Commissioners discuss terminating agreement with Senior Citizens Foundation and possible payment; no final action recorded

The Gadsden County Board of County Commissioners discussed an agenda item that seeks approval to terminate the agreement between the county and the Gadsden County Senior Citizens Foundation.

The clerk (Clerk) introduced the agenda item. Commissioners repeatedly asked whether the Senior Citizens Foundation had been notified about the proposed termination and whether termination would follow the contract’s specified steps. One commissioner (Committee member) urged that the foundation be given an opportunity to speak before termination. "When you start talking about terminating agreements ... I hope we get to hear from the people who we had the agreement with," the commissioner said.

Another commissioner said he had contacted the tax collector and the former tax-collector staff to confirm awareness; the commissioner reported the tax collector had been informed and had reviewed comparable counties using similar programs. County staff/legal said termination requires following the contract provisions (citing specific contract sections in the packet) and that the board traditionally directs staff before speaking with third parties.

A commissioner (Committee member) said he would move to pay the foundation money equivalent to the prior contract amount because the organization has been performing services in good faith; that motion had been made in a previous meeting and failed, and the transcript records the commissioner saying he would make the motion again. Another commissioner urged notifying the organization in advance so they could attend and respond.

Next steps: Commissioners asked that affected organizations be notified when items concern outside entities and that staff continue to follow contract termination processes; no termination vote or final payment decision was recorded in the workshop transcript provided.