners. We flew them up on January 21st and returned on the 23rd to pick them up.”
“The plane is multi-purpose — transporting our county commissioners to Tallahassee for important government meetings is a necessary honor for us, and a wise use of the plane,” he said.
“As you know, the Board of County Commissioners funds the Sheriff’s Office, including paying for capital expenditures such as our fixed-wing and rotor-wing aircraft.”
Wilder said the cost per hour to operate the aircraft the commissioners flew in is approximately $387.50 (fuel, maintenance, reserves). The trip to Tallahassee is about one hour, so each round-trip cost was about $775.
The sheriff’s airplane has raised eyebrows before
Calling it a “spy plane,” residents were critical at a December 2023 commission meeting when they voted to buy the sheriff a $5 million fixed-wing aircraft with thermal imaging cameras, which they said would invade the privacy and the constitutional rights of residents and especially marginalized populations.
At the time, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office defended the need for the new aircraft ― a Kodiak 100 turboprop with 10-seats and payload capacity, and short takeoff and landing capabilities.
Sheriff’s representatives at the 2023 meeting said it was to be used for law enforcement, including going after drug traffickers.
But critics complained the plane would be used to monitor marginalized people, including the LGBTQ community and abortion clinics, as well as places such as bars, LGBTQ proms and DRAG shows.
The vote to buy the plane was cast by a different set of commissioners. Commissioner Michael Scott, who did not travel on the plane to Tallahassee, and Troutman had not yet been elected to the board.
When voting time comes, vote for the new person. If there is one.
No way this was the best bang for the buck for the Polk taxpayer. Unabashed privilege.