In 2009, the Florida Legislature passed a law that closed a loophole in retirement rules. Until then, government employees in the Florida Retirement System could retire, start drawing a retirement check, then return to work at their old position within 30 days. It’s called double-dipping. Nine thousand workers were doing it at the time, double-charging taxpayers and keeping new blood from taking government jobs.
The 2009 law banned any such retirees from returning to work before six months. The purpose of the law was to stop double-dipping, open doors to younger entrants into the government workforce, and prevent governments from keeping positions “vacant” as a way of running out the clock, or saving the job, until the same “retired” employee could grab it again.
Governments could still play the game and keep a position vacant for six months, of course, as then-Sen. Mike Fasano, the sponsor o f the bill closing the loophole, anticipated at the time: “Shame on any government entity that holds a job for six months after someone retires — shame on them,” he said. “If you can do without that position for six months, you don’t need that position.”
Lawmakers only thought they were closing a loophole. They did not figure on the creativity of local governments and a cottage industry of private companies ready to game the system, among them the Flagler County government administration.
Sally Sherman was Flagler County’s deputy administrator for the past 10 years and an old loyalist to Administrator Craig Coffey: the two go back to their days in Seminole County government. Two months ago Sherman was making $136,468.80 a year. On Feb. 28, a Wednesday, she “retired.”
But not really.
Sherman was back at work the next day, Thursday. Same email address. Same phone number. Same office. Same travel and conference trips (she was with Coffey at the state county and city manager association’s annual meeting in Orlando last week). Different salary: she is now paid $148,740, an overnight 9 percent raise the county’s rank-and-file employees could only dream of. Also, different title: “Consultant” and “Special Projects Coordinator.”
Sherman also got a $330,148 retirement payment, according to the Nina Ashley, the communications director at the Florida Department of Management Services.
Sherman also started getting a monthly retirement check of $5,681, or $68,172 a year.
In other words, Sherman is now the third-highest paid county-government employee after the county attorney or the county administrator—or, as far as taxpayers are concerned, since they’re footing the bill, one of the highest paid government employee across Flagler County, if you count her retirement checks: $216,912 a year.
The way the county manages to skirt the law against double-dipping inside of six months is simple: she is not technically a county employee. She is an employee of JMI Staffing Solutions, a Land O’Lakes-based (and faith-based) staffing company the county has been using for a few years.
Sherman “retired” three months ago. Coffey has not posted the position of deputy county administrator since she left. “Flagler County will fill the position when time affords,” Julie Murphy, the county’s chief spokesperson, said. “I am told she would have to be away from her previous position for a year before being eligible to take it back. Flagler County is not actively seeking to fill the position at this time.”
It appears for now that the county is doing what Fasano said would be shameful for a government to do: saving the position for Sherman once her legally required lapse as a county employee is up. And for a county administration that insists that its top staff is indispensable, leaving the deputy administrator’s position open either suggests the position is not necessary, or it belies Sherman’s contention that she returned in a different capacity.
Sherman and Coffey defend the method.
People who go into the Deferred Retirement Option program do so conditionally: they are required to retire at the end of the five years when the program accrues what will eventually be that large retirement check. So Sherman was aware of her retirement under those terms. “So I decided OK, it’s time, I’m going to go,” Sherman said in an interview. “I was offered other opportunities. I was also asked if I was willing to come as a consultant to JMI, that is a staffing firm, and I said yes.”
And through that firm, she continued her work in Flagler government. She insists it’s not her old job. She has no supervisory authority. She has no signing authority. She does not consider it double-dipping. “No sir,” Sherman said. “I am not a county employee, I’m not getting any county benefits, no one reports to me, I don’t have any signing authority, I do not have any approval authority. I am just an individual who is very skilled in a lot of areas that not only Flagler County is using but other counties also want to use my services.”
“Again, I could do this here or I could do this somewhere else, it doesn’t matter,” Sherman said. “I’m going to be paid what I’m worth at the end of the day, and I could and I have a lot of skill sets. This community felt that they wanted to utilize those skill sets and if this community felt that they wanted to utilize those skill sets? I’m OK with that.”
