VERO BEACH, FL – Memo to public officials across America: never, ever use your city-issued computer to surf porn.Pete Lindberg, the Electric Utilities Director for Vero Beach, FL, is the latest public official to be faced with a humiliating public disclosure of his Web surfing habits, and it looks as though the price he’ll pay for his porn downloads will likely include the loss of his job.
According to TCPalm.com, a website that reports on news issues local to Florida’s “Treasure Coast,” Vero Beach City Manager Jim Gabbard said the city is taking steps to fire Lindberg.
Lindberg, who has worked for the city for 11 years, was suspended without pay late last month after a routine audit of city employee internet use allegedly revealed that he visited adult sites using his city-owned computer.
“I apologize to anyone I may have inconvenienced,” said Lindberg, according to TCPalm.com. “If I have somehow hurt anyone or inconvenienced them in their daily duties, I humbly apologize.”
Should the city decide to remove Lindberg, he will still be entitled to receive greater than $25,000 he is due from the city for more than 440 hours of unused vacation days, the city’s Human Resource Manager, Lynne George, told TCPalm.com.
Under the city’s personnel rules, Lindberg has 10 to 14 days to defend the claims against him that led to his suspension. According to George, the decision to overturn Lindberg’s suspension, or to fire him, would be up to city manager Gabbard, and not the city council.
Gabbard said that although visiting the sites in question is not a crime, the city’s police department would continue to investigate any alleged use of a city computer to view pornography.
When asked whether other city employees have been found to have visited porn websites, Gabbard said “No comment at this time,” according to TCPalm.com
Gabbard, former chief of police for Vero Beach, noted that past city managers have also used the police department to investigate claims regarding city employees’ internet use, because the department has the necessary resources and training to conduct such investigations.
In light of Lindberg’s alleged porn surfing and resulting suspension, Gabbard said the city will “tweak” its acceptable Internet use policy for employees, but will not be doing away with Internet access, altogether.
“We’re not on a witch hunt,” said Gabbard, according to TCPalm.com. “We trust our employees to do the right thing.”
