Last Updated: 5:30 p.m.
Matt Dunn, Flagler County government’s tourism director for the past five years, was placed on paid administrative leave this morning pending the outcome of a criminal or administrative investigation. Dunn’s future with the county appears tenuous.
“I put him on administrative leave this morning due to some pretty fast-breaking allegations,” Cameron said. “It was brought to our attention that there were activities that indicated severe problems.” The allegations were severe enough that county officials met with the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office and asked the agency to look into the matter, though no formal complaint has yet been filed. Cameron said he would likely be filing one.
By 5:30 p.m., that complaint had been filed–the county’s Jarrod Shupe, a senior administrator, filed it on behalf of Cameron. “It has the potential for public corruption, and we haven’t done the evaluation on it yet to see who may be the appropriate agency to investigate it,” the Sheriff’s Chief Mark Strobridge said. “There may be the more appropriate investigate outside the sheriff’s office.” The evaluation will take place Friday.
“There’s going to be an investigation externally,” Cameron said. “It may not necessarily be the sheriff’s department. It could be the state attorney’s office, it could be FDLE,” the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Because the matter will be investigated, Cameron said he could not provide details about the allegations. Asked if this was a whistle-blower’s action, he said “it could be.” Dunn meanwhile has no access to his office or electronic access to his county-issued accounts–email, website and so on.
But the matter was brought to his attention through Commissioner Donald O’Brien, who was approached by a whistle-blower very recently. “When I was presented with information I turned it over to the administration to work on it,” O’Brien said. “It disturbed me greatly, but again, I’m not law enforcement, so I think Mr. Cameron did the right thing.”
The tourism office itself is not in financial jeopardy. “I would characterize it more as cutting corners and not following policies and procedures. I didn’t see anything that was outright embezzlement, if you will,” O’Brien said. Nor does O’Brien think tourism policies and procedures need revamping.
“I just think the policies and procedures weren’t followed.” As to how he was approached by the potential whistle-blower(s), “I think there was just a comfort level of people approaching me, I can’t even speculate as to why, but that is what happened.”
O’Brien wasn’t the only commissioner alerted to possible issues at the tourism office. In early February, Commissioner Joe Mullins raised questions about Dunn’s management, asking Dunn for numerous budget documents, including a five-year history of the discretionary fund and the overnight-stays fund. Dunn, Cameron and Mullins met at Hijacker’s Restaurant, where Mullins spoke of issues with, among other things, the discretionary fund.
“I had some concerns, we’ve looked into them,” Mullins said today. The administrators office then called him this morning “and informed me there had been some action taken on the concerns I had.”
The last time a Flagler County official called for a criminal investigation goes back 20 years, and it wasn’t carried out. Then-Commissioner Hutch King called for an investigation after nearly $1 million in county equipment under different department heads seemed to be missing from the county’s inventory. An internal investigation produced all but $100,000 of the missing equipment, with the disparities attributed to poor record-keeping. There never was a criminal investigation.
Dunn, 44, was hired in January 2014 to succeed tourism director Georgia Turner and manage the county’s tourism dollars. At the time, the tourism office was funded through county sales surtax dollars but was part of the Flagler County Chamber of Commerce. It was then-Chamber President Rebecca DeLorenzo who hired Dunn. But a year later, then-County Administrator Craig Coffey maneuvered to make the tourism office a county department, and Dunn started answering directly to Coffey, who gave him a wide berth. The chamber had advertised the job as a $70,000 a year position. By last year, Dunn was making $92,000. He had yet another recent raise, bringing his current salary to $95,500.
The tourism office has a nearly $3 million annual revenue generated by the 5 percent surtax on hotels, motels and other short-term rentals in the county. The tourism director’s responsibilities are focused on the promotions and marketing portion of tourism dollars, this year budgeted at $1.4 million. Some $500,000 of that is budgeted for advertising, and $240,000 is budgeted for “discretionary event funding” and special events, money provided to for-profit and non-profit companies or organizations as subsidies to entice them to bring their events to the county, ostensibly to generate overnight stays that then feed into the county’s tourism-tax coffers. Subsidies can range from as little as $1,000 to as much as $40,000, at times for events whose trickle-down benefit, measured by tourism tax dollars, are more speculative than certain.
