Eagle Lake nearly loses majority of commission in resignations over financial forms

Less than a week before New Year’s Day, it appeared that Eagle Lake would enter 2024 without enough city commissioners to take any official actions.

Three commissioners submitted letters of resignation the week of Dec. 11, signaling that they would depart before the year’s end. All three cited a state law taking effect Jan. 1 that compels local elected officials to disclose more detailed financial information than previously required.

Had the three commissioners — Mayor Cory Coler, Vice Mayor Suzy Wilson and Commissioner Scott Clark — all gone through with their resignations, the five-member board would have been left without a quorum, the minimum number needed to perform more than ceremonial functions.

In the end, concerns about leaving the city in such a predicament caused Wilson to rescind her resignation Wednesday night. As of Thursday, it appeared that Coler and Clark would go through with their departures.

Coler listed Friday as the effective date of his resignation, while Wilson and Clark listed Saturday. In their letters to the city, all three reserved the right to revoke their plans before the effective dates.

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The three commissioners used almost identical language in explaining their decisions to resign.

“I feel the new financial disclosure requirement for the City Commission to file a Full and Public Disclosure of Financial Interests (Form 6) is too intrusive for someone who is paid approximately $1,800/year,” Clark wrote.

To be precise, Eagle Lake commissioners receive annual pay of $1,807.20.

Coler wrote that he might rescind his resignation “in the event the Legislature changes or repeals this requirement.”

The Florida Legislature opens its annual session on Jan. 9, and there is no mechanism for lawmakers to repeal or revise the law before then. The new requirement to complete Form 6 has prompted a wave of resignations among elected officials throughout Florida, the USA TODAY Florida Network reported.

That includes at least two in Polk County, in addition to those in Eagle Lake. Longtime Fort Meade City Commissioner Bob Elliott announced his resignation last week, though he had lost his re-election bid and was already due to leave next month. Polk City Vice Mayor Wayne Harper has also resigned.

'Really wanted to resign'

Wilson, 67, has been a periodic presence on the Eagle Lake City Commission for nearly four decades. She first gained election in 1984 for a two-year term and then served again from 2002 to 2007. She returned to the commission in 2009 and has remained ever since.

Wilson said Thursday morning that she only rescinded her resignation because she did not want to see Eagle Lake left with only two city commissioners, rendering the board unable to take any substantive actions.

“That was a lot of it,” Wilson said. “I’ve lived in the city most of my life. I couldn't leave them in a lurch. I just couldn't do it. I really, really wanted to resign. But you know what, when you love a place like the people here in Eagle Lake love this city, you can't leave it in a mess. You just can't do it.”

The Florida Legislature enacted a law in this year’s session mandating that elected officials in cities and towns complete Form 6, the same financial disclosure that legislators must submit. Legislators supporting the law have said that the disclosures will ensure that commissioners do not have conflicts of financial interest.

Commissioners must itemize all individual assets and liabilities of more than $1,000 and must report household goods and personal effects collectively.

Officials must identify not only their primary income but also secondary sources of income worth more than $1,000. They must disclose clients and customers contributing more than 10% of a business’ gross income if the official owns more than 5% of a business that produces more than $1,000.

The form previously submitted by local officials was less detailed, requiring disclosure of assets and liabilities of more than $10,000 and not including lists of household goods and personal effects. The threshold for secondary income was $5,000.

Some officials who have resigned say they are barred by nondisclosure agreements from identifying customers and clients, the USA TODAY Florida Network reported.

Wilson, who owns a car dealership, said she consulted with her accountant before deciding to revoke her resignation. She said she wanted to be sure the accountant could help her complete the form before the deadline of July 1.

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Wilson said she spoke to a prominent Eagle Lake business owner to ask about joining the commission. He was enthusiastic before learning of the Form 6 requirements.

“He said, ‘Ain't no way,’” Wilson said. “Nobody is willing to fill out the form, and I don't blame them. People is not willing to step up on account of it. We’ve got a mess. And I just imagine all cities are the same way. It's going to be hard to get people to run.”

Mayor: Form is 'invasive'

Coler, 43, has been on the City Commission since 2012, gaining re-election five times since then. He works for the product management division of a company that provides hardware and software for the automotive industry.

Coler said he first learned about the new requirement in late summer and knew that the Florida League of Cities, an association of the state’s municipalities, opposed the law. He said he didn’t realize how “invasive” the new form would be until he participated in a Florida League of Cities webinar about three weeks ago.

City officials already faced an annual audit by an independent accountant to check for possible conflicts of interest, Coler said.

“We’ve got pretty good controls that are in place,” Coler said. “So in looking at the expectation, my personal challenge is that I don't think that what's in my daughter's bank account — because I have access to it — should be available for public disclosure. Or things that are in my retirement account, or liabilities that are shared liabilities for me and my wife should be available for public disclosure.”

Coler said such public reporting could make him and other officials vulnerable to possible cybercrime. He also said he would probably need to hire an accountant to help complete the financial disclosure, incurring a cost that would likely negate the pay he receives as a city commissioner.

“Cory was absolutely the best mayor and spokesperson this city has had in a very, very long time, and now we lost him,” Wilson said.

Coler said that Auburndale Mayor Dorothea Taylor Bogert testified before a legislative committee during the past session, warning that the new requirement would be bad for small cities. He agreed with that assessment.

“I think it's going to be really harmful, especially in smaller communities, where this is an ancillary thing for most commissioners,” he said. “I think it's going to have a detrimental effect. … I’m not shocked that there are a lot of other commissioners who are taking the same action.”

Clark joined the City Commission by appointment in January 2019 and has since won two elections. He did not respond to a voicemail left Wednesday.

Will law deter candidates?

The Florida League of Cities opposed SB 774, the bill that created the new disclosure requirements for local officials, Communications Director Kelli Gemmer said. The group warned that the bill imposed requirements with no consideration of annual budget size or spending authority and said it would deter qualified people from seeking office, particularly in smaller municipalities offering little or no salary.

The league also complained that the new law changed disclosure rules for city officials in mid-term, suggesting current officials should be able to complete their terms under the existing disclosure rules.

All six of Polk County’s legislators voted in favor of the new law, titled Ethics Requirements for Public Officials, which passed overwhelmingly in both the House and Senate.

Had the three Eagle Lake commissioners all resigned, the city would have had to wait for Gov. Ron DeSantis to appoint members to fill the vacancies. With Wilson’s change of mind, the three remaining commissioners will have 60 days to appoint replacements, City Clerk Dawn Wright said.

Coler’s term ends in April, and Clark’s term runs through April 2025. The city charter allows the commission to appoint a replacement member until the next regular election, Wright said. That means that a special election would have to be held in April for Clark’s seat.

Florida Sen. Colleen Burton, R-Lakeland, said she did not hear many objections from local officials when the bill emerged in the last session. She said she does not expect the Legislature to repeal or significantly change the law.

“Local officials bear a great responsibility when it comes to the spending of taxpayer dollars,” Burton said. “And so with great responsibility, sometimes we're asked to reveal a little bit more about ourselves than some people are comfortable doing.”

Burton noted that state legislators were already required to disclose the same financial information that local officials must now report.

Rep. Melony Bell, R-Fort Meade, made the same point. She said she has faced a mandate to share such financial details since her time on the Polk County Commission. But Bell expressed sympathy for officials in small cities, such as Fort Meade, who face the new requirement.

Bell said she would have preferred an exemption for local officials elected before the Legislature passed the law.

“I felt like it needs to be looked at again,” she said. “The people that have already been serving should just be grandfathered in.”

Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on X @garywhite13.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Eagle Lake barely avoids losing majority of commission to resignations