‘His recent legal opinions … have created confusion, eroded confidence and damage with our reputation with county partners, local planning agencies and our residents.’

The city of Treasure Island has fired former Rep. Anthony Sabatini as City Attorney just four months after selecting him and his firm, Sabatini Law.

Sabatini and his firm assumed the roles after a vote on May 14 at a Special City Commission meeting.

Citing tardiness, absenteeism, unprofessional behavior and poor legal advice, City Commissioner Tammy Vasquez made the motion to immediately end the contract Thursday evening at the end of the Special meeting.

Notably, Vasquez was the member who initially pushed the city to hire Sabatini.

Sabatini did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“Specifically, at the onset of his tenure, Mr. Sabatini arrived 20 minutes late to a scheduled planning and zoning meeting, leaving the city without any legal representation,” Vasquez said. “He has failed to maintain reliable office hours and, when scheduled, has repeatedly arrived late, demonstrating a disregard for both staff and the public.”

Driving her point home, Sabatini was not present at Thursday’s meeting and instead sent a member of his firm to serve as acting City Attorney.

“Today, we found out … I think it was an hour before the meeting, that Anthony was not going to be here,” Vasquez said.

While it’s unclear what time he was in attendance, Sabatini on Thursday posted a photo from the Florida Association of Counties’ Connecting Counties Innovation and Policy Summit in Gainesville, which ended at 3 p.m. He posted the picture on X at 2:58 p.m. The Commission meeting, in Treasure Island, was at 4 p.m. 

Vasquez cited two incidents in which Sabatini’s legal counsel prompted letters of correction or admonition from Pinellas County government. One related to the city’s Multimodal Impact Fees, which require an agreement with the county, and the other involved Forward Pinellas and text amendments during a Local Planning Agency committee meeting.

On July 24, Pinellas County Administrator Barry Burton emailed the city of Treasure Island flagging what he described as a “misunderstanding” regarding an interlocal agreement for multimodal impact fees, in which the city had been attempting to negotiate splitting the revenue.

Burton noted that the city already has an existing ordinance in place specifying the distribution of the fees between the city and county and stating that if the city didn’t approve the agreement, as statutorily required, “the impact fees charged to the developer will be required to be reduced by 10% — negatively impacting both the County and the City.”

“His recent legal opinions, including the misrepresentation regarding the multimodal impact fee interlocal agreement and the city’s obligation under the countywide plan, along with other flawed opinions, have created confusion, eroded confidence and damaged our reputation with county partners, local planning agencies and our residents,” Vasquez said.

She added that continued engagement with Sabatini Law “exposes Treasure Island to unnecessary risk, potential liabilities and further loss of credibility.”

She wasn’t the only Commissioner to take issue with Sabatini’s job performance. Commissioner Arthur Czyszczon said he believed “early on” that Sabatini “was the wrong choice” and that he missed former City Attorney Jennifer Cowan’s “excellent communication.”

“I got reprimanded by Anthony today at 2:00, saying that I was causing drama when I had legitimate questions to ask, and he hung up on me,” Czyszczon said.

Cowen was Sabatini’s predecessor. Cowen served the city for nine years before stepping down in May.

Commissioner Arden Dickey praised Sabatini as a “perfect gentleman” who has “always been very responsive to me,” but agreed with concerns.

“Legal issues have come up where he’s been too quick to offer an opinion, as opposed to really know what the law is,” he said.

The two “no” votes, from Mayor John Doctor and Commissioner Chris Clark, were based on timing. Doctor questioned whether a special meeting was the best time for such a move. He also took issue with Sabatini’s absence and, therefore, his inability to defend himself.

Vasquez’s motion included a directive to city staff to immediately issue a request for proposals for a new City Attorney. The Commission’s next meeting is in three weeks, and the Commission hopes to have a new City Attorney in place by then.

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