As the county’s acquisition of the tourism office was unfolding, the close relationship between Dunn and Coffey was central to Dunn’s arrangement, sweetened by a $25,000 subsidy, to bring an extreme-sports event involving some 6,000 racers to Princess Place–a plan, first revealed in these pages, that blindsided the County Commission and that did not take into account the naturally sensitive nature of Princess Place. Commissioners forced Dunn and Coffey to retreat, and the event was pulled from the preserve.
As the county was acquiring the tourism bureau, concerns were raised about Dunn moonlighting at his own agency: he ran a company of his own even as he was the county’s tourism chief. His company paralleled his activities for the county, and was advertised through a website he maintained. Coffey defended Dunn, saying his company was a placeholder rather than an active company.
The Tourism Development Council, a collection of elected officials from the county, Palm Coast and Flagler Beach, and hospitality industry representatives, is intended to provide the first line of oversight for those and other dollars (such as capital spending and beach protection spending, the two other pots that make up the tourism budget). The TDC is chaired by County Commissioner Greg Hansen. It is seldom more than a rubber stamp, with some of its members benefiting directly from tourism-dollar subsidies steered their way through events Dunn secures for their venue.
This morning other commissioners were informed of the suspension, but given no details. “The only word I had was that he was given a leave of absence for unknown, specific reasons,” Commissioner Dave Sullivan said. He was participating in a meeting of the Northeast Florida Regional Council meeting all morning when he got the call. “That was the absolute first I heard anything about it.”
Cameron was interviewed twice today. In mid-afternoon, he said: “We will be filling out a report for the sheriff so his involvement could become official. In the meantime, we’re in a holding pattern. When the sheriff reviews the documentation, should he decide there’s not enough to proceed with a criminal investigation, then we’re right back to that administrative process. But it is a question of public trust, and if there’s any hint of criminal activity, we have an absolute obligation to notify law enforcement. That’s the most serious situation an employee can find themselves in, is a potential breach of public trust.”
Fourteen minutes before this story published, the county’s public information office emailed all county staff, subject heading “regrettable internal situation,” informing employees of Dunn’s suspension “pending the result of an active investigation.”
Julie Murphy’s note continued: “Mr. Cameron said the county is proceeding with extreme caution to protect Matt’s reputation, and stressed he has not been found guilty of anything.”
An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that Commissioner Donald O’Brien previously chaired the Tourist Development Council. He has not served on the council.
WILLIAM J NELSON says
I would think that any further pay would be held in escrow until such time that a verdict was reached. Why is it that “PUBLICK PAYROLL” participants have the protection that everyone else does not ??????????????????
Freddy says
Another one of Coffey’s follies. How much did he really bring into Flagler county to justify his high salary. Council needs to look into all of Coffey’s hires in the last five years to see if their productivity justifies their high salaries.
Maffamike. says
Please somebody tell me why whenever there is a questionable issue with Flagler county govt Coffeys name always come into the discussion .?????? Just wondering Sheriffs building Bings landing plantation Bay should on go on ?
atilla says
FDLE should investigate the entire county. The city, county and public officials in this county are a bunch of underhanded people lining their pockets at the expense of the tax payers.
David S. says
Atilla agree 100 %….
Percy's mother says
Not at all surprising.
The only surprise is that it took so long.
Outside Looking Out says
More Flagler/Palm Coast graft. I’m still laughing. So glad to be away from the criminal county and city.
Barney Miller says
I said it in old comments, ‘I knew this dude was sneaky!’ These guys roll into town puffed up, transients with degrees, woo the right and wrong people, make a lot of money and eventually either get fired or leave the community high and dry like parasites. Maybe, we can get some footage of him playing hide n seek from the law in Princess Preserve!
Lou says
Tourist tax collected should be spent on our recriation facilities to benefit Flagler County citizens and the visitors who are paying it.
Presently jt is pot of money to be used buy who…………?
Ben Hogarth says
Another legacy of the Coffey era. Is anyone truly surprised?
Seriously – ask anyone with a good and honest reputation in the county if they are surprised by this. Make them answer candidly. As a former employee, I was not surprised the least by this headline and article.
It has to make the public wonder – what else will be uncovered now that Coffey is gone? And major kudos to Commissioner Mullins for sniffing another one out.
Let all of these examples serve as a reminder of the legacy left by the last administration. Let it serve as a warning for others. Make sure they never forget so that this tragedy never happens again.
