Former Planning Department Employee Slams Key West Whistleblower Ordinance
Email obtained and reviewed by Above the Fold warns draft policy sidesteps transparency, leaves employees exposed, and increases city liability.
A former City of Key West planning department employee sent a sharp warning to commissioners today: the proposed Whistleblower Ordinance and draft Policies & Procedures Manual are deeply flawed and could put employees — and the city — at risk.
The ordinance is set for potential action at tomorrow’s City Commission meeting and is item 39 on the agenda, scheduled for the afternoon session beginning at 5 p.m.
In an email dated December 1, 2025, obtained and reviewed by Above the Fold, the ex-employee outlined concerns including a lack of mandatory investigations, insufficient whistleblower protections, and near-total discretion for the City Manager over terminations, sidestepping civil service safeguards.
The email notes the current draft is “worse than no policy at all,” leaving the city exposed to massive liability over how whistleblower complaints are handled.
“In sum: this whistleblower policy is just as bad – if not worse – than having no policy at all. It’s unclear who it benefits, except the person being reported and the person retaliating.”
Internal investigations of any nature of employee conduct could involve police, raising confidentiality and legal issues.
Critics note that prior efforts to create an independent inspector general “have fallen on tone-deaf ears from the majority of the dais.”
Oddly, the proposed ordinance mirrors a controversial policy from Opa Locka, a city recently hit with massive whistleblower retaliation settlements — as if it were a legalese version of cut-and-paste from a City Attorney practicing in absentia.
Concerns come as the city faces community outrage over transparency, detailed in a scathing grand jury report released earlier this year, which recommended a whistleblower ordinance but fell short of calling for an independent Inspector General to safeguard employees.
The ordinance will be discussed at Tuesday’s City Commission meeting, with the morning session beginning at 9 a.m. at City Hall, 1300 White Street. The meeting will be live-streamed on the city website, and public comment can be submitted in person or via eComment through the city website.