Franklin points to state law and Robert’s Rules of Order in making her argument
Laurel Park resident Kelly Franklin has taken a legal step to try to force the modification of the minutes of a January 2024 Sarasota City Commission meeting, to correct the fact that Commissioner Kyle Battie never mentioned her by name when he accused her of creating a racist Facebook post that was proven to be fake.
On Nov. 10, Franklin filed what is called a Petition for Writ of Mandamus in the 12th Judicial Circuit Court in Sarasota. She is acting pro se, meaning she is representing herself in the case, instead of hiring an attorney.
She has asked the court to order City Auditor and Clerk Shayla Griggs “to place the correction on the agenda of the next regular or special meeting of the City Commission for formal adoption.”
The next regular meeting of the board is on Monday, Nov. 17.
In early August, Franklin’s husband, Ron Kashden, formally requested, on her behalf, that the commissioners amend the Jan. 16, 2024 minutes to remove her name from them.
“Many of the actions you take as commissioners are discretionary,” he told the board members. “However, some of the functions you perform are deemed so fundamental to proper governance that they are considered obligatory. In other words, you have a duty to act.”
Kashden then explained, “One of those primary obligations is to review, and approve, the official public meeting record, which takes the form of published minutes. City staff prepares the minutes, but it is also your duty to review them, and correct any issues.
“This responsibility is so essential,” he continued, “that it is referenced not just in Florida Sunshine Law, but also embedded in Robert’s Rules of Order, cited as the guiding procedural framework in the city’s charter. That is why one of the first items on the agenda at each meeting is the correction and approval of the minutes from prior meetings.”
In her petition, Franklin wrote that the official minutes of the Jan. 16, 2024 City Commission meeting “incorrectly attribute authorship … of a racially-charged image [to her].” She noted that she had included the section of the minutes as an exhibit with her filing.
Further, Franklin pointed out, “That the attribution is incorrect is undisputed. The City has been informed both verbally and in writing that [she] is not the author.”
Moreover, she wrote, Florida Statutes 286.011 and 119.021 “mandate that the minutes of public meetings be true and correct public records.” In fact, Franklin continued, the city’s Rules of Procedure for City Commission meetings, adopted on April 7 of this year, “reaffirm this requirement and reference [Section 48:2-4 of] Robert’s Rules, which set forth both the duty and process for correcting erroneous minutes.”
Then she pointed out that the 12th edition of Robert’s Rules of Order, newly revised, says that previously adopted minutes may be corrected only by a motion “to Amend Something Previously Adopted.”
Additionally, Franklin wrote that the Florida Statutes in Section 286.0114(3)(b) make it clear that a correction of minutes is a ministerial action, not a discretionary one.
Further, she noted, she had “made numerous requests — written and oral — for correction of the minutes over a five-month period [as shown in another attached exhibit].” While the city has acknowledged them, she added, it had not acted upon them.
Then Franklin wrote, “Outside procedural experts have advised that correction of minutes under Robert’s Rules is mandatory once inaccuracies are identified.”
She also explains, “Mandamus compels a government entity to perform a ministerial duty where the petitioner has a clear legal right and no adequate alternative remedy.” She cited a 1970 Florida Supreme Court ruling, in State ex rel. Haft v. Adams.
In this situation, she continued, “Judicial intervention is necessary to compel [the City Commission’s] performance of its statutory and procedural obligations.”
‘Resolute in my commitment’
Franklin wrote in a Nov. 10 post on her personal Facebook page that she had filed the petition.
“I am resolute in my commitment to transparent, accountable city government that serves the people — not political insiders,” she added.
“Public records obtained through the Florida Public Records Act show that the false allegation made against me at the January 16, 2024, Sarasota City Commission meeting was not spontaneous,” she continued.
“It was deliberately coordinated in advance between Commissioner Battie and then-City Manager Marlon Brown,” she alleged.
Brown retired on Oct. 15, 2024. Since late May, Dave Bullock was appointed interim city manager; he had served for six years as the manager of the Town of Longboat Key.
Franklin also pointed out that the Jan. 16, 2024 presentation by Battie, including his contention that Franklin was the author of the Facebook post, was a “calculated act [that] violated the public’s trust, and corrupted the integrity of the city’s proceedings.
“Forensic evidence conclusively proves that I did not create or post the fabricated image used to attack me,’ Franklin continued on Facebook. “Yet, the official meeting minutes continue to falsely attribute it to my social media.
“Sarasota’s official history must reflect the truth, and those in power must be held accountable for coordinated abuses of public authority,” she added. “The citizens of Sarasota deserve nothing less.”