The most wonderful time of the year has turned into the nightmare before Christmas in city halls statewide.
Local elected officials in Pinellas County and elsewhere in Florida continue to resign in significant numbers due to a financial disclosure document, known as Form 6, that comes into effect on Jan. 1.
A first wave of resignation letters began dropping in September, following the passage of State Bill 774. Belleair Beach, Seminole, Indian Rocks Beach and Belleair were among those absorbing the earliest shock resignations.
The stricter disclosure rules are of the sort that state legislators already have been obliged to meet in past years. The form requires the disclosure of all assets above the value of $1,000, a much stricter requirement than what had been demanded with the more basic Form 1 that local elected officials filed in the past.
Officials in office after Jan. 1 are required to file Form 6, even if they are terming out or not running in March.
Meantime, the initial slow trickle of resignations has picked up significantly. Among those announcing resignations most recently: two commissioners in St. Pete Beach, one in Indian Rocks Beach and one in Belleair Bluffs. And more expected in the coming weeks, as the Dec. 31 filing deadline approaches.
Tearful resignation
Recently, while City Attorney Tom Trask was explaining the procedure for filling an open seat after the city clerk announced only one candidate — incumbent Joe Barkley — had qualified for two open commission seats on March 19, longtime Belleair Bluffs Commissioner Taylour Shimkus dropped an emotional bombshell on the room.
“It is with great sadness that I must announce my resignation, effective Thursday, Dec. 28,” Shimkus read from a prepared statement near the end of the Dec. 11 commission meeting. “This has not been an easy decision. But after careful consideration, I have decided I am not willing to comply with the horribly intrusive Form 6 that was passed by our state legislators this year that will go into effect Jan.1.”
Shimkus said she enjoyed her 13 years serving the community, stating she will “cherish it forever,” before adding she had filed the required Form 1 every year she was in office.
“But this new law is so overreaching,” she said. “I am not willing to expose my intimate details of my family’s personal life, finances, and personal belongings for the whole world to see. This is an invasion of my privacy.”
Shimkus tearfully closed her two-minute speech by stating, “Should the law change in the future I will entertain the possibility of running again, but for now this is the end of the road.”
The only sound one could hear was the commissioner folding her resignation letter as the auditorium went silent for almost 30 seconds.
With direction from Trask, Mayor Chris Arbutine suggested they open the application window for an interim replacement for Shimkus in January, announce and swear in the chosen applicant during the February commission meeting, then reappoint someone — either the same person or a new applicant — after the March election to fill Shimkus’ seat. Later, a special election would be scheduled.
“This is a strange time to ask people to apply,” Arbutine said, while requesting consent from the commission for his proposal, which was unanimously approved.
Commissioner Suzy Sofer lauded Shimkus’ contributions, while lamenting losing her on the dais.
“I’m gutted,” said Sofer, who has served the city for 16-plus years. “You have definitely made a beautiful imprint on our city, done so many amazing things, and the person that comes behind you has some incredibly huge shoes to fill. I admire you and I cannot wrap my head around you not being up here anymore. I completely understand because this is so intrusive on all of us, and the first decision you have to make is to protect your family. And you’re doing that.”
IRB loses 2nd commissioner
The following night in Indian Rocks Beach, Lan Vaughan announced his resignation due to Form 6 at a city commissioners meeting.
“Effective Dec. 31, 2023, I am resigning as Indian Rocks Beach city commissioner due to the mandatory Form 6 requirement passing of SB 774 and Gov. DeSantis signing it into law,” Vaughan said. “Reluctantly, and with a broken heart, I am unable to continue to serve my community as a city commissioner until this requirement is lifted.”
A local businessman and community volunteer first elected to the commission in March, Vaughan said he decided he couldn’t continue to hold office after researching Form 6.
“My heart is breaking tonight, because I’ve done a lot of research on Form 6,” he said, noting he met with local and state ethics officials “trying to get my head around Form 6 and what that means for me and the over 35%, to date, of other city commissioners and city officials that have resigned.”
In his four-minute speech, Vaughan repeated that he was “remiss” and brokenhearted over having to make the decision, because he “loved being a city commissioner and helping people.”
But he cited a “mass exodus” of local elected officials — projected at 30%-40% statewide and double digits locally — “makes it evident that our new state mandates are unacceptable.”
And he decried rules “requiring our local officials to file a full public disclosure of individual financial interests, household assets over $1,000 and income over $1,000, along with names and addresses of our clients, online for public disclosure places our families, businesses, employees, and our clients at risk.”
In closing, Vaughan said the costs associated with filing the highly detailed and legally complex form, coupled with the potential for $10,000-$20,000 fines “if we do not abide by this ludicrous law” means “in effect, we would be paying for the privilege to serve.”
He labeled SB 774 as a way for legislators in Tallahassee to “again attack our local municipalities’ Home Rule, seeking to weaken local government through their draconian law under the current administration.”
With that, Vaughan officially resigned from office some eight and a half months after he was first sworn in. The process to fill his vacant seat will repeat the one that played out two months prior after Joe McCall resigned on Oct. 31 due to Form 6, with a special meeting to name Vaughan’s interim replacement set for Tuesday, Jan. 9, starting at 4 p.m.
The interim replacement will serve the remainder of Vaughan’s term through March 25.
“This is our second person that’s left in (over) a month, and I feel terrible you’re leaving,” IRB Mayor Cookie Kennedy said after Vaughan’s speech, adding, “first Joe, and now you. It’s horrible.”
