JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville firefighter may be in violation of the city code by working for the company contracted to staff Alligator Alcatraz.
According to the City of Jacksonville, Lieutenant Todd Smith had not disclosed his secondary employment with the city as of Thursday.
Once we started asking questions, the city told Action News Jax that Smith will submit the proper form this week - More than two years after he started working for the company.
Smith previously resigned from his role as Jacksonville’s Chief of Emergency Services in 2023 after an Action News Jax investigation revealed accusations of sexual harassment.
Since then, he’s applied twice to become the city’s fire chief, but never got the job.
Now, it’s his employment with a private company that is raising concerns.
Smith’s LinkedIn page shows he has worked for Critical Response Strategies, the company that landed a $78.5 million contract to help staff Alligator Alcatraz, for more than two years.
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Smith’s employment in and of itself wouldn’t be an issue if he had disclosed his second job to the city.
But according to the City of Jacksonville, Smith never filed the necessary disclosure form.
City officials also tell Action News Jax that Smith previously filled out two secondary employment disclosure forms for jobs with FSCJ and GetInstructors.com.
“To see a public official double dip into government funds is shameful,” said State Representative Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando).
Eskamani, who has been raising alarms about Critical Response Strategies’ involvement with Alligator Alcatraz, argued Smith’s association with the company is yet another red flag.
“This is an institution that’s operating without rules, without laws, with no due process, no background checks on those who are getting hired,” said Eskamani.
We reached out directly to Smith for comment and asked him if he could provide any evidence to show he did disclose his employment with Critical Response Strategies.
A read receipt shows he saw the message this morning, but he never responded.
According to the city code, violations of the secondary employment disclosure policy are a Class C offense, punishable by a $100 fine and up to 60 days in jail.
“It definitely emphasizes how we need to shutdown this detention facility and also hold every person who is profiting off it illegally accountable,” said Eskamani.
Given Smith now apparently plans to file his disclosure form, it seems unlikely he’ll face any repercussions.
It’s still unclear why he waited until we started asking questions to come into compliance.
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