INDIAN RIVER COUNTY – Political activist Charlie Wilson announced today at the County Commission meeting he is forming a political action committee to raise money and run candidates for the Board who will vote to fire County Administrator Joe Baird.
The announcement came at the end of a lengthy and at times acrimonious discussion between Wilson, commissioners and county staff members, including Baird and County Attorney Alan Polackwich, about impact fee refunds.
Wilson owns Impact Fee Consultants, a company that helps citizens get refunds from government entities. In 2011, he was the first to raise the issue of refunds he said were due Indian River County residents for infrastructure improvement fees paid years ago but never spent.
In the face of considerable initial oppositions from county staff members and commissioners that sometimes took the form of unfriendly and disparaging remarks directed at him from the dais, he successfully pressured the county to refund some $1.2 million dollars.
He said today that $83,000 remains in county hands that should be refunded and contended county staff has deliberately obstructed the refunds at the behest of Baird, who he said has “a personal vendetta against me and my company.”
Polackwich went over the recent history of impact fee refunds in the county and said staff was acting correctly, in accordance with a 2012 ordinance that revised the refund process.
Wilson continued to argue that Polackwich was mistaken and that the county had promised in the initial agreement under which impact fees were collected to refund unused fees.
He said commissioners faced a choice between “honor or ego” and between “truth or trickery,” and continued to criticize the behavior of county staff.
Baird complained about Wilson’s tone and said the county needed a civility ordinance to govern speech in the chamber.
He said he was angry that Wilson was criticizing his staff.
“I am very disappointed in this board that you have not defended the staff,” he said.
County Commission Chairman Joe Flescher had earlier admonished Wilson not to be so negative in his remarks and stick to points of fact.
After Baird spoke, Flescher again told Wilson his critical tone was not serving him well and that hostile words would not be tolerated.
Wilson agreed it would be better not to criticize county staff, and praised several staff members, including Budget Director Jason Brown with whom he has had heated words at a number of commission meetings. He then said he would continue to be critical of Baird.
“He should not be sitting in that seat,” Wilson said, pointing at Baird.
He said he would be bringing information about Baird’s record to light in coming months and then announced the formation of the political action committee.
Wilson had a portfolio of incorporation papers with him and said in the chamber lobby he was on the way to file the paperwork to form the committee.
He said his first order of business will be to recruit and fund a candidate to run against Peter O’Bryan in 2014 because of what he sees as O’Bryan’s unquestioning support for Baird.
Baird said after the meeting he was shocked by the degree of Wilson’s animosity toward him, though the dispute between them is a longstanding matter of public record.
“He says he has commissioners lined up to vote against me, but I can’t worry about that. I just have to make the decisions I think are best.”
