Was that sweat on City Manager Julio Avael's brow Tuesday evening as he sat before the City Commission being grilled by Commissioner Tom Oosterhoudt? Oosterhoudt had put the issue of "consultants" on the agenda as a discussion item. He told Avael he wanted to know how many consultants Avael has in his stable, how much they get paid and what they do for the money. At the meeting, Avael revealed that the City pays 19 consultants more than $1 million a year for services that include engineering, training, marketing, labor negotiations, beach analysis and lobbying the State Legislature.
Almost half of the City's total consulting fees go to CH2M Hill. That company will rake in a cool $460,190 this year for utilities engineering.
Coastal Planning & Engineering will get $186,962 for beach analysis and design. Bermello Ajamil & Partners will receive $117,955 for planning services. Cody Associates will get $18,240 for "labor negotiations assistance." Gonzales Architects will get $92,932 for architectural services.
Richard Watson & Associates will get paid almost $41,000 to act as the City's state lobbyist.
Paul Clayton, the consultant who started all the flap when he went to Commissioner Oosterhoudt's home last month and reportedly scolded him for not being a "team player", makes $27,813 per year. He is listed as "Trainer/Liaison."
Avael told Oosterhoudt that he has timesheets to document Clayton's work— but he didn't bring them to the meeting.
One of the questions Oosterhoudt hammered at Avael was whether or not Clayton had, back in 1998, used his training sessions to get City employees to sign petition cards for a candidate running for the County Commission.
Avael said he didn't know anything about that— although he had been asked the same question by Key West The Newspaper several weeks ago.
"I had received a fax from a City employee," Oosterhoudt said. "That employee seemed troubled that Clayton would ask City employees to sign petition cards, on City time, on City property, for a candidate they had never heard of."
The employee, who was fearful of retaliation if his/her identity were revealed, wrote:
"I was in an employee meeting in the City Manager's Conference Room. There were five or six other employees in the room. Paul Clayton was running the training session.
"But before he started, he put a card in front of each of us and told us to fill it out and sign it. The card was from the Supervisor of Elections Office and was to get the candidate on the ballot without paying the filing fee . . . The card was for a candidate for the County Commission.
"Clayton told us to sign the cards and seemed to assume that we all would do it without question."
During the discussion period Tuesday night, the other City Commissioners showd that they are "team players"— expressing general support for Clayton and Avael. But most felt that the Clayton flap shouldn't have been aired in public. "It should have not come before the Commission," said Commissioner Carmen Turner. "It should have been handled in private."
Several members of the audience asked to speak, but Mayor Jimmy Weekley wouldn't allow it.
Clayton was reportedly out of town and did not attend the Commission meeting.