Riviera Beach Finance Director Randy Sherman has filed suit against the majority-Black city, alleging that he has been falsely accused of racism and sexism and punished because he is white.
Sherman's suit is yet another public low point for a city that has experienced many in recent years. The suit is remarkable both because of who filed it — not a mid- or low-level staff member but the man who oversees the city's finances — and because of the sweeping set of allegations it includes.
Riviera Beach City Attorney Dawn Wynn said the city does not comment on pending litigation.
Here is a quick Q&A on this:
Who is Randy Sherman?
Sherman is the city's finance director. He has worked the city for 14 years, a stint that takes him back through multiple city councils and multiple city managers.
In recent years, Sherman has unveiled a proposal to raise water rates and development impact fees. He has walked city council members through a plan to issue $115 million in bondsto pay for new recreational facilities, a new police department headquarters and a new city hall.
Sherman, if he remains in his position, will play an integral role in how the city finances a new, $400 million water treatment facility and other huge development projects.
Why is Sherman suing the city?
Sherman's lawsuit, filed on Aug. 31, alleges that the city's former human resources director, Tennille DeCoste, began a campaign castigating him as a racist and sexist when he reported her for circumventing the city's hiring process to hire friends and her husband. DeCoste, who has been fired by the city and has filed her own lawsuit against the city, denies the allegation's laid out in Sherman's lawsuit.
The suit also alleges that City Council Chairman Bruce Guyton joined in tarring Sherman as a racist and sexist after the finance director would not approve a pre-reimbursement for Guyton's travel expenses. Guyton, the suit alleges, told former City Manager Jonathan Evans that he would be reprimanded if he did not "deal" with Sherman.
Guyton would eventually be the driving force behind the city's decision to end Evans' contract early, ending what was a remarkably bumpy tenure.
What's the bigger picture?
Sherman's lawsuit portrays the city as a place of rampant nepotism, backbiting and corruption. It comes as the FBI has launched an investigation that sources said has already led to information subpoenas for Guyton, Mayor Douglas Lawson and City Councilwoman Shirley Lanier.
Sherman is by no means the only current or former Riviera Beach employee or elected official who has filed suit against the city.
Recent years have seen suits brought by Evans, former police chief Nathan Osgood, former City Councilman Tradrick McCoy, Sherman, DeCoste and other former employees. Riviera Beach's utilities director quit and stormed out of heated public meeting held as the city was wrestling with a water quality issue.
Taken together, the lawsuits, investigation and turnover contribute to the reputation of Riviera Beach's government as a place of discord and dysfunction.
What do those involved in the lawsuit have to say?
Evans, who is now city manager in Lauderdale Lakes, did not return a call seeking comment. Guyton also did not return a call made to his office seeking comment.
City Attorney Dawn Wynn, as noted above, said the city does not comment on pending litigation.
DeCoste denies the allegations made against her in Sherman's lawsuit. Her own lawsuit alleges that she was unlawfully terminated because she reported Sherman for mishandling the classification and pay of employees.
What's next?
Sherman is in the unusual position of suing the city and, at the same time, overseeing its finances.
His lawsuit and the others will cost the city time and money, no matter how they are resolved.
In May, Riviera Beach agreed to pay Evans $186,000 to leave early, and, in 2019, it paid him $190,000 to settle a lawsuit he filed against the city when he was fired. (Evans was hired, fired, re-hired, suspended and had his contract terminated early.)
While it has an affluent coastal strip on Singer Island, Riviera Beach is not a wealthy place. More than 18% of the city's residents are below the poverty line, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures.
City officials have already sought ways to shield some residents from higher water rates. Shelling out hundreds of thousands of dollars to defend or settle lawsuits rankles many.
And the FBI lawsuit is a huge unknown, looming as another reputational hit, not to mention the spark for the possible prosecution of city officials.
Wayne Washington is a journalist covering education and Riviera Beach development for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at wwashington@pbpost.com. Help support our work; subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Racism allegations by white Riviera Beach CFO and what's next