Jane Gentile-Youda says
I am glad now my once adversary, now my commissioner, Joe Mullins opened another closet in the sordid dealings of Flagler County. Just checking back at the hard earned dollars of tourists were taxed for all the trips Mr. Dunn has taken – to the west coast and – to states far from Florida where the county hired a company to design our tourist website- with the same tourists money being collected for the benefit of Flagler County, for Flagler County businesses, not companies 2 time zones away ( interview was done by skype in the emergency services building-commission thought it was a great idea!.
Many of us knew something was wrong a long long time ago with Matt Dunn’s performance- before the Princess Place mud fiasco. Only a bunch or morons would hire a web site designer on the other side of the country to create a website to come to Flagler County. Can a company far far away possibly sell something they know nothing about? How about keeping the very talented citizens right here in Flagler County to promote tourists to visit owhere they have chosen to live!
Yet the county continues to advertise ” Flagler County has Everything” – except a Sheriff headquarters, a wastewater utility that has 6 year old violations, a former Sears store nobody needs or wants – we even have a useless barn without electricity nor foundation strong enough to support a fire truck with water… who is also 100 incompetent to consider wishes ( and demands) from some cronies who pay less rent for an (illegal 118 seat) restaurant then most unfurnished 1 bedroom 1 bath walk up apartments rent for !
Nothing would give me more pleasure nor more confidence in my gut feelings to see Dunn in handcuffs side by side with his sidekick Coffey. Sally Sherman was a planned cover up for Coffey and coffey grinds, and she sure had the grace and savoir faire to pull it off…. Let’s see what our brilliant attorney has to say about this. Le me take a guess ” This is a very involved issue and we need to hire an outside attorney”….
No wonder Coffey
Concerned Citizen says
Let’s not fool ourselves. It didn’t just start with Dunn.
He pissed someone off enough to be the fall guy. And I have to wonder just how serious the County is taking this when they suspended him with pay? Who does that?
Normally if there is a criminal investigation you get suspended right away with no pay. And it will be laughable if FCSO does it. And why is Shupe filing on behalf of Cameron. Isn’t Cameron the boss? Of course he has questionable behavior in St. Johns sooo.
The shenanigans in our County Government continue…
County employee says
atilla says:
“FDLE should investigate the entire county. The city, county and public officials in this county are a bunch of underhanded people lining their pockets at the expense of the tax payers.”
Atilla, Do not lump all county employees in with these bad apples. The majority of us are just making a living like you. We come to work and we go home to families just like you. No different.
Fredrick says
Thanks for reporting this FlaglerLive. Why am I not surprised Coffee’s name pops into this. He is like a turd that will not flush. I am sure his name will continue to haunt this county for years to come.
palmcoaster says
Our taxes to benefit the few in county and city…and the Cptn Bbq fraudulent lease and the shameful vote to proceed the debate to allow them change location option 2 and take away our pavilion is another strip away to the residents taxpayers right to use of a pavilion on a water front location in a park that we the taxpayers bought to be preserved.
The Bbq should stay were it is now and the tenant should repair the building at the tenants cost and while repairs take place tenant can bring in a food truck to prepare his take outs that actually was the original approval. Anyway some of their current smoking equipment is working located outside the building.now.
Wow says
Let’s just say…. NOT shocked.
Fred C Dobbs says
Drain the swamp.
MAGA
Coyote says
‘t was then-Chamber President Rebecca DeLorenzo who hired Dunn. But a year later, then-County Administrator Craig Coffey maneuvered to make the tourism office a county department, and Dunn started answering directly to Coffey, who gave him a wide berth. ‘
Self-Explanatory, isn’t it?
palmcoaster says
The FCBOCC and their administrative team have a long history regarding the waste of our hard earned taxes:
https://www.votersopinion.com/2016/11/27/the-dirtiest-little-county-in-florida-starring-tallahassee-lawyer-mark-herron-part-2/
GeekOne says
Jane Gentile-Youda: Local “web designer” in Flagler charge at least 10 times than standard professional web design companies. These locals use cookie cutters design and are affiliated with those transnational companies. These local designers in Flagler do not even host local servers. They are just subcontractors!
Adam says
All the remarkably uniformed opinions are laughable at best. I have worked in the tourism industry for 7 years and you can tell the greasy ones. Matt Dunn is NOT one of those. He was as by the books as they come. This is 100% an employee that didn’t get a raise that is protected by Florida’s whistle blower laws. This man brought a remarkable amount of revenue and changed to this community and has spearheaded the enormous beach re-nourishment project. Hatchet journalism and the court of public opinion paired together are a scary thing.
People should look into Commissioner Mullins and his conflicts of interest.