The Orange mayor's abstention on a pact involving a former partner stirs a debate.
Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty for the first time refused to vote on an issue involving his former business partner Tuesday -- sparking a debate among fellow commissioners worried less about Crotty's dilemma than about how his action might affect them.
Crotty's refusal to vote on a road-fee agreement for real-estate broker Daryl Carter prompted challenges from two other commissioners who said the mayor's past business deals should not stop him from voting on current projects.
"I don't think you want to elect monks who live off in a monastery," Commissioner Bill Segal said.
State law requires public officials to disclose a conflict of interest and abstain from voting on any matters that benefit business associates.
But Segal, who is an attorney and developer, expressed concern that he and other commissioners could be hobbled if they were never allowed to vote on any issue involving previous clients or business partners. Commissioner Bob Sindler, a veterinarian, said an overly broad reading of the conflict-of-interest law could give politicians an excuse to duck controversial votes.
Orange County Attorney Tom Drage said that Crotty was justified in abstaining, given the scrutiny of the South Florida land deal in which Crotty more than doubled a $100,000 investment he made in 2002 with Carter -- a deal being investigated by special prosecutor Stephen B. Russell.
"Our position on this is that he should not be made to vote on [an issue] that he's uncomfortable with," Drage said. "But in light of the fact that there is an investigation going on at this time on this particular issue, I think it's most appropriate that he abstain until there's some determination made in that regard.
"This is different than anything that any of the commissioners have had to deal with in the past," Drage said.
Sindler and Segal, both Democrats, argued that such a threshold could set a precedent preventing them from voting on a range of issues that come to the commission.
"I think the law says you need to vote," Segal said of issues involving past business partners. "I think Mr. Drage's opinion is off the mark."
In a later interview, Segal said he had been speaking in general terms and wasn't quibbling with Crotty's decision to abstain Tuesday.
Crotty remained silent during the debate on his abstention. But the mayor spoke with reporters afterward and repeated that he had not violated any state laws in previous votes involving Carter's projects.
Later in the day, a Crotty spokesman said the mayor would no longer comment on Carter-related issues until the investigation is concluded.
"He's said all he's going to say to this point," spokesman Steve Triggs said.
Crotty voted for two special road-fee issues involving Carter late last year that were similar to the one that he abstained from voting on Tuesday. The so-called "pay-as-you-go" road agreements have been under intense scrutiny and criticism as windfalls for developers.
The road deals allow developers to build along overcrowded roads in return for paying an added fee to cover the costs of repairs or widening of the road. Carter's road-fee agreement Tuesday called for him to pay $32,284 to offset the extra traffic that a shopping strip he is developing will put on Narcoossee Road.
The fees are supposed to reflect a developer's "fair share" of road-construction costs that their project might have on a byway. But Commissioner Teresa Jacobs has challenged Crotty and his top staff about the fees, arguing Orange significantly undercharges developers for road fixes.
Jacobs said out-of-date road-construction costs and a flawed formula were being used to calculate the fees.
Carter's three recent road-fee agreements, including Tuesday's, cost him more than $115,000. But Jacobs said that Orange's reduced-fee formula saved Carter about $166,000 on his three agreements.
Carter said Tuesday that he would not comment because of the pending investigation.
Crotty said he only spoke with Carter once about the issue, and that was before Tuesday's meeting to determine whether the Narcoossee Road fee involved Carter's project.
Crotty said he would continue to abstain from voting on Carter-related projects "because of the appearance of a conflict." But the mayor said he expects an investigation to clear him, and may change his stance then.
"I very much look forward to having all the facts come out," Crotty said.
The Orlando Sentinel reported Feb. 24 that Crotty invested $100,000 in a Palm Beach County land deal with Carter in September 2002 that netted the mayor a $112,141 profit a year later.
Crotty's investment came two weeks after a Sept. 10 County Commission meeting to rezone more than 1,300 acres of Carter's land in the Signature Lakes development in west Orange. Then, two weeks after the private partnership began, he and other commissioners voted to approve a development agreement for Signature Lakes.
Crotty made no disclosure of his partnership at the time of his votes. He said he wasn't required to, because at the time of the first vote he and Carter were not yet partners, and by the second vote in October 2002, Carter no longer owned the Signature Lakes land.
David Damron can be reached at ddamron@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5311.
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