Commissioner’s "T.S." message raises eyebrows

Palm Beach County Commissioner Jeff Koons raised eyebrows Tuesday with a two letter abbreviation aimed at a crowd of residents raising concerns about the effectiveness of the county’s proposed ethics reforms. “T.S.,” Koons told the residents attending Tuesday’s commission meeting. Residents took the “T” to mean tough and the “S” to stand for a foul four-letter “S” word. After five months of hard work to craft the new ethics rules, Koons told the crowd that criticism of the county officials who created the reform plan would not be well received. The county’s tougher ethics rules and plans to hire an inspector general to serve as an independent watchdog for local government came after three former commissioners in three years were sent to prison amid a federal corruption investigation. About 20 residents, including members of the South Florida Tea Party group and the South Florida 9-12 group,

on Tuesday credited the county for agreeing to the reforms but called for commissioners to include more safeguards to insure independence for the inspector general. The groups wanted to give the new Ethics Commission, which would be created under the reform plan, veto power over any County Commission attempt to fire the new inspector general. Jason Shields, of the South Florida 9-12 group, turned Koons’ two-letter lecture around on the commissioners and said if they didn’t like the veto idea, “T.S.” Commissioners ultimately did agree to add that veto power to the ethics reform plan, which comes up for a final vote Dec. 15. Koons left Tuesday’s meeting early for an out-of-town trip without explaining exactly what his two-letter message meant. Commission Chairman Burt Aaronson joked that Koons’ “T.S.” really meant “to support.”

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Commissioner’s "T.S." message raises eyebrows

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