LOCAL

City of Tallahassee's independent ethics officer considering 'another role'

Jeff Burlew
Tallahassee Democrat
The city of Tallahassee’s Independent Ethics Officer Julie Meadows-Keefe gives an ethics training to Tallahassee city commissioners and top city staff on Jan. 6. As ethics officer, Meadows-Keefe fields ethics inquiries, investigates complaints and serves as the liaison between the board and the City Commission

Julie Meadows-Keefe, the city of Tallahassee’s independent ethics officer, is weighing her career options and considering the possibility of stepping down at some point in the future.

Meadows-Keefe, who has served as ethics officer since 2014, acknowledged in an interview with the Tallahassee Democrat that she is deliberating her tenure as the top staff person for the city’s Independent Ethics Board. 

“I’m thinking about the ways I can best serve the city and my community and whether that’s best accomplished in the current role or another one,” she said.

Her comments came hours before a Tuesday Ethics Board meeting during which board member Gwen Graham was scheduled to discuss Meadows-Keefe and a personal relationship she had with an appointed city official, who has not been publicly named.

They also came ahead of an Ethics Board vote to revamp its bylaws, including a measure making it easier to terminate the ethics officer. The bylaws went into effect Tuesday night – after Graham briefly addressed the report she was supposed to give on Meadows-Keefe.

The back story:

► City's Independent Ethics Board to address issues involving its ethics officer

Ethics Board eyes bylaw change making it easier to fire ethics officer

City's Independent Ethics Board finalizes draft of tougher new ordinance

“For numerous reasons, I believe that this item should be moved to the agenda of next month’s meeting,” Graham said. “And I can elaborate on the reasons why, but I don’t think it’s necessary. The substance that we’re dealing with today and other issues I think take precedent. And I think next meeting, the issue will be more ripe.”

The Ethics Board went on to unanimously approve its new bylaws, including a provision requiring a simple majority rather than a two-thirds vote to fire the ethics officer. The bylaws went into effect upon passage; the Ethics Board next meets July 16.

Meadows-Keefe said she had no imminent announcement about her future and described her job deliberations as “a positive thing.” She was hired by the city about a month before city voters overwhelmingly approved a charter amendment creating the seven-member Ethics Board.

“When I took this job in October 2014, I was the first ethics officer at the city of Tallahassee,” she said. “As I have continued to serve in the role, the citizens decided they wanted an independent ethics officer. As the board has evolved, I am considering all of the best options for my future, the board’s future and how I can best serve the community.”

She has long struggled to win acceptance by some City Hall observers and ethics advocates, including those instrumental in passage of the charter referendum. Among other things, some view her as too closely tied to city officials who hired her in the first place.

Graham, a former congresswoman who last year sought the Democratic nomination for governor, declined to discuss Meadows-Keefe outside the meeting. During a March meeting, Graham agreed to address Meadows-Keefe and the personal relationship “so that the community has confidence in us as a board and our ethics officer.”

Erwin Jackson, a businessman and City Hall critic who’s publicly criticized Meadows-Keefe before over the relationship, called on the Ethics Board to do something about it.

“Her own personal behavior has shown that in fact she comes up a little short when it comes to ethics when she decides to enter into a relationship with a city employee,” he said. “I think it looks bad. And I think some kind of action needs to be taken.”

Meadows-Keefe, an attorney, is responsible for investigating ethics complaints against city officials and providing ethics education and training to officials and staff. She previously worked in private practice and served as chief legal counsel for the Florida Department of Health.

Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or follow @JeffBurlew on Twitter.