Boca mayor voted on issues involving clients of her property management firm

The Palm Beach Post reported that Boca Raton Mayor Susan Haynie owns a property management firm that worked for two commercial property owners while she voted on city proposals that increased their property values.

Her property management firm, Community Reliance, has received $12,000 to $14,000 annually in recent years for managing a 1,600-unit apartment complex in Deerfield Beach called Tivoli Park, which is controlled by James and Marta Batmasian, who own the largest portfolio of commercial properties in Boca Raton.

Haynie told the Post she has “hidden nothing” and said city attorneys in Boca Raton obtained a 2013 opinion from the Palm Beach County Commission on Ethics permitting her to vote on city proposals involving the Batmasians – which she has done at least 12 times to their benefit, according to the newspaper.

The Post also reported that Haynie, a Republican candidate for a seat on the Palm Beach County Commission, has never disclosed Community Reliance’s work for Tivoli Park in financial disclosure forms that elected officials are required to file to reveal potential conflicts of interest. [Palm Beach Post] – Mike Seemuth