Christian Peterson
reporter.riverbendnews@gmail.com
White Springs has been facing several legal issues in recent years. Currently, there are three ongoing lawsuits against the town council and members of the local government. These lawsuits address different problems with the council.
The first lawsuit, filed in September 2022 by Dr. Roger Greene, addresses the administration of White Springs during that time, including Mayor Anita Rivers, Jacqueline Williams, Mary Berry, Nicole Williams, Larita McCallum, Town Manager Vanessa George and Town Clerk Audre' J. Ruise. The lawsuit refers to an ordinance passed by the town The lawsuit alleges that the meeting was not advertised, and the ordinance was not put on the agenda. Moreover, the lawsuit claims that council members secretly discussed the ordinance to ensure its approval during the meeting, as well as edited the ordinance between its first reading and approval. Despite opposition from 23 citizens during subsequent meetings, the ordinance was still approved. The lawsuit alleges that council members violated Sunshine Law by meeting privately and allowing gambling devices within the town limits, which violates Florida law.
The second lawsuit is from petitioner Joe Griffin against Town Clerk Ruise and Town Manager George. Griffin seeks the highest possible punishment for Ruise and George for violating the Sunshine law, citing an audit performed by Auditor General Sherrill Norman, which states that 30 or more public records requests were not responded to or acknowledged. The lawsuit claims Griffin presented more than 10 citizen complaints to the town council during open sessions "and was ejected out of said meetings more than eight times by the Mayor, thereby making the Mayor and all members of the town council guilty of conspiracy." Furthermore, Griffin alleges that former Town Attorney Joel Foreman was involved.
The final lawsuit comes from BBL Management Services against the White Springs Town Council. The company filed the lawsuit for their deferred applications, which were not addressed during several council meetings. BBL Management Services requested to have the zoning changed on their properties during the Oct. 11, 2022; June 13, 2023 and Aug. 15, 2023, meetings. The suit alleges that the council, acting illegally as the planning and zoning board, ignored the requested changes instead of providing an answer.
The suit also alleges that the council demonstrated "bias and prejudgement" towards the company's rezoning and Comprehensive Plan Amendment applications for over a year. From the initial conversations with the Town Clerk Ruise in October 2022, "the Respondent's actions and/or inactions" made it evident that they "had no 'interest' in reviewing, debating or approving" the company's rezoning applications.
These lawsuits, along with the recent operational audit, reveal significant problems with White Springs' government. A more in-depth look at each lawsuit will be available in future editions of the Riverbend News.council on April 13, 2021, which prohibited the use of simulated gambling devices within the town limits. The ordinance was passed in the interest of "public health, safety and general welfare of the citizenry," as these devices are deceptive and take advantage of vulnerable groups of people. However, on June 14, 2022, White Springs held another town council meeting, where George presented a new ordinance to repeal the previous one.