A much-awaited report is now public of Delray Beach’s investigation of alleged threats and intimidation against a city official who manages code enforcement.
The 52-page report by lawyer Brooke Ehrlich does not substantiate claims by Jeri Pryor, director of Neighborhood & Community Services. But this case is far from over.
The report faults City Manager Terrence Moore in several areas, essentially for not defending city employees more forcefully. It recommends that Moore take action — which in our opinion he should, quickly.
Weeks after Pryor began work in Delray, she accused Commissioner Rob Long of threatening her job if she pursued code violations against local businessman Rodney Mayo, who owns a coffee shop and restaurant in the city.
It defies logic that a new employee in a probationary status would risk everything by making up such a story.
A-frame signs
At the heart of this controversy is a brief phone conversation among Pryor, Long and Moore on Feb. 20. It followed a directive from Pryor to a staffer to enforce a city ban on the use of portable A-frame signs that Mayo displayed on the sidewalk to promote a valet service, the report says.
“If you want to stay and continue your employment, you can’t focus on small code violations,” Pryor says Long told her on the call. That defies a city charter provision that prevents elected officials from interfering with staff members, who report to the city manager.
Pryor said Long spoke in an “angry, aggressive voice.”
The report says Long “emphatically” denied making any such statement. “I never said that. I would never say that,” the report quotes him as saying.
Pryor said Moore urged her to be more “educational” about enforcing the code and to “hold off” on issuing citations for A-frame signs.
Circling the wagons
The report depicts Long and Moore as circling the wagons, with both forcefully denying Pryor’s allegations, giving the findings a “he said, she said” quality.
The word “denied” appears 34 times in Ehrlich’s report with 13 references to Long and 10 to Moore.
“Mr. Moore ‘categorically denied’ that the phone call was threatening, sinister, or that it involved any raised voices,” the report says.
Both Long and Moore have a lot to lose.
Long is running for a state House seat, and Moore could be out of a job if he loses the confidence of three city officials. He long ago lost Commissioner Juli Casale’s support. Mayor Tom Carney has tangled with him over spending and other issues. Moore needs those three votes. He absolutely must keep Long as an ally.
Suspicious leaks
Jeri Pryor’s name was blacked out throughout the report, but it made no difference.
Days after she filed her supposedly confidential complaint, her name and other details were on news websites and social media, even though its circulation was restricted to top city officials. Then things got worse for Pryor.
In the midst of the investigation, Mayo launched an outrageous attack on Pryor’s credibility and released part of her personnel file from her 26-year career in Fort Lauderdale to question why Moore hired her.
“Is this the best hire the city of Delray can offer its residents?” Mayo asked in a June 17 email.
But he went too far. One page sloppily exposed Pryor’s Social Security number, which could subject Pryor to identity theft. The records were sent to city officials and news outlets, including the Sun Sentinel.
Stern warnings from city
The leak further strained Mayo’s relationship with city officials.
Moore told Mayo in an email June 20 that as the city “will not tolerate and/or support the inappropriate actions outlined in your transmission below, I ask that you please refrain from such conduct post haste.”
City Attorney Lynn Gelin then told recipients of the email to delete it, and said the city is investigating how Mayo got the Pryor documents, “as dissemination of private information without consent is a violation of Florida law.”
The Sun Sentinel learned that Pryor’s file, which is public record, was not obtained through a traceable public records request. That suggests that it could have been provided by someone in Fort Lauderdale government, who could have obtained it through routine bureaucratic channels.
A no-win situation
Jeri Pryor was handed a dysfunctional code enforcement division, tarnished by misconduct and incompetence, long before her arrival, and her efforts to clean it up faced interference and poor direction.
Courtesy
A section of the report on the investigation of a Delray Beach city employee’s complaint of intimidation and political interference.
Moving forward, we urge the city to take three basic steps.
One, the city should post Ehrlich’s taxpayer-funded report on its website for all to see. Two, city officials must show strong support for Pryor, but the bonds of trust are broken. This won’t fix easily.
Three, Carney and commissioners must discuss the report in public and demand a written action plan from Moore within 15 days.
The report said Moore should end the practice of bringing city staffers to meetings with the public; provide clear written directions to employees, so they know what’s expected of them; and act as a “buffer” when people treat employees rudely, as happened in Pryor’s case.
This is a deeply unsatisfying conclusion to a disturbing set of circumstances.
The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Opinion Editor Steve Bousquet, Deputy Opinion Editor Dan Sweeney, editorial writers Pat Beall and Martin Dyckman, and Executive Editor Gretchen Day-Bryant. To contact us, email at letters@sun-sentinel.com.