The community, in fact, did not and largely does not know about Sherman’s arrangement, nor had a say in her re-hiring, which was done quietly and without open discussion with county commissioners, though they were aware of it. Commissioner Donald O’Brien, for example, had been briefed on the arrangement by the county administrator but said he had no say in the day-to-day management, which is accurate: commissioners don’t meddle in hiring and firing decisions. But they do approve the contract with the staffing company that makes Sherman’s end-run around the law possible. O’Brien, however, spoke derisively of the method, saying it denies other people coming up through the ranks a chance at top administrative jobs.
“I am not skirting the law,” Sherman said. “I am abiding by the regulations of the law.” She said she wouldn’t call the ability to legally work through a staffing firm a loophole, citing (correctly) the numerous government workers who do likewise after going through the deferred retirement program. “At the end of the day I stand behind what I do. I’m a hard worker, I have a high level of ethics, I have an education background that supports my 40 years of government services.” She would not disclose what her retirement payout had been.
Coffey, in an interview, said he didn’t know what benefits–health, vacation or any other sort–Sherman got through JMI. When asked if the method was skirting the law, he paused, then said: “I think each situation is different. I think you’ve got to look at it from the standpoint of the difficulty of replacing that and the value to the county. If I can keep someone on in a different capacity and still have them do different things, I’ve had to take on new workloads and I’ve had to reassign workloads. To keep a good person in this economy is [difficult], and you don’t want to lose them to an organization due to higher wage somewhere else, due to retirement, due to sickness, due to anything, you want to hold on to people at all cost almost, because they’re the people that help make things work, good for the citizens.”
In early May, Coffey asked the county commission to raise the pay grade for three positions, saying he needed to do so in order to keep employees from taking jobs elsewhere. The positions were those of the deputy county administrator, the deputy county attorney, and the county engineer.
But two of the three positions were vacant–the deputy county attorney’s for at least two years, with those duties fulfilled at much lower cost by a paralegal who is also an attorney, and of course Sherman’s post. The third post, that of Faith al-Khatib, had almost gone vacant: al-Khatib was offered a job in Daytona Beach.
“Faith was offered a job elsewhere and the county countered that offer,” Murphy said in May.
The pay increase was slipped into the consent portion of the County Commission’s agenda on May 7–the portion commissioners are asked to adopt in bulk, along with a slew of other items. The item was identified as a revised “county pay classification” for a particular pay grade, raising the pay range from $84,500 to $145,000 up to $100,000 to $155,000. A commissioner pulled it for a brief discussion, in which Coffey explained that he was aiming to retain staff. Sherman’s job status was not mentioned, nor was the vacancy of her previously defined position.
Al-Khatib’s pay was raised to $155,000, including a $5,000 car allowance–a higher salary than for many county and city managers around the state.
The deputy county administrator pay was potentially raised to $155,000, which in essence ensures that if and when Sherman returns as a county employee, she will have yet another substantial raise. Put another way, should she return to work next March at $155,000, she will have realized a 13.6 percent raise–again, nothing approaching the sort of raises offered the rank and file.
That’s without counting the retirement checks.
“I don’t see it as double-dipping,” Coffey said of hiring Sherman as a consultant. “I mean, that’s a term that I think has been demonized. I see it as valuable employees that still have work life in them even after retirement age and they’ve maxed out what they can accrue in retirement.”
As of today, the deputy county administrator’s job remains not posted.
knightwatch says
O.k., now I’mm p.o.’d royally. Coffey has overstepped the bounds of propriety. Where is the commission on this?
Elvis says
The clown show continues
Ben Hogarth says
If the employee reports to an office provided by the County, utilizes equipment provided by the County, and is for the most part, entirely financed with county resources…
FRS will NOT consider them to be acting within a “consultant” capacity and instead as an employee of the County. This same issue has already occurred in other places in Florida and the taxpayers (municipal government) were required by FRS to buy out all of the years that person was a “consultant” as if they were actually an employee.
