GnvInfo’s Response to Ward’s Apology
Mayor Harvey Ward has issued a response to his violation of Sunshine laws at the Thursday General Employees Pension Plan meeting by not allowing GnvInfo and Gainesville taxpayer Bana Kabalan into the chamber, and further not allowing Kabalan to publicly comment.
Ward said “three members of the public who wished to comment were inadvertently left waiting outside the chamber.”
The third person Ward is referencing appears to be Donald Shepard, as he was the only other citizen in the lobby room. GnvInfo did not intend to public comment. It would’ve been more accurate if Ward said “three people who wished to enter the meeting were left inadvertently outside of the chamber.”
Ward said there was a “breakdown in communication between City Hall staff inside the meeting and the new security checkpoint in the building’s lobby.”
The metal detection security checkpoint has been installed for at least a month.
Kabalan said she requested meetings with Ward and the city commissioners and gave her phone number to the City Hall front office at the August 1 meeting but never received a response.
Ward said, “There was no intent on my part, or on the part of City Hall staff, to exclude anyone from the Board of Trustees meeting, and I apologize on behalf of the City of Gainesville.”
An audio recorded conversation with City Clerk Kristen Bryant shows her confirming she had made a request to Mayor Harvey Ward upon Kabalan asking to be granted her public comment back. Bryant said Ward declined the request because the meeting had been “adjourned.” Ward had the opportunity to correct the error but intentionally excluded Kabalan.
Kabalan has been campaigning for weeks that the city divest from corporate notes in favor of US Treasury bonds, arguing the latter are safer for long-term gains and the preservation of capital. She has cited the increase of retirees causing necessity for this action.
Ward said, “Upon leaving the chamber, I learned of the oversight at the security station. To be clear, the individuals who were unable to enter the auditorium in the morning did have the opportunity to participate in the open public comment period for the commission meeting later in the day. The statement that had been prepared for the morning was successfully delivered by one of them before the Gainesville City Commission.”
The statement Kabalan wanted to make pertained specifically to the pension plan meeting.
She wanted to request the exhaustive list of risks that could affect the pension plan, that is disclosable upon public request, as described in the actuarial report.
“Additional advanced modeling, as well as the identification of additional risks, can be provided at the request of the audience addressed on page 2 of this report.” - page 31 of report
Under Sunshine laws, she should’ve been allowed access to the meeting and permitted to publicly comment at the meeting. Legally, she shouldn’t have had to wait until the public comment on non-agenda items at a different meeting to give her statement.
The Board of Trustees (BOT) for the Pension Plan Funds is the Gainesville City Commission; however, the filing of the meetings would indicate the BOT is recognized as a separate body. The BOT meeting is filed as a separate meeting from the City Commission meeting.
Sunshine laws guarantee a right of public access to all public meetings.
GnvInfo attempted to retrieve security footage from 9:30-10 am from the City Hall lobby but was declined by Safety Specialist Douglas Prentiss. Prentiss said it could potentially be released under a subpoena.
Ward said, “Please feel free to contact my office if there are further questions regarding meeting procedures, this event, or actions taken to remedy this situation.”
However, Rubab Islam of Alachua County Healthcare Workers for Gaza says their group has been trying to contact Ward for weeks and he hasn’t responded.
“I made calls in the beginning of July and heard back on July 5 from the mayor’s assistant,” Islam recounted. “He said the mayor was out of town, and all the commissioners. They were on recess. [He said] they’d be back in a week…. He said he’d talk to the mayor and get back to me.”
Islam didn’t hear back from Ward. She said Ward is going to “continue giving us the runaround…. I suspect this happened because of the nature of our request and the affiliation of our group.”
Kabalan submitted the following complaint to the BOT/City Commissioners.
__________________________________________________________________
Dear City of Gainesville Commissioners and Mayor Ward,
I, Bana Kabalan, am submitting this letter to you as my formal complaint regarding the events of September 5th, and respectfully request an investigation into violations by the City of the Florida Statutes § 286.011 and § 286.0114. Said violations occurred Thursday, September 5, 2024, at approximately 9:45 AM EST at the Gainesville City Hall building. The fact are as follows: I arrived at the City Hall building (200 East University Avenue) at 9:35 AM with the intention of speaking at the public comment for the ‘Board of Trustees for the Gainesville General Employees’ Pension Plan’ meeting (scheduled at 9:45 AM), however I was not allowed entry into the City Hall auditorium, to go through normal security procedure (e.g., bag check, metal detector), or to sign up for public comment until after the meeting was adjourned.
