Manatee County clerk criticizes County Administrator Scott Hopes in letter to commission

Manatee County Clerk of Circuit Court and Comptroller Angelina Colonneso has openly criticized County Administrator Scott Hopes in a scathing letter sent to the County Commission chairman on Friday.

Angelina Colonneso addressed the letter to Kevin Van Ostenbridge, chairman of the Manatee Board of County Commissioners, just days ahead of the board's renewal of Hopes' contract that is scheduled for a meeting on Tuesday.

In the letter, she reported several concerns she has about Hopes, who was hired in April 2021 to replace Cheri Coryea. Colonneso did not use Hopes' name in the letter, but refers repeatedly to the county administrator. 

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Colonneso criticized Hopes in the three-page letter over a lack of communication and transparency, a suggestion that she shouldn't release public records, fiscal accountability and the impacts of hefty organizational changes.

"It would be unconscionable for me not to inform you of these matters in light of your upcoming agenda," Colonneso wrote in the letter. "I have grave concerns on the efficient operation and transparency in government to our citizens."

On Sunday, Hopes told the Herald-Tribune that he disputes Colonneso's letter and that her claims were inaccurate. He said he is preparing facts in advance of Tuesday's county meeting to discuss with commissioners.

"I make decisions based on facts and data, and I am not about to try to rebut her baseless claims and inferences and allegations without the data to back it up," Hopes said.

Lack of communication

Colonneso, who is independently elected, highlighted a lack of transparency with public records. She stated that Hopes admonished her in a verbal exchange for promptly responding to a public records request for documents that shined a light on concerns over his administration.

"He explained that he was having a 'situation' in a department and that I, 'released a public record, without telling him,' " she said. "He went on to tell me that in doing so, I 'could have brought down an entire county department.' I told him none of this had anything to do with a lawful public records request."

Colonneso said her office has since learned that there appears to be serious issues with how the county handles public records requests, and that she has turned over her concerns over to her Inspector General Division.

The county recently lost a court case over an open records request where 40 documents were not delivered until seven months after they were requested, after Hopes changed the way the county handles requests for public emails.

She also specifically criticized Hopes for a lack of communication with her office over the past year, stating there is a disconnect and a delay in knowledge of newly initiated county projects until they are near completion.

Those include projects like implementation of the county's new Kronos Timekeeping System, its Onbase Data Migration project, Onbase upgrades, E Travel Project, E-agenda and E-minutes, Colonneso said.

"I have independent constitutional authority over certain aspects of county operations, finance being a crucial part," she said. "This lack of communication has resulted in numerous delays and inefficiencies which is wasteful of taxpayer resources."

Fiscal responsibility concerns

Colonneso also outlined fiscal accountability concerns, specifically highlighting a retirement benefits transactions that relate to Deputy Administrator Robert Reinshuttle, who was hired in June 2021; and the purchase of a $46,000 Chevrolet Tahoe that Colonneso said Hopes exclusively uses to travel to and from work.

Colonneso said Hopes contacted Voya, the county's deferred compensation provider, to request an account be opened for Reinshuttle with the intent to mirror an "FRS retirement account" (an apparently reference to the Florida Retirement System) with the county making similar contributions to such an account for Reinshuttle,

Since Reinshuttle previously retired with FRS benefits he is ineligible for an FRS retirement account, and Colonneso said no such payments would be made without board approval.

"I advised my staff that this is a policy matter for the board to decide," Colonneso said. "Without board authorization we will not be making such payments."

She also pointed out that Hopes purchased $46,000 Chevrolet Tahoe as a county "pool" car after he signed his employment contract, even though he receives a contractually obligated $450 car allowance per month.

"This may be an item that you were not aware of but may want to consider since the vehicle was purchased subsequent to his contract," Colonneso said. "In light of the recent increase in the cost of fuel, I would suggest taking a look at this item. Most importantly there are also tax ramifications for such use of a county vehicle."

Additionally, instead of allowing the board to approve surplus assets on a monthly basis, the decision was made to approved them on a quarterly basis without discussing it with the clerk's office. She said the change has significant impacts on the county's fixed asset inventory control process as well as the year-end financial statements, which could affect external audits.

Organizational changes

Since Hopes became administrator he has spearheaded a plethora of organizational changes, and the county has also experienced significant turnover during his tenure.

Colonneso criticized the speed of those changes, stating that it could create significant risks with respect to internal controls such as segregation of duties.

"It can impact the culture of the workplace by creating uncertainty among staff and management," she said. "There are perpetual staff transfers taking place throughout the organization."

Colonneso's office produces annual financial reports for the county and is externally audited every year, but the changes have created inefficiencies, chaos and confusion, she said.

"My team has been working well with the county team on a plan which becomes hindered when the administrator becomes involved in the 'weeds' and disrupts the process," Colonneso said.

County responds to criticism

Van Ostenbridge said Colonneso's letter was strategically and politically motivated.

He said that her actions have led to the loss of millions of taxpayer dollars and that she's trying to undermine the Board of County Commissioners.

"Colonneso has chosen not to face the music and take responsibility for her own actions. Instead, she has taken a page from the Joe Biden playbook and is pointing a finger at others to distract from her failures," Van Ostenbridge said. "Manatee County taxpayers deserve better from their clerk."

Hopes said he agreed with Van Ostenbridge.

"Her letter is baseless, and the chair was very clear in his opinion that it's politically motivated, and it is," Hopes said. "On Tuesday, a lot will come to light about how baseless and inaccurate that letter is."

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Manatee County clerk criticizes county administrator, chairman responds