Their reasoning is simple – if you own a business, you need to have “stake” in the game. That means that you don’t just have 1 client, and work out of their facilities with their equipment and resources. Running your own business requires risk and capital investment. In this case – there are none and therefore would qualify by most accountants and State officials as “double dipping.”
And since in this case, we are talking post 30 years of service, I am sure FRS will be getting back with Flagler County on their thoughts – and repudiation in time.
At some point we have to start putting a value on ethics and not simply law.
Anonymous says
Corruption abounds in government. Drain the swamp!
Really says
Dont like anything about this fire her and anyone involved or duplicating this practice
john brady says
Sherman and Coffey defend the method. No sh–, Sherlock.
County Commissioners you are Coffey boss. At a time employees are getting sick in a sick building, you allow this to happen, shame on you.
These two were instrumental in the sick building decision and now one is getting a big raise. You guys are Republicans,please act like the business men that you are supposed to be.
Jim says
GOVERNMENT THEFT. Coffey is the ringleader.
Pogo says
@Running gubbament like a business – it’s the Republican way.
Vote them out.
woody says
Wow,I can hardly sit down.Another screwin by government.Of coarse Coffey doesn’t see anything wrong with it. Your goin to see some fat numbers when he leaves or not leaves or comes back or whatever.
hawkeye says
she is a snake
snapperhead says
Coffey and Landon both use the same playbook to justify bloated raises for their administration. “If we don’t pay more they’ll leave”. Let them leave….if they loved their jobs and serving this community enough a few more bucks somewhere really wouldn’t make much difference. Are these people struggling to pay bills making 130-200k a year not to mention the retirement and benefit packages they get. Sorry i don’t buy it. Is there ANYONE in local government with enough balls to say enough is enough?
say what says
there must be a way to stop this in the future and recoup the money she was given..this is legal theft and graft..
Bob says
I have lived in three counties in Northeast Fl since moving here 20 years ago and I have to say that Flagler County government is the lamest. I feel like I am living in a time zone that was destroyed 60 years ago.
Dantel says
Vote him out so he can come back as a “consultant” too. What a joke. Too bad this isn’t China; they handle corruption just a little differently
tulip says
This is a totally discouraging and disappointing mess and, although I have been slowly losing respect for our local government, this has just about finished me in having any more respect left. Too many things have occurred that have smelled of underhandedness and collusion.
Richard says
BIG-TIME Corruption and Russia has nothing to do with it. More power to her as she boondogle’s the people of Flagler County and gets away with the money.
John Dolan esq. says
Shame on the Flagler County HR Department. This pit of snakes showed its lack of concern for ethics in the layoffs in 2008. Now they have the audacity to continue to raise up a few and screw all the rest. The people that do the grunt work in the County don’t get promotions, pay raises or even training anymore. Yet the few big shots get to stick it to us because of a Tallahassee loophole.
Teresa Kvachuk says
“Done quietly.” That statement, alone, makes it suspect.
Kendall says
If Sherman thinks she is ethical she’s wrong.
Ol’ Sarge says
Funny that he understands that people leave when you don’t pay them enough, but he continues to refuse giving raises to the government services (fire, etc.). This place continues to be a training ground for local agencies due to this guys mismanaged and misguided ‘ethics,’ or lack thereof.
Linzey Chaffin says
What a bunch of crooks we tax payers are putting up with
When are we going to clean house?
PC Citizen says
Citizens of Flagler County….it is OUR fault . We elect these tax money vampires to suck us clean .
Remember this in November
Joey Bowles says
THIS STINKS. Who has the brass to step up and stop this thieving crew?
palmcoaster says
Boot Coffey, Sherman and Julie Murphy and vote off all incumbent commissioners!
This is a plain robbery of our hard earned taxes! No wonder our services are pathetic. Just look at the non existing East Mosquito Control fumigation. They stole our funds convinced by Coffey to build a mosquito control palace for themselves and now there is no money for mosquito spraying! Just sick!
Bill harvey says
30 years in law enforcement and I receive a pension from NY for 90,000$ and life time free medical for me and my wife , I am happy I don’t think they have medical when they leave their jobs
Anonymous says
What The Fuck?
