about my county st johns county florida

The term has been used more than once in government recently, at the national and the local level.  It invokes strong feelings because it is a strong statement.  But that is all that it is – a statement made by a Board that expressed disapproval of actions of a Board member.

From Wikipedia:  “A censure is an expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism.^[1] In parliamentary procedure, it is a debatable main motion that could be adopted by a majority vote. It is usually non-binding (requiring no compulsory action from the censured party), unlike a motion of no confidence (which may require the referenced party to resign).”

Recently, this rule of order was used in St. Johns County, and it has invoked a firestorm from some who believe it was wrongfully used.  Much has been said about how the censure was introduced.  The two parts to the motion might be easily confused, but it is important to recognize that the two parts are different.

I am not offering a perspective as to the rightness or wrongness of either part of the motion.  But it is important that we, as citizens, understand the facts of what happened before we judge our elected officials.

The motion to censure was a statement that one Commissioner disapproved strongly about a statement made publicly at a Board meeting.  That is not grounded in law, but in the standards to which the Board has agreed to hold itself.  It was put forth as a motion, and the motion passed with four of the five commissioners voting to censure. 

The Manual for Parliamentary Law describes a censure as “a reprimand, aimed at reformation of the person and prevention of further offending acts.”^[3]  It is serious, but exceedingly redeemable with a change in the behavior that met with disapproval.

Included in the motion to censure was a request to engage independent counsel to determine if a violation of law occurred.

Censure is a recourse available to a public Board of elected officials, to express disapproval of a fellow Board member’ comments or actions.  It is not wrong or right.  It is a statement of belief, allowable by the rules of the Board and made in public. That four of five Board members passed the motion indicates that there was agreement on the disapproval.

The second issue, engaging outside counsel to investigate a concern that a violation of law may have been committed is different.  Citizens are concerned that their taxpayer dollars are being used for this investigation.  What they don’t realize is that, should the County be sued for violation of the law, the cost to the County would be far greater.

We want our elected officials to both know and adhere to the law, right?