After a prolonged investigation, Palm Seashore County’s authorities watchdog didn’t discover proof {that a} former human sources director in Boynton Seashore inappropriately used work sources to again her unsuccessful run for public workplace, although it discovered some lesser violations.
The findings, launched this week by the county’s Workplace of Inspector Common, had been the most recent step towards addressing a string of accusations towards numerous Boynton Seashore authorities officers, together with Tennille DeCoste, the previous HR director, lately.
The investigation did, nevertheless, discover proof that DeCoste had, on one event, attended an occasion throughout work hours that “may very well be moderately construed as related” to her Delray Seashore Metropolis Fee marketing campaign and had solicited a marketing campaign donation from a Boynton Seashore co-worker throughout a piece day on metropolis property, it mentioned. These had been amongst different allegations of DeCoste having attended occasions and soliciting donations, the remainder of which had been deemed unfounded. In her response to those two findings, DeCoste disagreed with each.
DeCoste started working as Boynton Seashore’s director of human sources and danger administration on Dec. 19, 2022. About one 12 months later, she was positioned on administrative depart, as town had employed the regulation agency GrayRobinson to find out whether or not DeCoste “violated any metropolis coverage or phrases and circumstances of her employment with town.”
In accordance with the GrayRobinson investigation, the investigation “largely” concerned “whether or not Ms. DeCoste misused metropolis sources and her place on the metropolis for political and private achieve.”
DeCoste had declared her candidacy for Delray Seashore Metropolis Fee Seat 1 in August 2023. Earlier than the GrayRobinson investigation, DeCoste requested town to look into alleged feedback made by Boynton Seashore metropolis workers about how DeCoste was “hiring too many Black girls,” in keeping with the pending lawsuit by which DeCoste is suing town over accusations of race discrimination and retaliation.
Metropolis officers declined to touch upon the lawsuit, citing the continuing litigation. In a doc filed within the federal Southern District of Florida on Aug. 1, a lawyer representing town argued that DeCoste hadn’t supplied “any proof” to determine “that her race led to the choice to position her on paid administrative depart or terminate her.
“Plaintiff’s complaints of discrimination and retaliation had been an try to save lots of her employment with the Metropolis — not the results of her cheap, good religion perception that she was a sufferer of race discrimination.”
In a court docket doc Friday, DeCoste’s lawyer requested for extra time to “correctly put together a response” to town’s latest submitting.
On Dec. 7, 2023, DeCoste filed a proper grievance of race discrimination with town’s then-Mayor Ty Penserga.
She was placed on administrative depart a couple of days later after which formally terminated on Feb. 23, 2024, in keeping with town’s termination letter. That got here after the GrayRobinson investigation concluded DeCoste had violated metropolis insurance policies, a few of which had been in relation to her political marketing campaign.
On March 19, 2024, DeCoste misplaced the Delray Seashore Metropolis Fee race.
Within the meantime, the Workplace of Inspector Common was conducting two separate investigations: one into the allegations towards DeCoste and the opposite about allegations towards Boynton Seashore metropolis workers made by DeCoste.
Not one of the allegations introduced towards town workers — which included a variety of metropolis coverage violations — had been supported, in keeping with the inspector common’s investigation.
Boynton Seashore Metropolis Lawyer Shawna Lamb wrote a response letter to the investigation’s findings relating to town. “The Metropolis of Boynton Seashore appreciates the thorough investigation performed by the OIG and concurs with the report’s conclusions. … The Metropolis believes that the investigation demonstrates that its workers acted appropriately,” Lamb wrote.
Lamb additionally added: “Whereas town is glad with the OIG’s findings, it respectfully submits that the report would profit from the extra context supplied on this response, notably relating to the sequence of occasions that led to Ms. DeCoste’s placement on administrative depart and town’s completion of its personal investigation into Ms. DeCoste’s conduct.”
However in response to the investigation concerning the allegations towards DeCoste, lawyer Robert Sniffen, who performed the GrayRobinson investigation into DeCoste, said that the inspector common’s investigation “incorporates vital factual omissions and authorized misinterpretations and fails to use applicable requirements of accountability, all of which undermine the validity of your conclusions relating to Ms. Tennille DeCoste’s conduct as HR director.”
Throughout a Boynton Seashore Metropolis Fee assembly on Tuesday, commissioners addressed the inspector common’s report, with Commissioner Thomas Turkin saying the allegations made towards metropolis workers had been primarily based on “bogus nameless complaints.”
This “not solely price our metropolis numerous of tax {dollars}, however took the toll on the households and reputations of a few of our most devoted metropolis servants,” Turkin mentioned on the assembly.
DeCoste advised the South Florida Solar Sentinel she “completely” doesn’t agree with the inspector common’s findings that town workers didn’t commit wrongdoing. She is, nevertheless, “ecstatic” that the inspector common’s investigation into her reveals she didn’t do “all these horrible issues” that “town mentioned she did.” She mentioned she doesn’t agree with the 2 findings the OIG did discover towards her, although.
DeCoste mentioned these occasions occurring throughout her run for workplace “undoubtedly impacted” her marketing campaign. She now works as town of Riviera Seashore’s human sources director.
“I’m glad OIG got here out with what they got here out with. I’m blissful, and I do know I’m nonetheless working, so thank God,” she mentioned.
In its report concerning the allegations towards DeCoste, the inspector common recommends Boynton Seashore officers guarantee correct coaching “on all facility use insurance policies and institute applicable inner controls,” together with coaching workers on flex time coverage and making certain applicable supervision.
