Oakland commissioner responds to ‘false accusations’

The Oakland Town Commission spent more than an hour debating the word “emergency” at its Jan. 14 meeting before a vote in which an associated proposed ordinance was not passed.

An emergency ordinance was presented that called for “… declaring a state of emergency affecting public welfare, … providing for procedures to apply for insurance coverage for the payment of attorney’s fees and costs related to ethics complaint, … (and) providing for provision of legal services by town attorney or designee and reimbursement of reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. …”

The proposed ordinance was presented following an alleged ethics complaint filed against Commissioner and Vice Mayor Mike Satterfield.

The complaint asserts Satterfield does not live in the town of Oakland and that he falsely claims his homestead exemption on his property in the town.

Orange County property records show Satterfield has owned his home on Daniels Street in Oakland since 1995. He has served as a town commissioner since 1998.

Satterfield also owns two homes in Brevard County, both of which he purchased in 2000. Heh also owns two businesses in Brevard — All Green Lawn Care & More LLC, which closed last year, and Satellite Isles Apartments.

Satterfield issued a prepared statement at the meeting.

He said, in part: “There have been and still are several false accusations thrown out there in the past year or so that are completely untrue. … I have been accused of not living in this town, falsifying documents and literally stealing from the town, and falsely claiming homestead exemption here cheating the town out of even more money.

“They are all false statements. First, Oakland has been my residence since 1995,” he read. “That is when I filed homestead, and registered to vote, and that has not changed to this day. It has always been my home and my heart and has always been my intention that this is where I will end up the rest of my life.”

The Observer contacted the Florida Commission on Ethics, which would neither confirm nor deny that an ethics complaint had been filed against Satterfield and said there currently are no public records relating to this complaint.

To protect itself against potential high attorney costs associated with this complaint, the town created this emergency ordinance.

The ordinance, if passed, would have provided procedures for an accused town elected official or town employee to notify the town, which would, in turn, notify the town’s insurance company. If the accused hired his or her own defense attorney, the ordinance also would have provided for the compensation for “reasonable” attorney fees should the accused get a personal attorney.

A portion of the ordinance read: “The Supreme Court of Florida has established that public officials are entitled to legal representation at taxpayer expense when defending themselves against litigation arising out of their public duties and serving a public purpose.”

Mayor Shane Taylor had issue with whether or not the ordinance should be deemed an “emergency.”

“This is strictly business; this is not a personal issue,” he said. “Why does a complaint against a commissioner require an emergency ordinance? My problem with this is we’re setting this up as an emergency ordinance (and) I don’t believe it’s an emergency. …. When I think of emergency, I think of a natural disaster.”

Stephanie Velo, representing town attorney Vose Law Firm, responded: “Who determines if this is an emergency or not is up to you.”

At issue is the timeframe for which the accused notifies the town, which, in turn, notifies the town’s insurance company.

“The earlier that you loop in the insurance, the better chance they’re going to cover the costs,” Velo said. “When a commissioner finds out about the claim, he must inform the town immediately. … When insurance companies are late to the party, they tend not to cover it.”

Without this emergency ordinance in place, she said, a commissioner could potentially go out and get his or her own attorney and incur large attorney bills and come back to the town and ask for the bills to be covered.

The commission continued at length the “emergency” debate.

“This is an emergency because it will cost the public money,” Commissioner Sal Ramos said.

“It will cost the public money anyway,” Taylor said.

“I think it’s an emergency to save the citizens money,” Ramos replied.

Velo said she thinks it’s necessary “if the town wants to have any say in how a claim for attorney fees will be handled.”

Commissioner Joseph McMullen said this is the first time in his 27 years in the town an elected official has had an ethics complaint filed.

“My main concern isn’t that I’ve done anything wrong,” Satterfield said. “My concern is for the town of Oakland.”

Taylor wanted to move forward with the ordinance — without it being an emergency — but wanted it to go through the normal channels with advertising and first and second readings.

“If this is something we need to pursue … the town staff (can) get with the attorneys and start drafting something we can all look at and go through … and adjust as we feel necessary,” Taylor said. “Mike, I think you’re OK. If there haven’t been any issues yet, I think you’re OK.”

FILLING POLLAND’S SEAT

The commission outlined the appointment process for Seat 1, which has been vacated by former Commissioner Rick Polland. Three residents had applied by Tuesday to complete the seat’s term through March 2026; the deadline to apply was Jan. 17.

A workshop will be held before the Jan. 28 Town Commission meeting to interview all the candidates, and then they vote on and swear in the new commissioner at the regular meeting.

CHARTER REVIEW COMMITTEE UPDATE

Oakland received nine applications from residents wanting to serve on the Charter Review Committee, and commissioners received a packet with the list of applicants. At the Jan. 28 meeting, the commissioners each will select one person to serve on the committee.

IN OTHER NEWS

• Atlas Injury to Health won the fourth annual Trees of the Season contest held at the Healthy West Orange Arts & Heritage Center at the Town of Oakland. The best of the 16 trees won a $250 cash prize from the sponsor, Refinement Auto Detailing. The owner of Atlas said he is donating the winnings to the Oakland Nature Preserve, and Refinement donated another $150 to be given to ONP.

• The commission approved the consent agenda, which included a contract for legal services for the town, to be represented by Vose Law Firm, and a municipal interlocal agreement for mutual aid with the Oakland Police Department and 14 other Central Florida agencies.

• Commissioners passed two resolutions. One was to update authorized representatives (adding Town Manager Andy Stewart and Assistant Town Manager Elise Hui) with PNC Bank for the Oakland Avenue Charter School bond so they can conduct business on behalf of the town. The other was to establish an automatic rate increase of 4% annually for residents, to be collected through a monthly fee, so the town can keep up with costs related to solid waste services. The new rate schedule starts at $26.60 per month.

• The commission approved the establishment of a new position in the finance department, that of finance operations specialist, to provide support in managing financial operations in the town.

• Stewart announced the town has once again received Tree City USA designation.

• The town proclaimed Jan. 20 Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jan. 26 through Feb. 1 School Choice Week and Jan. 27 through 31 Celebrate Literacy Week.