Jane Gentile-Youd says
This cannot be the same Sally who has told me, in person more than once, that Flagler County does not have funds to have a pro-active code enforcement board – the same Saly who told me the county is powerless to clean up and secure the dangerous abandoned -rat infested – exposed ( now fenced only because the Dept of Health was called in) broken glass, dead tree adorned HOTEL on Old Dixie – no fine every issued.
This cannot be the same Sally who told me, in person, that Flagler County has no money to put ‘welcome signs’ like Ormond Beach has- at our main entrances,’ Oh but it is the same Sally.
It is revolting as well as a shame, that this stunning,sharp, very professional woman has unfortunately shown that she is as greedy, selfish and disrespecting of her employers – you and me – as her boss.
We the people need to rally together to stop this citizen theft ( my opinion) – the sooner the better – cleaning the Coffey pot just ain’t enough – it is ‘contaminated’ and needs to be disposed of once and for all…
Anonymous says
What a racket!
Rob Jr says
This citizens of this county / city need two governments like they need a hole in their collective heads.
PcFC says
Abuse of power: When you have an officer standing at the corner in Bunnel as you turn onto SR 100 or Moody Blvd
With his radio laughing like mad as he calls ahead to tell them of a car that just turned and the driver was not wearing a seat. Belt. Then you see 5 police cars gather for the event. You think about all the crime going on and hear you have 11 officers involved to give out seat belt tickets. I have driven many years no tickets ,normally buckle up .Had car trouble just went to advance auto wearing my seat belt, left thete not knowing what was wrong with my car the battery had checked out fine. Talking to my son about my car and being glad that i had AAA just wanted to get home. Difficult enough living on SS paying for Medicare’s co pays to Dr and a lot of med to fill this month .
I did get a SEAT BELT TICKET $100 +dollars to be paid this month. I have not had a ticket since in the 1980’s , you would think they might have the Courtsey, WITH a clean driving recordto give a warning ticket ,since in a sence having 5 cars x2 officers 2 a cae it cant be they have a $ shortsge or their would not be so many officers at a seat belt check. Now my $ situation is a little different . I will have to cancel doctor appt .go without medication, to pay this ticket that could jave been s warning ticket as i have been bucketing my seat belt ever since they came out with the law. THAT i CONSIDERS AN ABUSE of PoWER ,picking on little older ladies and the officer smiling and laughing at the corner as,he radio’s ahead i am coming.
Ready says
I would suggest that we rally and have a protest in front of the county office, if you agree let it begin!! Otherwise it will be forgotten soon.
Anonymous says
VOTE OUT THE INCUMBENTS;
Coyote says
@PC Citizen … Bingo. The nail has been hit on the head. Unfortunately, most citizens don’t use past history, thoughtfulness, and logic when voting – so they get what they were told they wanted.
mark101 says
People seem to forget, Coffey is NOT an elected official, he is hired by the County. It will take the county commissioners to remove him from office.
Marty Barrett says
What “skill sets” does she think she has? Here’s a thought: anyone who uses the term “skill sets” when talking about themselves likely has none.
FlaglerLive says
The reaction on Facebook so far:
Just the facts says
OK, County Commissioners, the ball is squarely in your court. Some of youcriticized Landon for his dirty dealings but it turns out Coffey is just as bad.
anonymous says
This is such BS. There are professionals w/ degrees that work 2-3 jobs to make ends meet. How is the heck is someone making that much money. this makes me so angry and pissed off. Citizens of Palm Coast/Flagler County; we must do something to make this stop!!!!!!!!
Stan says
Wow. What exactly do any of them really do for all that money they receive? What a joke. This county is a joke. This town is a joke. It could’ve been great but it’s not, not with all these bozos running the show.
just me says
Amazing how much money the County GIVES to its favorites. BUT the rank and file workers get penny s a year in raises well if they have any question of why they are treated so poorly this should make it clear. Only the top people are taken care of by the top people, VOTE OUT ALL INCUMBENTS.
