The party's over, or so it seems for embattled City of South Miami police chief Orlando Martinez de Castro. Yesterday I was forwarded this proposed resolution that is to be heard before the city commission this evening at 7 pm.
In an nutshell basically what the city is saying is that since Mr. de Castro accepted the job of "acting city manager" for a total of 45 days simultaneously during his tenure as police chief, that in doing so he voided his employment contract for the position of the chief with the city. Take a look at the proposed resolution for yourselves...
According to the state of Florida's constitution, Article II, Section 5(a) states:
“No person shall hold at the same time more than one office under the government of the state and the counties and municipalities therein”Therefore according to the Florida attorney general's opinion (AGO 2013-08) ...
...that appointment of a police chief to the office of Acting City Manager for any duration, even temporary, violates the dual office-holding prohibition in Section 5(a), Article II of the Florida Constitution...and...
...the Supreme Court of Florida set forth the general rule: “The acceptance of an incompatible office by one already holding office operates as a resignation of the first”In other words who ever is proposing this resolution is telling embattled City of South Miami police chief Orlando Martinez de Castro to...
We're waiting with bated breath and will report back as soon as there's anything new.
