Century mayor says some records found; no theft determined in town documents
Century Town Hall is under investigation following allegations that several documents and/or audio recordings from several council meetings were missing, according to Escambia County Sheriff's Department's Investigator David Preston.
The discovery of the missing items and documents prompted the town's mayor to issue a letter dated Nov. 28 to Century council members. The letter read: “I am writing this letter to inform you of a second incident of theft that has occurred from our town clerk's office. I have been advised to notify each of you that legal action is being taken. I am contacting the sheriff, David Morgan, to have him do an investigation due to this being a federal offense.”
Preston requested notes and any audio recordings from local news media sources to re-create the missing items as a measure to maintain public records.
“Our office has been reviewing complaints about possible violations of the Sunshine Law and other allegations,” said Greg Marcille, with the Florida State Attorney's Office. “We have interviewed witnesses and are close to making a decision. The Escambia County Sheriff's Department is looking into allegations that certain documents have been stolen, although there has been no evidence that there is theft. The Escambia County Sheriff's Department has maintained the case but referred any action to our office for review. Some of the materials in question are minutes, documents and a recording alleged to have possibly been stolen. Some of those have been recovered and were simply misplaced.”
When Century Mayor Henry Hawkins was asked about the partial recovery of the missing items, he said he was unaware of where they were located.
“That's all I know,” said Hawkins, “I have no idea where they were found. Kim (Kim Godwin, town clerk) just told me she had them. I told her to make sure the investigators knew that. I'm glad they showed up.”
Council members Ann Brooks and Ben Boutwell feel it is the town administration's responsibility to manage everyday operations more efficiently to avoid these kinds of incidents.
“People misplace things, but it is very poor that we reported it as a theft to the sheriff with no evidence of theft,” said Brooks. “That's not the way things should be done. The town of Century is not being run like it needs to be run.”
“I'm just flabbergasted,” said Boutwell. “I would hope our town clerk and her assistants would be more organized. We've got to do something to make sure the minutes are done in a timely manner after the meeting. I want our administration to do what is right. As a councilman I have a job to do and I want to do it right. The town workers get the job done. They have supervisors who hold them accountable. As far as losing paperwork, we've got to be better organized than that. That's all I can say.”
When questioned about how she felt about the situation in Century, Councilwoman Sandra Jackson-McMurray said she had just learned the documents had been located.
“I'm happy they were found,” said Jackson-McMurray. “I'm glad to know they were located.”