John Smith says
I don’t understand how they reward people who decide to move on and go other routes instead of rewarding those who actually WANT to work there and WORK hard. Think about all the little guys who do the REAL work who make PENNIES compared to these folks. It’s sad…. what about all those guys you have out on the beaches for 8 hours a day? I’m sure they don’t make enough to even COMPARE. This is absolutely CORRUPT.
Coyote says
You think this is bad? Wait until the time (finally) comes when Coffey gets tossed out – and see what kind of a separation package and follow-up HE gets.
107 says
For Commissioner Greg Hansen to say the board of county commissioners has no say so over Coffey and day to day operations is bullshit! Greg Hansen as a board of county commissioner is the boss of Craig Coffey and he and the other board members have all the say so in the world of what this man can and cannot and should and should not do! This asinine comments by Greg Hansen goes to show how unqualified he is to be a county commissioner. Greg Hansen never would have gotten elected as county commissioner, that is why he asked for appointment and got it, and he got it because of pulling strings with family members that have political juice!
If you notice Commissioner Nate McLaughlin who is up for reelection didn’t have a comment. Yes, this is because he knows what has transpired is not what we the people would approve of and he is hoping if he isn’t heard on the measure that he will get reelected like he had nothing to do with it. The fact of the matter is, he does have everything to do with it. He had a responsibility to stop shit like this from going in the consent agenda of approved items, he had a responsibility to ask more questions and do more about it when it was pulled for discussion, and as a commissioner he has the responsibility to manage his employees and Craig Coffey and Sally Sherman are both employees of the board! They both need to be fired!!! It is evident if these two clowns worked together in Seminole County and then came here holding hands that there is a problem. Seminole County has and has always had more problems than most other counties.
This is why they came after former Supervisor of Elections Kimberle Weeks and made up a crime to get a search warrant and charge this woman with a crime. They knew she held their feet to the fire and never hesitated to call them out on their wrong doing. The county attorney and Commissioner Charlie Ericksen claimed to be secretly recorded, it was determined in court that she did nothing illegal and that charge was dropped. The State Attorney and FDLE should have known that before they raided her office and charged her with any wrong doing. They wanted her out and did what they did to get her out. She was not a team player and the only way they could get her out was to make up a lie. The woman followed the book and always managed to get by no matter what they threw at her and she always had good efficient election. We will never forget it was Kimberle Weeks who exposed county commissioner being on the election canvassing board when they were involved in other county commissioners reelection campaigns and it was the county attorney Al Hadeed who was supporting the commissioners rather than upholding the laws and supporting the Supervisor. Kadoos to Weeks and Judge Stens from removing Commissioner George Hanns from the Canvassing Board since he refused to step down like any honorable man would have done. Chances are Sally knows something and this is a way of getting her to keep her mouth shut. A forensic audit certainly needs to be done on this county and it is the board of county commissioner responsibility to vote and ask for this audit.
If we keep voting the same idiots in office we will keep getting the same results. It is a fine time for things like this to come out just weeks before early voting is due to begin. We need to vote all incumbents out of office and demand that Craig Coffey, arrogant Sally Sherman and Al Hadeed be terminated. There are others that have done their jobs before, and others that will do their jobs after they bleed the county into debt that will take generations to pay back….so let them go NOW! Vote Greg Hansen, and Nate McLaughlin OUT of office in 2018. They are responsible for things like this happening in our county at our expense. Because they are trying to get around the law a special prosecutor needs to conduct a criminal investigation and a forensic audit needs to be conducted sooner than later.
Pogo says
@It IS a Republican thing – running YOUR gubbament like they run THEIR biddnesses.
How does a company’s CEO pay compare to its workers’? Now you can find out.
Thanks to a new SEC rule, companies have to disclose how much more they pay executives than their workers.
By Emily Stewart
“In 2018, corporate America will give up a data point it would probably rather keep under wraps: how much CEOs make in comparison to their employees.
For the first time, a new Securities and Exchange Commission rule mandated under the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform requires publicly traded companies to disclose how their CEOs are compensated in comparison with their employees. In public filings, companies have to disclose their “pay ratios,” or the CEO’s compensation divided by the median employee’s. The numbers are pretty jarring.
