JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 A Jacksonville firefighter may be in violation of the city code by working for the company contracted to staff Alligator Alcatraz. <\/p>\n
According to the City of Jacksonville, Lieutenant Todd Smith had not disclosed his secondary employment with the city as of Thursday.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Smith previously resigned from his role as Jacksonville\u2019s Chief of Emergency Services in 2023<\/a> after an Action News Jax investigation revealed accusations of sexual harassment<\/a>.<\/p>\n Since then, he\u2019s applied twice<\/a> to become the city\u2019s fire chief, but never got the job.<\/p>\n Now, it\u2019s his employment with a private company that is raising concerns.<\/p>\n Smith\u2019s LinkedIn page<\/a> shows he has worked for Critical Response Strategies, the company that landed a $78.5 million contract to help staff Alligator Alcatraz<\/a>, for more than two years.<\/p>\n RELATED: <\/b>Jacksonville company with $78.5 million Alligator Alcatraz contract tied to DeSantis donor<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n Smith\u2019s employment in and of itself wouldn\u2019t be an issue if he had disclosed his second job to the city.<\/p>\n But according to the City of Jacksonville, Smith never filed the necessary disclosure form<\/a>.<\/p>\n City officials also tell Action News Jax that Smith previously filled out two secondary employment disclosure forms for jobs with FSCJ and GetInstructors.com.<\/p>\n \u201cTo see a public official double dip into government funds is shameful,\u201d said State Representative Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando).<\/p>\n Eskamani, who has been raising alarms about Critical Response Strategies\u2019 involvement with Alligator Alcatraz, argued Smith\u2019s association with the company is yet another red flag.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is an institution that\u2019s operating without rules, without laws, with no due process, no background checks on those who are getting hired,\u201d said Eskamani.<\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n A read receipt shows he saw the message this morning, but he never responded.<\/p>\n According to the city code, violations of the secondary employment disclosure policy are a Class C offense<\/a>, punishable by a $100 fine and up to 60 days in jail<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt definitely emphasizes how we need to shutdown this detention facility and also hold every person who is profiting off it illegally accountable,\u201d said Eskamani.<\/p>\n Given Smith now apparently plans to file his disclosure form, it seems unlikely he\u2019ll face any repercussions.<\/p>\n It\u2019s still unclear why he waited until we started asking questions to come into compliance.<\/p>\n >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <\/b><\/a><\/p>\n [DOWNLOAD: <\/b>Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks<\/b><\/a>]<\/b><\/p>\n