Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney Bernie McCabe has made the right decision to ask a grand jury to investigate the county's construction licensing board. This renegade operation has been an insular fiefdom without any oversight for too long, and there are too many red flags to ignore. A clearer picture is needed of what went wrong before the Florida Legislature can consider reforms to make things right for consumers and responsible contractors.

1 Week Ago

2 Days Ago

1 Week Ago

The construction licensing board and its former executive director overplayed their hands this week when they should have been thankful for a deliberative effort toward reform rather than an investigation into their past activities. First, the licensing board refused to hire Sen. Jack Latvala's recommended choice as interim executive director. That angered Latvala, R-Clearwater, and the outcome is curious: The public officials on the board supported Latvala's choice, and the private contractors opposed it because they wanted one of their own.

Is the division along those lines a coincidence, or was there prior communication among board members that would have violated Florida's open meetings law? And why was Times staff writer Mark Puente initially prevented from entering Thursday's public meeting of the licensing board where this played out?

Second, retiring executive director Rodney Fischer just could not be satisfied with $66,000 in unused vacation time he says he is owed. His lawyer told the board Fischer wants another $30,000 for "administrative leave" he says he is entitled to receive. But Fischer retired under pressure from Latvala and was not fired. Why should he get another $30,000? Whatever Fischer winds up getting, it's too much given his track record.

In the Times investigation, Puente documented how the licensing board and its staff failed to keep consistent minutes of meetings and made it difficult for the public to access records of their cases. At least seven times a licensing board member who was paid by unsatisfied homeowners to inspect work served on a panel that heard complaints against the contractors and sometimes voted on them. And the Times was told the board did not keep electronic records when there was a database containing more than 22,000 files. The 21-member board, comprised of private contractors and county and city building and fire officials, is supposed to protect the public from contractors who do poor work. Yet Fischer, who earned $118,000 a year and oversaw the operation for 16 years, ran it as his private kingdom.

Just one example of playing fast and loose came up at Thursday's meeting. Fischer acknowledged he approved his own time cards and claimed it was county policy. The county's director of building services said he has never approved his own time card and doesn't know of any county supervisors who do.

Pinellas' construction licensing board was created by state law and is the only one of its kind in the state. It does not have direct oversight from the county or anyone else, and that resulted in a climate where transparency and accountability were lacking. Pinellas legislators are pursuing modest reforms, but now they should rethink how to more quickly put the licensing board's employees under county control.

McCabe says he considered convening a grand jury earlier after reading the Times' initial reports about the construction licensing board. He decided against it after Fischer was forced out and state lawmakers aimed at reforms. It turns out McCabe was right the first time, and he and Latvala are on the same page. A grand jury should look into every dark corner.

Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.