CEO 85-87 -- November 26, 1985

VOTING CONFLICT OF INTEREST

CITY COUNCIL MEMBER VOTING ON REDEVELOPMENT OF PROPERTY LOCATED NEXT TO BANK WHICH EMPLOYS HIM

To: Mr. Michael S. Davis, City Attorney, City of St. Petersburg

SUMMARY:

A city council member who is a vice president of a bank is not prohibited by Section 112.3143, Florida Statutes, from voting on the sale and redevelopment of property located one block from the main office of the bank. Under the circumstances presented, any gain or loss resulting to the bank from the redevelopment project would be too speculative and remote to conclude that the bank would receive any "special" gain as a result of the redevelopment project.

QUESTION:

Is a city council member who is a vice president of a bank prohibited by Section 112.3143, Florida Statutes, from voting on the sale and redevelopment of property located one block from the main office of the bank?

Your question is answered in the negative.

In your letter of inquiry you advise that Mr. Robert Stewart serves as a member of the City Council of the City of St. Petersburg and is employed as a vice president of a local bank. The main office and banking facility of the bank is located one block from property which is owned by the City and which is located in a redevelopment area. The City proposes to enter into a development agreement with a developer under which the property will be sold by the City and redeveloped as a commercial project. The redevelopment will substantially increase the value of the property to be redeveloped. Although you advise that it is fair to assume that an increase in the value of the property to be redeveloped will affect the value of surrounding properties, you advise that it is unknown to what extent, if any, the value of the property owned by the bank would be increased.

The Code of Ethics for Public Officers and Employees provides in relevant part:

No county, municipal, or other local public officer shall vote in his official capacity upon any measure which inures to his special private gain or shall knowingly vote in his official capacity upon any measure which inures to the special gain of any principal, other than an agency as defined in s. 112.312(2), by whom he is retained. Such public officer shall, prior to the vote being taken, publicly state to the assembly the nature of his interest in the matter from which he is abstaining from voting and, within 15 days after the vote occurs, disclose the nature of his interest as a public record in a memorandum filed with the person responsible for recording the minutes of the meeting, who shall incorporate the memorandum in the minutes. However, a commissioner of a community redevelopment agency created or designated pursuant to s. 163.356 or s. 163.357 or an officer of an independent special tax district elected on a one- acre, one-vote basis is not prohibited from voting. [Section 112.3143(3), Florida Statutes (Supp. 1984).]

This provision prohibits a public officer from knowingly voting upon a measure which inures to the special gain of a principal by whom he is retained and requires certain disclosures to be made by the official.

Under the circumstances presented, we are of the opinion that any gain or loss resulting to the bank from the redevelopment project would be too speculative and remote to conclude that the bank would receive any "special" gain as a result of the redevelopment project. In our view, your observation about the inability to determine the effect of the redevelopment project on the value of the land owned by the bank is supported by the fact that the bank's property has been developed and is being used as the main office and banking facility of the bank. In addition, for the reasons expressed in CEO 85-77, we conclude that the bank would not derive any "special" gain in terms of the effect of the redevelopment project on the bank's business.

Accordingly, we find that the subject Council member is not prohibited by Section 112.3143, Florida Statutes, from voting on the proposed development and disposition agreement.