CLEWISTON, Fla — Clewiston City Commissioners took action Monday night, voting to bring in outside eyes for an official review amid an ongoing investigation into City Hall operations.
This move comes three weeks after City Hall was raided by the Hendry County Sheriff’s Office on a search warrant.
Watch to hear what led to the motion for the review at Monday's meeting:
Commissioner Mali Gardner made a motion for the city attorney to contact FDLE and the attorney general about a review. “I’m just concerned, and I want another set of eyes,” Gardner said. The council agreed.
The Sheriff’s Office said the investigation was about what they called “concerning business practices” at City Hall.
Gardner said it’s led to growing questions from residents about transparency and trust in city government.
“To me, what’s happened here, has eroded the public trust of our community. I’ve had comments saying my gosh what is going on. I’ve heard the pastor talking about corruption. He didn’t point the finger at us, but that is what everyone is thinking,” Gardner said.
Mayor James Pittman called a special meeting earlier this month to limit City Manager Danny Williams’ hiring and firing powers. But commissioners pushed back and said it would violate the city charter, ultimately making no changes.
Since this began, FOX 4's Austin Schargorodski has been pushing for information on what led to the case. He filed records requests with the city, which started fulfilling those requests Monday afternoon, two months after he first submitted them. He also reached out to the sheriff’s office for an update, but they said there aren’t any.
Now, the city attorney said she’ll reach out to FDLE and the attorney general and bring back options for the board to review at their next meeting.
