TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Pinellas Commission Fires County Attorney

ADVERTISEMENT

By STEPHEN THOMPSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 4, 2007

Updated: 09/04/2007 11:36 pm

Read The Grand Jury's Presentment | Video Report

CLEARWATER - Despite an impassioned plea to keep her job, Pinellas County Attorney Susan Churuti was fired Tuesday, a week after a grand jury report rebuked her for her role in brokering the purchase of land from the county property appraiser.

Susan Churuti

"This is a sad day," Robert Stewart, vice chairman of the Pinellas County Commission, told Churuti after he and the other six commissioners voted to fire her after a meeting that lasted more than three hours.

"Twenty-six-plus years of outstanding service," he said, referring to Churuti's career with the county. "Although the decision is not what you wanted, I wanted to thank you for your service."

The commission on Tuesday also publicly reprimanded Pinellas County Administrator Steve Spratt.

There were a few motions that he be fired, too, but one commissioner noted losing both employees at the same time would devastate the functioning of Pinellas County government.

Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney Bernie McCabe impaneled the grand jury last month to examine the county's purchase of land from Property Appraiser Jim Smith. The purchase price of the land in the Tarpon Woods area was $225,000, nearly four times what the 1.4-acre site was valued for tax purposes by Smith's office.

Churuti was criticized by the grand jury for representing Smith while also advising the county commission, and the transaction raised questions about whether Smith received favorable treatment.

The grand jury found no evidence of a crime.

The imbroglio started four months before the purchase, when a lawyer for Smith sent a letter to the county. It said county workers ruined Smith's site by cutting down trees and clearing debris after storms in 2004.

The attorney representing Smith later vanished from communications between Smith and the county.

Then the only lawyer involved was Churuti.

In an attempt to save her job, Churuti denied to the commission that she represented Smith in the matter, though she did admit it looked that way. She noted she didn't benefit personally from the transaction.

She also noted that the sale price was below private appraisals, as opposed to the one from Smith's office.

She said she was not involved in setting the transaction price.

She also took serious issue with Spratt, who, she said, told her in July that he had concerns about her ethics. Spratt wanted Churuti to give him documents to reflect that she was representing Smith personally, and she told him none existed, she said.

County's Best Interest

"I was always acting in what I thought was in the county's best interest," Churuti said. "I didn't do anything unethical, illegal or immoral."

The county commission approved the deal on June 5, but many members argued they weren't told all the details. To this, Churuti said, "I admit I made a mistake in not coming forward and relying on the county administrator to inform you."

County Commissioner Ken Welch was not impressed.

"What I'm hearing is that everyone else has misunderstood her actions," he said.

Her firing came after a few members wondered aloud whether she and Spratt could ever work together.

"Boy, oh boy, is this tough," Stewart said at one point. "Does Churuti stay or Spratt go, or does Spratt stay and Churuti go?"

Commissioner Susan Latvala tried in vain to have Churuti, who has been on paid leave, reinstated as general counsel.

Commissioner Calvin Harris made the motion that both Churuti and Spratt to be let go, but the motion died.

Later, Latvala moved that Spratt be fired, but that also went nowhere.

Spratt was given the opportunity to defend his actions. He acknowledged not telling the commissioners more details about the purchase before the board approved it. He said he felt pressured to rush the deal, to get out of a situation in which the county could be sued after the workers went on Smith's property.

Commissioners Criticize Spratt

Commissioner Karen Williams Seel, noting Spratt's personal administrative style, balked at the notion he could be pressured to do anything.

"In the [grand jury's] presentment, it said you felt pressed," she said. "You have never hesitated to press back."

Latvala attacked Spratt for being inconsistent about specifics on the transaction - for one, whether it was rushed through too quickly, or when exactly the county workers entered Smith's property.

Harris attacked him, too, saying, "Why was this one of those things that just sailed along? … It does not give me a lot of confidence that you say you felt helpless."

Spratt was publicly reprimanded, and a report is expected by the end of the year assessing how well he is doing his job. He has been administrator for five years.

"We'll be watching him very carefully and anticipating better communication and better government," Seel said.

Earlier in the meeting, the commission accepted recommendations from the grand jury, among them that Pinellas County make its guidelines clear about when employees can go on property owned by private citizens.

The commission also agreed with the grand jury that the county's legislative delegation should try to enact a state law to provide for an independent review of appraisals of property in which any county property appraiser has an interest.

Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 451-2336 or spthompson@tampatrib.com.

Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727 451-2336 or spthompson@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT