Deltona vote allows Mayor Santiago Avila, Jr., to avoid penalty over Washington, D.C. trip

USA Today

25-02-2025

Deltona vote allows Mayor Santiago Avila, Jr., to avoid penalty over Washington, D.C. trip
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Deltona Mayor Santiago Avila, Jr., used city funds and a city vehicle to travel to Washington for the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the presidential inauguration
By not getting the trip pre-approved by the City Commission, Avila violated a 2013 travel policy.
Commissioners voted Feb. 17 on whether Avila "knowingly" violated the policy. The vote was 4-3 in favor, but required a supermajority vote of 5-2 before any further action could be taken.
Deltona Mayor Santiago Avila, Jr., violated the city's travel policy when he went to Washington, D.C., last month. He said so himself at an unprecedented quasi-judicial hearing – a trial where commissioners acted as prosecutors and Avila was the defendant, complete with a lawyer.
To attend the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, and several balls and galas, Avila used a city vehicle and spent $1,750.85 in city funds. City money paid for a hotel and gas to drive with his wife to Washington on Jan. 17, checking out on Jan. 20, and returning the car on Jan. 22.
Commissioner Stephen Colwell making a motion to find Avila guilty said the mayor was "fully aware of the policies and procedures of the City of Deltona when he went on this trip. This is the second time he's done it."
Commissioner Dori Howington asked to add language that the mayor violated the travel policy. Thus, the motion contained two allegations, not just that he violated policy, but did so knowingly.
"He was not accused of two violations. He was accused of one violation,' City Attorney Gemma Torcivia said.
So the whole hearing hinged on commissioners proving Avila knowingly violated the policy. And to find Avila guilty in that setting required a supermajority vote of 5-2.
After two hours, the vote was 4-3, with Avila joined by Vice Mayor Davison Heriot and Commissioner Emma Santiago in voting no.
Avila playbook: Claim ignorance of policy
The mayor and his attorney, Anthony Sabatini, had a clear strategy. Admit the mistake, but argue ignorance of the policy. Complain about too many policies. And suggest those alleging he violated the policy had "political" motives.
Colwell has been friends of former Vice Mayor Jody Lee Storozuk, who took the opportunity during a public comment session on Feb. 3 to turn in paperwork to run for mayor against Avila in 2026. But Colwell wasn't the only commissioner who had concerns about the policy violation.
Commissioner Dori Howington, who was endorsed by Avila last year, previously had said she hated "being put in this position," but the mayor should have to pay the city back for traveling to a "partisan event."
What is the Deltona commissioners' travel policy?
In 2013, the Deltona City Commission renewed a six-year-old policy that commissioners who want to travel out of state must first get approval from the full board.
Avila said he wasn't aware of the policy when he booked the hotel and reserved a city vehicle for the weekend of the second inauguration of Donald Trump. He never got commission approval.
Colwell attempted to prove Avila was not being truthful by playing a video from a November 2023 meeting, at which a resident, Elbert Bryan, complained during a public comment section that commissioners hadn't been following a travel policy.
Sabatini argued the video wasn't evidence, saying the resident didn't cite a specific name or number of the policy and didn't name Avila. No commissioners at the time brought any concerns about Avila's travel to a conference in Mississippi that year, he said.
"It was simply one throwaway statement from the crowd out of dozens of public commenters that day," Sabatini said.
Avila, who became mayor in 2023, said he never was provided a copy of the travel policy when he was onboarded. He also held up a thick stack of what he said were all of the City Commission's policies.
"It's a part-time job," he said. "I have not specifically gone through this big book of policies and procedures."
How many policies?
The 2013 policy was a revised update of a 2007 policy. There were no significant differences. Several commissioners also discussed a November 2024 travel policy authored by the city manager.
Even though it was said to apply to employees, appointed board members and elected officials, Commissioner Maritza Vasquez-Avila said the policy cannot apply to the commission without the body's approval.
But others suggested it complicated matters.
"Right, wrong, indifferent, at this point, that it applies to staff, appointed boards and elected officials. I understand that just makes things even more confusing," Heriot said. "We went from two policies, now we've got a third one."
Howington made a case that Avila knowingly violated the policy because he previously signed travel reports for mileage reimbursement, which, just above his signature included "that it conforms in every respect with the requirements of the City of Deltona travel regulations."
"So you signed this, did you not?" Howington asked.
"I did. So now we have a regulation and not a policy. We can play with words all day, Commissioner Howington.
"Rules are rules are they not?" Howington responded.
Avila 'planned' to attend conference as 'guest'
Commissioner Nick Lulli asked Avila the purpose of his trip.
Avila responded: 'So, there was multiple purposes. Obviously for the U.S. Conference of Mayors. I did get the invitation from Sen. Scott's office regarding the inauguration and a couple other after-hours galas, balls, but none of that cost the city money.'
Lulli asked Avila what the U.S. Conference of Mayors is.
'It's mayors from all over the country that come together and they try to work on different policies, procedures," Avila said. "They talk about things that affect your cities.'
Ormond Beach, for example, is a member and its mayor, Jason Leslie, attended. The city paid a $3,838 membership fee last July and a $1,500 fee to attend the conference, records show.
Lulli established that the conference costs money to attend, and that neither Avila nor the city paid any fee, then asked: "How did you plan to attend the U.S. Conference of Mayors if you had not paid for admittance to it?"
Avila responded: 'I planned to go in as a guest.'
It's unclear whether the Deltona mayor attended any U.S Conference of Mayors daily sessions. Leslie said he "might have seen him in crossing at some point," but the only time he spoke to Avila was at an evening social event.
Avila posted on Instagram a photo of himself with three other Florida mayors, including Leslie, at a U.S. Conference of Mayors inaugural reception.
Leslie added the U.S. Conference of Mayors required badges to attend both sessions and social hours.
The U.S. Conference of Mayors didn't respond to News-Journal questions about whether conference attendees are allowed guests and if so, for which events.
Avila didn't respond to requests for comment. During the hearing, he displayed a report he said he had made about the Washington trip. The News-Journal has requested the report as a public record on Thursday. Through Monday, the city had not provided it.
What's next for Deltona?
Heriot, the vice mayor, proposed a review of the travel policy in the next 30 days.
'We need to put this to bed and be done with it,' he said.
Avila said he wants the commission to review all policies every two years, while Heriot pushed for a full index of all policies with the date they were enacted, adding: 'I look forward to clear and concise policy moving forward."