Largo City Commissioner Harriet Crozier may not have a conflict of interest - as defined in legal terms - because of her husband's employment with the city. But the questions and rumors swirling in Largo City Hall illustrate how problematic such a situation can be.
That Crozier sees no problem with it doesn't mean there is no problem.
Crozier's husband, Bobby, 65, is an employee in the city's Parks Department. He runs mowers, takes care of landscaping, maintains parks, etc. He applied for a city job in 2000, the same year his wife was elected to the City Commission seat she holds now.
Bobby Crozier has been stirring the pot, some say, in a department already in turmoil. At a union meeting a few weeks ago, Bobby Crozier complained at some length about managers in the Parks Department. An anonymous complaint to the city manager claimed that Crozier was telling people he could get his commissioner-wife to "take care" of management and protect rank-and-file employees in the department.
Bobby Crozier denies the anonymous claim, but it could not have been made, much less had such impact, if the Croziers were not married.
Commissioner Crozier does not supervise her husband, because the Largo city charter says that elected officials can't give orders to employees who answer to the city manager. But she supervises his ultimate boss, City Manager Steve Stanton, and she votes on the Parks Department budget. She approves personnel policies that apply to her husband, as they do all other employees. She votes yes or no on pay raises for city employees.
As a city commissioner, Crozier is well-positioned to make decisions that favorably affect her husband's job and workplace, not to mention the amount of money her husband brings home. That's a problem, but so far Crozier has chosen to make those decisions rather than abstain.
Many companies and some governments have written nepotism policies that prevent these kinds of internal conflicts from arising. When there is no such policy, it is incumbent upon the individuals involved to use common sense and an extra measure of caution.
Commissioner Crozier should abstain from votes that would give her some personal or financial advantage because of her husband's employment.
Bobby Crozier should realize that his position as a city employee has the potential to stain his wife's tenure as an elected official unless he is careful about his words and actions on the job and maintains a sterling employment record. The Croziers need an agreement between them about what is proper and improper behavior in their separate positions.
It clearly would be less complicated, less risky, if Bobby Crozier worked somewhere else. That's the solution that families often reach in such situations: If in doubt, choose the cautious approach.
A larger problem concerns the Parks Department in general. There has been widespread dissatisfaction by a group of parks employees about department managers; in fact, the grumbling has gone on for months. It is so bad that Stanton says, "We're almost at a stalemate down there."
If Parks Department managers cannot air out the problems and improve morale, and neither can Stanton, a mediator should be sought to make an attempt. Stanton might also seek the advice of one of his own: police Chief Lester Aradi, who has successfully handled problems that had troubled the Largo Police Department long before he arrived as chief.
Continued unrest in the Parks Department will make employees less productive, and the dissatisfaction ultimately could spread to other city departments.
