Improperly Noticed Columbia - Suwannee Utility Authority Meeting Does Not Faze County Officials: Screw the Law – The Show Must Go On
September 4, 2024 11:55 am | 2 min read
Photo: Becky Phan via Unsplash | Columbia
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COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Planning ahead and following the law is not the strong suit of the Columbia - Suwannee County good ole' boys. Today’s meeting of the North Florida Water Utilities Authority (NFWUA) is a case in point.
The Authority was the brainchild of North Florida Professional Services President Greg Bailey and possibly others. The road to the Authority was hatched in secret by North Florida Professional Services in the Columbia County Conference room in May 2023.
NFPS's unregistered lobbyist Dale Williams
observes in the background at the May 24, 2023,
Greg Bailey arranged meeting to form the
Authority.
Officially formed in June 2024, the NFWUA is an independent special district. Special districts have special reporting, filing, and notice requirements.
These requirements can be found in section 189 of the Florida statutes.
The recent public notices published in the Lake City Reporter and transmitted by the "Consultant to the Board," aka Dale Williams, the unregistered lobbyist of North Florida Professional Services, were defective. The notices are absent required ADA and appeal notices: § 286.0105; § 286.26
The General Meeting Notice was not available for no charge to the public by a link on the Lake City Reporter website and is not accessible from the home page as the law requires.
The meeting notice is not available in Florida Public Notices as required.
For those interested in more of Florida's notice requirements, see Chapter 50 Florida Statutes.
For over fifty years, Florida Courts have strictly construed Florida's public notice requirements, which protect everyone's due process rights.
In 1989, the 5th DCA ruled that “measures passed in contravention of notice requirements are invalid if not strictly enacted pursuant to statutory requirements.”
Epilogue
In the good ole boy world of Columbia – Suwannee Counties, following the law can be 'touch and go.'