Margo Georgiadis, the CEO of toymaker Mattel — the company behind Barbie, Hot Wheels, and Fisher-Price — makes 4,987 times more than the company’s median employee, or, when accounting for a one-time sign-on bonus, 1,527 times more. Georgiadis brought in $31.3 million in 2017, her first year on the job, while the median Mattel employee, globally, made $6,271. (Seventy-eight percent of Mattel’s total workforce is located outside the US, where pay standards are lower.)
Greg Creed, the CEO of Yum Brands, which owns KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell, made 1,358 more than the median employee. His 2017 compensation: $12.4 million. The median employee’s pay, including full-time and part-time workers: $9,111.
Representatives for Mattel and Yum did not return requests for comment.
The list goes on. Per a Bloomberg tracker of pay ratios as they’ve been made public with the SEC, the CEO of VF Corporation — which owns apparel brands such as Lee, the North Face, Timberland, and Vans — pays its CEO 1,353 times more than the median employee. The CEO of Kohl’s makes 1,264 more than its workers. The pay ratio of the cigarette company Philip Morris is 990 to 1; at the oil refiner Marathon Petroleum, it’s 935 to 1…”
“…A 2018 survey from Equilar, which tracks corporate governance and executive compensation, found that CEOs earned 140 times more than their median workers in general. An AFL-CIO study cited by Bloomberg estimates S&P 500 company executives made about 347 times more than their average employees in 2016, up from 41 to 1 in 1983…”
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/4/8/17212796/ceo-pay-ratio-corporate-governance-wealth-inequality
Retirees voting Republican are chickens voting for Col. Sanders. Period.
Wake up – vote them out.
Anonymous says
Hopefully he will be criminally prosecuted before then and loose any kind of package and his retirement. I guess when former Supervisor of Elections Kimberley Weeks was ranting about how corrupt it was around here we should have been listening. I now understand why they wanted her gone and disputed everything the woman had to say. I wonder what Sally Sherman has that she can use against them that made all this come to be.
Not New Folks says
This is not new folks. Ask the many “ex”-employees with professional years of knowledge and experience that she purposefully sent down the road. Most that worked “under” her figured out real quick she was and is a fake and happily moved on. For years this paper has reported the many changes in personnel. There’s a reason. Why the surprise now?
Mermaidangie says
How can this be? It’s ridiculous! ALL of these people should be fired immediately! I understand only the Board of Commissioners can do this. I believe if we elect Jane Youd she can get the ball rolling on this.
Anonymous says
Why would these two or any other government official do the right thing when they know they can get away with whatever they do? This warrants a criminal investigation.
Trailer Bob says
So we have residents here paying taxes for this lady who makes more annually than most seniors have in their retirement accounts. I say we make some noise and get the rules changed. Anyone want to make some noise call me at 386=585=2971 and lets organize and petition this crap. This woman is ripping the taxpayers off…period. Let us not let it continue.
Anonymous says
why didn’t these fools stay in Seminole County if that were so good? I don’t see where Seminole County was giving them hundreds of thousands of dollars to stay because they were so great. We have been scammed and the board of county commissioners are letting it happen after we have elected them to be good stewards of our tax dollars. Each and every county commissioner should be removed from office by the Governor….lets start making some contacts and writing letters. The laws are being abused and misused….what they are doing is not the intent of the law.
Governor’s Office:
Government office in Tallahassee, Florida
Address: 400 S Monroe St, Tallahassee, FL 32399
Phone: (850) 717-9337
thomas says
DISGUSTING. Coffey and his gang should be prosecuted
brewski says
She’s worth 71.00 dollars an hour???
Sherry Epley says
This is “CORRUPTION” pure and simple! If the county commissions do not fire Coffey immediately they are corrupt as well! Simply because this has happened before does not forgive this horrific breach of public trust!
Call each county commissioner and make your voices heard loud and clear! The buck stops at the top!
A Huge THANK YOU to Pierre and Flaglerlive for bringing this to our attention! Contribute to Flagler Live, so we can continue to learn what is “really” going on with our local government!
