- May 5, 2024
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Hours after County Administrator Jerry Cameron announced that the county was preparing to initiate a lawsuit against Clerk of Court Tom Bexley tomorrow, July 26, over the allocation of space between the clerk and the sheriff at the county courthouse, Bexley and Sheriff Rick Staly met, walked through the building, and resolved the matter themselves.
"When the negotiations fell apart, the sheriff decided to reach out to me," Bexley said. "We didn’t know it was going work out this fast, but we’re very glad that it did. ... I’m very happy that it appears that we’re at the end of this part of the Sheriff’s Operations Center saga, and I think all of us in county government ... can concentrate on moving forward with the sheriff's substation."
“We’ve always had a good working relationship and have been discussing this issue. After the county announced their intention to stop negotiations between the county and the clerk today and to proceed with litigation, I called Tom and said, ‘Let’s solve the county's problem and let’s do it now,’ and we did,” Staly said, according to a news release from the FCSO.
The county had asked Bexley to cede 5,000 square feet of additional space in the county-owned building for the Flagler Country Sheriff's Office, which has had the bulk of its staff quartered there ever since employees were evacuated from the FCSO's Operations Center in June 2018 because of mold. Staly repeatedly told county commissioners that the tight quarters at the courthouse impede his agency's operations.
But Bexley had said he couldn't cede more space without affecting his own operations. When the county threatened to sue him if he didn't agree to have a space study conducted — and abide by its recommendations — Bexley met with Cameron and County Commission Chairman Donald O'Brien and said he'd present them with an interlocal agreement for more space.
But when he did so on July 24, it was for 1,018 square feet and didn't met the sheriff's needs.
The two sides deadlocked over a handful of teller-style cubicles with windows facing a hallway on the first floor: The sheriff wanted those for his operations, but the clerk said he couldn't give them up without affecting his ability to serve the public, Bexley said.
The afternoon of July 25, Cameron declared that the two sides were at an impasse, and that he would be directing County Attorney Al Hadeed to prepare for a lawsuit.
Bexley and Staly both wanted to avoid a suit, which would cost taxpayers.
“We went floor by floor and room by room together and identified how we can both best deliver services to our citizens most effectively and efficiently,” Bexley said, according to the FCSO news release. "I was never in favor of spending tax dollars on litigation."
They're still working through some details, Bexley said, but expect to have an interlocal agreement to present to the county administration this coming Monday, July 29.
It would involve the sheriff gaining use of the 1,018 square feet of space Bexley had offered in the July 24 interlocal agreement, all of which was on the first floor. But it adds for the sheriff a set of teller-style cubicles on the second floor, similar to the ones the sheriff had requested on the first floor, Bexley said. "It was something that would help his operations, and it wouldn’t cripple me too bad," Bexley said.
FCSO employees would also be able to share the building's first-floor break room with Clerk of Courts staff.
"I appreciate Tom providing additional space to improve the working conditions of my employees and our ability to better serve the community," Staly said, according to the news release.
