A.G. Gancarski
The Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County have arrived at a “semi-settlement” of their “Text-ghazi” lawsuit against the Jacksonville City Council members involved in forbidden texting during budget deliberations Sept. 21.
Scott Wilson, Tommy Hazouri, Joyce Morgan, and Aaron Bowman agreed to terms.
“Four of the nine city council members who were being sued over texting about city business during the September 21st council meeting have agreed to entry of a permanent injunction against them engaging in such activity. They also agreed to an injunction requiring them to preserve any text messages or other electronic records which qualify as public records. These measures, together with the current Council President’s ban on cellphone use during meetings and extensive additional ethics training for all council members, will help ensure future understanding by our elected officials of the importance of transparency in their actions, as mandated by the Sunshine and public record laws,” John Winkler, president of the taxpayers group, wrote.
Council will vote again on the matter Dec. 8; meanwhile, the lawsuit plaintiffs “suggest a compromise for the City which will allow the promotions to stand while restoring the drainage funds. By ‘redlining’ the new positions so that only the current occupant retains the rank now associated with that job, the position will revert back to the old rank once the current holder moves on up or retires.”
The case, Winkler wrote, “will remain active only against Mr. Wyse and the five council members who chose not to participate in the settlement.”
