MAITLAND, Fla. — Maitland Mayor Howard Schieferdecker now says he didn’t violate the city’s charter after originally admitting he did.
The controversy comes as Maitland verges on a multi-million dollar makeover of its downtown.
Schieferdecker, who is also a developer, said Sept. 1 that he directed city staff to add more information to an economic benefit analysis about a downtown development.
At the time, he told Channel 9 he was sorry he violated the city’s charter by directing city employees and that he would not do so again.
The city of Maitland has a strong manager form of municipal government that bans the mayor from directing city staff.
During an interview Sunday, Schieferdecker said he did nothing wrong at all.
“I did not, based on the charter, violate the charter," he said. “I never directed staff to do anything. I basically worked with the consultants, so technically I have not violated the charter."
He said a city attorney informed him that the city’s charter forbids him from directing the city's employees, not its consultants.
Maitland resident Bill Kahn disagrees.
“A consultant is nothing more than another person in the administrative field,” Kahn said. “If we have rules, they're there for a reason. If he did not follow the law and this was not a one-time occurrence, he should be removed from office.”
The city council will meet Monday to discuss whether or not the mayor violated the charter.
If the council does not find him in violation of the city’s rules, Kahn said he will file a court document that will require city employees and consultants to testify under oath.
“When you have one person dealing with staff consultants and developers, it means a lot of things are done in the background, which no one knows about. I believe we have just seen the shell of the onion, and have not gone any deeper to see what the ramifications are.”