WHITE SPRINGS, Fla. — White Springs resident Joe Griffin request the White Springs Town Council review all of his citizen complaints since Rhett Bullard became mayor and set a hearing to review them at the Feb. 14 meeting. 

“The complaint is this, you weren’t following Robert’s Rule of Order on any of the citizens complaints that I have filed since Rhett was mayor,” Griffin said. 

He added that he wants a review of the complaints to decide whether there was a law broken or not. 

“The citizen complaint is very clear you did not follow Roberts Rule of Order and therefore each of those citizens complaints the council has brushed underneath the rug or whatever it is they’ve done with it, those complaints have to be reviewed per (town attorney Fred) Koberlein’s ruling,” Griffin said.

The ruling Griffin references from Koberlein is a letter responding to the town council’s for an opinion on the use of Roberts Rules of Order. In the letter, Koberlein stated the council is required to use it per the town charter.

Roberts Rules of Order is one of the most common procedural guidelines for council meetings. 

Griffin added that he did not get his due process.

Bullard, who became mayor in April 2015, stated he could think of numerous times Griffin was notified his complaints were on the agenda and did not attend the meeting. 

“Even though due process was afforded to you in those instances you chose not to avail yourself,” Bullard said. 

A motion was made by council member Helen Miller to hold a meeting to review Griffin’s complaints and was seconded by Vice Mayor Walter McKenzie. 

McKenzie said each complaint has been handled and he does not understand why it would be incumbent on the council to reinitiate the process on the complaints they have already resolved. 

Griffin said his complaints were not resolved under Roberts Rules of Order. 

“When we voted originally to table the issue, we took action,” Bullard said. “When we voted to take matters off the table, we took action. When we voted to dismiss or approve, action was taken.”

The motion to hold a meeting to review Griffin’s complaints failed with a 1-4 vote. Miller voted for the meeting. 

As Griffin left the meeting he told the council he would see them in court.

In a phone call with The Jasper News on Tuesday, Griffin said “Roberts Rules of Order is a definitive guide for conducting public meetings in White Springs. If the council chooses not to follow Roberts Rules of Order, then they leave me very few options. Roberts Rules of Order requires the town to follow state, federal and town charter laws and rules.”

Since moving to White Springs in 1999, Griffin has filed 19 lawsuits against White Springs prior to this suit and has made 2,500 public record requests. 

His most recent lawsuit against the Town of White Springs ended on July 1 with the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issuing an opinion finding no error in the Nov. 20, 2015, order for the federal lawsuit filed by White Springs residents Joe and Karin Griffin in September 2014.

The Griffins alleged in the lawsuit that their First Amendment rights were violated and that the town of White Springs defamed their reputation. The lawsuit was against town of White Springs, Dr. Helen B. Miller, Town Clerk/Finance Director Pam Tomlinson and Police Chief Tracy Rodriquenz.