Anonymous says
Hey Flaglerlive she went from a employee salary of 136,500 to a “consultant” with a pay of 149,000 BUT what do we the taxpayers PAY the consulting firm she WORKs for??? Just saying the TOTAL cost to us taxpayers is much more then her pay. Please find out and add that to this disgraceful event in our County Government at work. (for us?)
GladIMOVED says
Nothing new here, this double dipping or whatever you would like to call it has been going on for years. Not just at the county, the school district does it too, you might not like it but it’s not illegal!
joseph Pulitzer says
Damn ! ! That”s a smart move on her part. Wish I had thought of that. Lots of Jealous people commenting here today.
Anonymous says
Damn ! ! That”s a smart move on her part. Wish I had thought of that. Lots of Jealous people commenting here today.
Really says
The ultimate Golden parachute once again rammed down the throats of Flagler County residents and we are supposed to just take it. All the more reason I am outta here yeahhhhhhhhhhh good luck youz guys
Anonymous says
I called the . county and they said it is not a faith based company. I said yes it is and what She said look it up they are not faith based. I called the company and they said they are a Christian based company point blank. I called Mr Coffeys office back and they said they use them all the time . Im not against any faith but the county should not be using this company. Call Flagler and complain Im Fed up.. happened to
Susan says
Corruption at its finest ! I have lived in many other counties in the Sunshine State (yes I am from Florida and proud of it!) Owned my home (s) and worked as well. I have NEVER seen anything like Flagler County from its county government to the code enforcement to the sheriffs office (to name a few) ! ALL CORRUPT ! By the way I do not post anonymously and or use a fake silly name. Seriously this place is the worst.
Holy Heck says
You got to be kidding me …… ridiculous
woody says
And they say there isn’t any high paying jobs in Flagler county.
Anonymous says
How many more shady deals is Coffey going to get away with before the Board Of County Commissioners grow some Gonads and fires this S.O.B.. Oh I forgot, some of the commissioners could be prospering from some of these Coffey’s schemes themselves. Time to clean this County up starting with this dishonest administrator and his assistant administrator. These firings should be done immediately. People open your eyes, this whole scheme is based on greed and dishonesty by trying to find a way to usurp the intent and meaning of state statutes. Fire Them Both! Fire Them Both! Fire Them Both! NOW!!!!!!!!
Concerned Citizen says
Well I must say it’s not often you get to see senior County Administrators steal from the county and state and get away with it.
Remember that these people cost us a damn good EM Chief and EM planner. Both are doing quite well in another County by the way. Also remember that these people decided it was more important to keep the airport manager instead of EM Chief. I mean after all an airport is more important than a well run Emergency Services division right?
I am guessing Sally Sherman must have some good dirt on Coffey to get away with a bold plan like this. It would be very interesting if Ethics Complaints were filed and this was investigated by FDLE or the FEDS.
I wonder what her valuable skill set is that is more important than half of the underpaid County Employees as well as our First Responders?
Holy Heck says
Time for the Coffey’s too pack up and call Uhaul
Because says
Retired from an administrative position after 30 years making $30,000 a year. How can Flagler afford these pay scales when we need so much done. She needs to be gone yesterday.
just me says
@ Because says:
June 7, 2018 at 2:36 am
Retired from an administrative position after 30 years making $30,000 a year. How can Flagler afford these pay scales when we need so much done. She needs to be gone yesterday.
The County can afford to pay these pay scales because it pays the average worker crap. Also the average County worker went YEARS without any raise and now get a 1.5% a year all the while paying the top dogs 100K + a year and 10s of K raises.
capt says
The hits just keep on coming as it relates to the Kingdom of King Coffey. Coffey must enjoy his role, along with his merry men the Commissioners towards the continued fleecing of Flagler County taxpayers.
carol says
This is BS, how can the county commissioner accept this???
Same on them. Vote them all out.
Anonymous says
Kudos to Flagler Live for blowing the whistle on open corruption happening in our backyard.
When you hear of people being arrested for pot by cops earning $35k, EMTs saving lives earning $30k, it really puts things into perspective.
