Commissioner Vince Nowicki accused County Administrator Barry Burton Tuesday of preventing him from bringing matters before the Pinellas County Commission, alleging that county staff may be giving preferential treatment to certain elected officials.
But none of Nowicki’s six colleagues supported his proposal to change the commission’s handbook to allow individual commissioners to place items on meeting agendas without going through the existing process.
The exchange marked another confrontation between Nowicki and Burton, whose relationship has been strained since February, when the administrator publicly rebuked the commissioner over a meeting with Allegiant Air executives in Las Vegas.
This time, Nowicki argued that an elected commissioner should have the authority to bring an item before the board without relying on the county administrator to advance it.
He said he had repeatedly sought to bring matters up for commission consideration, only to have Burton and his staff decline to move them forward.
“Maybe this is a response to a more deeper issue, that certain commissioners are getting favoritism from staff,” Nowicki opined.
Burton disputed the accusation, saying he had responded to Nowicki’s requests via email, which the county commissioners were copied on.
Burton explained that commissioners can submit agenda items within established deadlines, giving staff time to review proposals and prepare recommendations before the board takes them up publicly.
Commissioners also can raise topics during the new business portion of a meeting and seek support from colleagues to bring them back for formal consideration.
Commissioner Dave Eggers challenged Nowicki’s assertion that he was being prevented from getting items onto the agenda.
“You can get it on the agenda. You bring it to us in discussion,” Eggers said.
Commissioner Chris Latvala opposed giving a single commissioner unilateral authority to place matters on the agenda, warning that the change could invite political gamesmanship.
“I could think of situations where it forces colleagues to vote on all sorts of things, especially at election time, putting each other in all sorts of positions that are unrelated to County Commission business,” Latvala said.
“I think what we have now works.”
Nowicki maintained that Pinellas County’s approach was unusually restrictive.
“I think this is the only board I’m aware of” that restricts an elected official’s ability to place matters on the agenda in this way, he said.
The disagreement comes eight months after Burton accused Nowicki of undermining a unanimous commission decision involving a planned parking garage at St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport.
In February, Burton sent Nowicki an email, copying the other commissioners, alleging that Nowicki had encouraged Allegiant Air executives to reconsider the location of a parking garage the commission had already approved.
As previously reported, Burton characterized Nowicki’s conduct as “at the very least unprofessional” and accused him of creating confusion among airline partners and undermining board-approved decisions.
Burton said Allegiant officials had contacted the county following Nowicki’s visit to Las Vegas, where the commissioner had met with airline representatives.
“We have a competitive process for a reason,” Burton said at the February meeting. “That’s the reason I put this in writing. This has to end.”
Nowicki disputed Burton’s account, saying the administrator’s letter contained factual inaccuracies. He described the visit as a personal fact-finding trip and denied negotiating on the county’s behalf.
Eggers also criticized Nowicki at the time, saying commissioners should not work against decisions already made by the full board.
The February confrontation exposed tensions between Nowicki and Burton that have continued into subsequent commission business. Tuesday’s dispute reversed the direction of the accusations, with Nowicki now alleging that Burton was improperly restricting his ability to advance issues for discussion.
Nowicki did not identify a specific instance during the recent exchange in which an otherwise properly submitted agenda item had been rejected in violation of county rules.
Nor did any commissioner join his allegation that Burton’s administration was favoring certain board members. With no support for amending the handbook, Nowicki backed away from pursuing a vote.
“If it’s not the will of this board to have it done that way, then, well, then I won’t motion to amend it,” Nowicki said.