Pinellas county’s top prosecutor has decided to open a criminal investigation into the local construction licensing board, embroiled for weeks in controversy since a Tampa Bay Times’ series raised questions about the agency’s conduct.
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Pinellas-Pasco State’s Attorney Bernie McCabe said he began the process of convening a grand jury after the Pinellas County Construction Licensing Board on Thursday rejected hiring an interim director from outside the agency and instead chose to hand the reigns to a longtime agency employee.
McCabe called the board’s decision "puzzling."
"I was dumbfounded," McCabe said Friday morning. "It made me think that they think it’s a club and not a public agency. We’re going to look into it. There’s certainly issues we need to look at."
Powerful state Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, had supported allowing the agency to remain autonomous from county oversight as long as it hired former county administrator Gay Lancaster as interim executive director. Rodney Fischer, the longtime executive director, resigned after the Times series revealed several problems with the way he managed the agency.
The board instead agreed Thursday to let Anne Maddox, the office manager, to continue running the licensing board.
Latvala was incensed. In a letter to McCabe, Latavala said the actions of board members shows they don’t want outsiders "becoming involved in the actions of the agency." He called it a "shame."
He said he was particularly troubled by the divide between public officials on the board who wanted to hire Lancaster to help restore accountability, and the private contractors on the board who supported Maddox. The contractors said they preferred an interim director with construction experience, not Lancaster, a government bureaucrat.
Lancaster is the former director of the Juvenile Welfare Board and once served as interim county administrator when Fred Marquis stepped down in 2000.
"It is our job to serve the interests of the public, and I believe the public needs to know the truth about the board," Latavala wrote in a letter to McCabe encouraging him to open an investigation.
The licensing board has operated without government oversight since the Florida Legislature created it in 1973, and only the Legislature can change that.
The Times’ investigation found that a subgroup of the board, called a probable cause committee, played fast and loose with how it handled complaints against contractors. Some contractors believe the committee targets its critics, while consumers complained it was not transparent with the way it handles complaints or public records requests.
Fischer, who earned $118,000 a year, also clashed with his employees and butted heads with county officials.
The Pinellas County Commission wants control of the agency, but Latvala had opposed that move. He said appointing a new executive director was a good short-term solution. He also said the county’s request did not meet the proper public notice requirements for proposed legislation. And he doesn’t believe there’s enough time to draft a new law since the legislative session starts in a few weeks.
Latvala stressed Friday he was not trying to protect anyone at the licensing board and was only following the law for proposed legislation. To the best of his recollection, Latvala said he has "never received complaints" about the licensing board –– until recently.
"I feed bad about this," he said on the phone. "I’ve never done one iota of business with the board. We needed to follow the law. I’m done with them. They don’t want outsiders in there. We gave them the opportunity to clean it up."
This story is developing. Check back later for updates.
Contact Mark Puente at mpuente@tampabay.com or (727) 892-2996. Follow @MarkPuente
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