Anonymous says
@just me
The average county worker mowing grass or sweeping floors is more productive with his labor than any of these pencil pushers voting themselves exorbitant salaries.
tulip says
The most shameful part of this is that if the commissioners, Coffey and Sherman are even reading these posts, they could care less what we say because they got what they wanted which is big money and power, that is all they care about. Most of what we the people say is merely an itchy mosquito bite to them that will eventually go away and people will forget.
Anonymous says
@Bill Harvey…..as Beet would say “Goo for you”
Ramone says
Has anyone considered whether or not she’s doing a good job? I agree the optics don’t look good here, but i’m guessing, given her experience, she could have taken her talents and went to work for many other jurisdictions and they’d have been happy to have her. Obviously they’re taking advantage of a loophole in the State’s (Drop) program, which forces workers out of their positions after 5 years. If she’d have left, the County would have had to fill her position with a person that would have to be trained as well as learning Flagler’s laws, rules, policies and procedures. The new hire may not have done as good of a job. But you all would be happy and there’d be no gripes. I don’t know who’d want to dedicate their life to public service the way they get bashed around on this site. I don’t know this woman’s history, but I know many devoted employees who’ve worked tirelessly for local governments and were able to climb the ladder administratively. To be bashed around like this because she was offered an opportunity to stay on as a consultant is disgusting and unfair. If she’s not doing the job well, fine. Fire Her. If she’s violated FRC rules, fine. Let them deal with it. If you don’t like Coffey’s decision. Fine, convince the Commission to fire him. But don’t beat up a dedicated employee that was offered a chance to stay on in a new capacity.
Anonymous says
That may be the case today but after these commissioners get voted out of office and we get some that have back bones they will care….they will be fired! Stories like this confirm the current leadership must go and we know not to vote for Nate McLaughlin and Greg Hansen if he has opposition.
Brian Bixler says
Thank you Ramone for the thoughts about public employees. Worked my way up in the state arena, no letters after my name or anything. Just experiance and common sense. Y’all drive many roads and bridges I worked on. Things changed now, not for the better. Retired and loving it.
Anonymous says
Seminole County didn’t pay Coffey or Sherman hundreds of thousands to keep them…..apparently they aren’t as great as they think they are! I say get rid of them both, but before doing so put the squeeze on Sherman and find out why she is being paid to keep her mouth shut…..seems to me she knows something that they don’t want out. This is unheard of at this rate of pay.
Money in the county is apparently not a problem. The commissioners approved this deal like it was petty cash. They need a price roll back on our taxes since they have an over abundance of money laying around. I say the Commission owes us a forensic audit, and NOW!
Enough Already says
This reeks of political nepotism as Coffey continues to bring along his former staff….We pay Coffey $178,309. 08 a year and he claims there is a need to contract out the salary of his Deputy Commissioner now @ 148, 740. because of her so-called skill set? I urge the commissioners to review the job description and immediately end contracting out for what amounts to the same position. Whatever legal action is needed to override this travesty needs to be implemented.
Does anyone actually believe this “I am not a county employee, I’m not getting any county benefits, no one reports to me, I don’t have any signing authority, I do not have any approval authority. I am just an individual who is very skilled in a lot of areas that not only Flagler County is using but other counties also want to use my services.”
Do everyone a favor and go to the other counties that you claim are in need of your services. Perhaps you can take Coffey as we the taxpayers of Flagler County have had enough. Disgraceful form of government. County Commissioners again will hide from this abuse.
Sick of says
This is why I moved Away, palm coast is full of low grade scum
Anonymous says
As long as we keep voting the same ones in office, the show will continue. Do not vote for Nate McLaughlin in 2018 and enter the race to run against Greg Hansen to put him out of office. This is the only way this kind of organized crime that is raising our property taxes is going to stop.
Tammi says
This is what we as the county tax payers need to stand up and say NO MORE at the meetings. Don’t let the commissioners take advantage of us.
We repeatedly are told we don’t have money to pay for improvements in the county. However, when you call Mr. Coffey he states “we are working on that” typical political answer and no results.
We need to make the commissioners responsible for their actions. They MUST fire Mr Coffey and JMI. That will stop all the people that are “double dipping”.