At around 9:40 AM, Jack Walden, a witness to the events, and I were in the security line, and we were told we could not proceed through the security check, which at that time was being manned by at least three officers. One officer stated that we must wait until another officer that was in the auditorium exited back into the main lobby. Around 9:45 AM we were told by this officer that we must “wait 5 minutes” to proceed. It was not until the meeting was adjourned, at 9:50 AM, that we were allowed to go through the security check and enter the building. As I filled out my public comment card, I realized that the ‘Board of Trustees for the Gainesville General Employees’ Pension Plan’ meeting was adjourned, and we were denied access to the 5-minute meeting and our opportunity for public comment. There was no reason given for us to be denied entry into the meeting.
I spoke to the City Clerk, Kristen Bryant, addressing that I was unreasonably restricted public access to the auditorium room. I was denied entry through the security check, for no reason or explanation. Another witness and citizen of Gainesville, Donald Sheppard, noted at the time that there was no valid reason to deny me entry into the auditorium. After I requested to Kristen Bryant that the Mayor and Board of Trustees rectify the situation and provide me with the opportunity to be heard on a proposition before the board, I was told that Mayor Ward decided to adjourn the meeting and would not listen to public comment. I was told that I would be allowed to speak at General Public Comment at 1:00 PM, however that is a different body of board members who were not addressing the agenda item about which I came to speak and provide public comment, prior to any decisions being made regarding that specific agenda item. I was not given a reasonable opportunity to be heard on a proposition before the board at a meeting that is during the decision making process and is within reasonable proximity in time before the meeting at which the board takes the official action.
Walden and I have an audio recording of Kristen Bryant admitting that there was a “breakdown in protocol” when asked why we were not allowed to proceed through security and enter the auditorium 5 minutes before the meeting started.
This “breakdown in protocol” and lack of opportunity to speak before the Board of Trustees, violates Florida Statutes sections s 286.011(6)
All persons subject to subsection (1) are prohibited from holding meetings at any facility or location which discriminates on the basis of sex, age, race, creed, color, origin, or economic status or which operates in such a manner as to unreasonably restrict public access to such a facility.
and s 286.0114(2)
Members of the public shall be given a reasonable opportunity to be heard on a proposition before a board or commission. The opportunity to be heard need not occur at the same meeting at which the board or commission takes official action on the proposition if the opportunity occurs at a meeting that is during the decision making process and is within reasonable proximity in time before the meeting at which the board or commission takes the official action. This section does not prohibit a board or commission from maintaining orderly conduct or proper decorum in a public meeting.
In Mayor Ward’s press release statement that was released the morning of Monday, September 9, titled “Mayor Ward’s statement on allegations that he didn’t allow public comment at Pension Plan meeting”, he states that “To be clear, the individuals who were unable to enter the auditorium in the morning did have the opportunity to participate in the open public comment period for the commission meeting later in the day. The statement that had been prepared for the morning was successfully delivered by one of them before the Gainesville City Commission,” and “The public’s fundamental right to speak on matters of public concern is of paramount importance to me as mayor and as chair.” However, when I was finally unrestricted from delivering my statement during the open public comment period, I was interrupted by Mayor Ward pouring a beverage loudly into the microphone, once again denying my statement could be heard, in violation of the City’s duties under the Florida Statutes above. Several others witnessed this rude interruption, and violation of civil liberties, by Mayor Ward while I was speaking. There exists video evidence of Mayor Ward interrupting my statement from multiple angles in the auditorium.
I hereby formally request an investigation as to why I and Mr. Walden were unreasonably restricted from public access to the auditorium (i.e., being detained at the security checkpoint) and not given reasonable opportunity to be heard on a proposition before the decision making process of the Board of Trustees at the Thursday, September 5, 2024 9:45 AM Board of Trustees for the Gainesville General Employees’ Pension Plan meeting, in violation of Florida law.
Sincerely,
Bana Kabalan
