The Florida Ethics Commission cleared a Broward County commissioner to vote on Broward Sheriff's Office issues after the sheriff hired his brother.
The commission ruled that Commissioner Marty Kiar didn't have a conflict of interest with BSO after Sheriff Scott Israel hired his brother, former school teacher Marc Kiar.
The ethics ruling allows Kiar to vote on Broward Sheriff Scott Israel's proposed budget. BSO recently agreed to put Kiar's brother Marc, a former school teacher, through the police academy, then hire him as a deputy upon completion.
"I think I have a duty to Broward County taxpayers to vote on the budget," said Kiar. "I think you'll find I had absolutely nothing to do with my brother getting a job."
Kiar said he introduced Israel to his brother at a campaign event and told the sheriff that his brother always wanted to be a police officer.
"And you don't think that influenced the sheriff to give your brother a job?" asked Local 10's Bob Norman.
"No, not at all," said Kiar, who asked for the ethics opinion after a Local 10 report revealed the hire. "... He would be one of a few thousand employees if he got it. It's so far removed from anything I can do."
While Kiar's brother is slated to be hired at BSO, Israel claims big budget shortfalls and has said if the county can't up his budget by $35 million he may be forced to lay off as many as 200 employees.
Kiar said whether or not his brother's job is at stake won't impact how he votes on the sheriff's budget. And he said he's unwilling to raise taxes or shift money from other county programs, like mass transit, to satisfy the sheriff's request. He said the range for a budget increase for BSO is more in the three to five million dollar range.
"I'm not willing to raise the millage rate," said Kiar. "... I'm hopeful [that] at the end of the day that we'll be able to work this out."
