Florida Commission on Ethics finds no legal sufficiency for ethics complaint against former High Springs City Manager Stathatos

BY DAVID LIGHTMAN

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – In a closed-session meeting on April 19, the Florida Commission on Ethics found no legal sufficiency in an ethics complaint filed against former High Springs City Manager Ashley Stathatos by High Springs Finance Director Diane Wilson. These reviews are limited to questions of jurisdiction and determinations as to whether the contents of the complaint are adequate to allege a violation of the Code of Ethics or other laws within the Commission’s jurisdiction. As no factual investigation precedes the reviews, the Commission’s conclusions do not reflect on the accuracy of the allegations made in these complaints.

Because of the finding that there is no legal sufficiency in the complaint, it has now been dismissed.

The Florida Commission on Ethics is an independent nine-member commission formed in 1974 to review complaints filed under the statutory Code of Ethics and to answer questions from public officials about potential conflicts of interest.

As Alachua Chronicle reported on March 14 , Wilson raised several “concerns about potential ethics, city policy and state law violations” during the 2023 Fiscal Year in a December 5 memo to the High Springs Mayor and City Commissioners. Wilson wrote that all of the issues were reported to Stathatos “over the past 18 months, with several being discussed on multiple occasions.”

In her memo, Wilson wrote that Fire Chief Bruce Gillingham worked full-time for the State of Florida Fire College for six weeks while employed by the City of High Springs. During three of the six weeks, he used paid time off (vacation time), she said, but during the other three weeks, he was on both payrolls at the same time.

Wilson said Gillingham misused his City vehicle to travel back and forth to Ocala to work at his second job. She noted that this is against the City’s Code of Ethics for employees, which prohibits non-business use of City property. And she noted that Gillingham drove approximately 213 miles per week to attend his second job.

She wrote that a Pancake Breakfast fundraiser for the Heart of High Springs was held at the High Springs Fire Department on March 25, 2023. Wilson said Gillingham confirmed that on-duty staff participated in the event and the Fire Department purchased supplies using City funds. Wilson said this is also a violation of the Code of Ethics, which forbids using City property, funds, or staff for non-City business.

Wilson wrote that on March 23, 2023, the City Commission approved the use of $2,500 from the promotional budget toward the High Springs Robotics Team’s trip to California and that Gillingham asked her on March 27 whether he could use the City’s Tax Exemption Certificate for the Robotics Team’s trip. She said she told him he couldn’t because the Robotics program is not part of the City. Wilson said Gillingham then asked her for permission to use the City’s credit card to book the hotel rooms in California, and she again told him he could not. After she had already given him her answers, she said Gillingham told her, “Think about it and let me know what you decide.” Wilson reported this conversation to the City Manager, but Stathatos reportedly thought no further action was necessary.

Additionally, Wilson said that Chief Gillingham and Deputy Chief Andy Burkhalter did not properly mark their company vehicles as required by tax code, and because of that, their W-2s would need to be adjusted to show their personal vehicle allowances as additional taxable personal income. Wilson wrote that Stathatos “told me she didn’t want to hear about it anymore” when she tried to bring it to her attention.

Wilson also wrote that the Florida Building Code was violated when the City Hall elevator was used nine different times during a period when it had not passed inspection. Wilson wrote, “During the time between inspections, the elevator was turned off and marked with an ‘Out of Order’ sign and was not used. However, during this period, 10 City Commission meetings were held. During all but one of these meetings, Mr. Gillingham turned on or directed staff to turn on the elevator for the hours of the commission meetings and then turned off the elevator and returned the ‘Out of Order’ sign after each meeting.”

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