Ethics panel hearing set for Bristol city clerk who allegedly left IOUs for city cash
A state ethics panel found probable cause for a complaint against Bristol’s City Clerk that alleges she left IOU notes for money she took from the cash drawer in City Hall.
The panel Wednesday recommended a formal public hearing in the matter finding probable cause that City Clerk Robin Hatcher violated state ethics laws by abusing her public position for personal gain. The date of the hearing has not yet been determined.
The complaint was filed April 6 by Bristol Mayor James Kersey after he was contacted by Deputy City Clerk Nichole Day. Day said in January she saw Hatcher take $200 from the city’s cash drawer and replace it with a slip of paper “stating she had taken cash and would repay it later,” according to the complaint.
Kersey contact the Florida Department of Law Enforcement which recommended because the money taken was less than $700, the matter should be handled internally.
Kersey met with Hatcher and several other top Bristol officials to determine a course of action. During the meeting, Hatcher said on "rare occasions" she had taken money from the cash drawer several times in the past few years but had always replaced it.
Hatcher, according to an investigative report, said she intended to donate $200 of her own money to the high school weightlifting team but didn’t have a chance to get to the bank, taking city money instead.
Hatcher provided a statement to the Tallahassee Democrat in which she discussed a grueling work schedule, appointments across the Apalachicola River which splits the rural community, and how in taking the money, she hoped to minimize her time away from her desk. She, however, also took responsibility for her actions and said she regretted breaking the public trust of a community she loves.
"I did not have any intent to steal or defraud the city and corruption was not intended," she wrote. "My intentions to return to work as timely as possible without making an extra trip to Calhoun County may have been well intended, but my actions that day were admittedly wrong. I unfortunately placed too much value on my time and work schedule and disregarded the sanctity of public funds.
"I hope to move forward and resolve this case with integrity, taking responsibility for my actions in whatever manner the commission finds appropriate, and restore the trust of the public. I am deeply sorry for my actions and regret that I have let so many people down."
Investigators spoke with the Bristol city attorney who said municipal finds are audited annually and have never come back with missing funds.
The city has not administered any disciplinary action against Hatcher.
Contact Karl Etters at ketters@tallahassee.com or @KarlEtters on Twitter.
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Ethics panel finds probable cause in complaint against Bristol city clerk
