Classless and Chaotic
Residents of the Town of Melbourne Beach need to be concerned about the ongoing litigation and court costs that Mayor Dennington has brought against our town. The continual lawsuits brought forth by Mayor Alison Dennington and her husband, Dr. Lephiew Dennington, dba Funoe, LLC, have already cost our Town nearly $200,000.00 in legal fees alone.
Truth and Accuracy Matter is outraged with the endless wave of needless legal attacks by Dennington and Funoe.
At Tuesday’s budget workshop, Commissioner Tim Reed proposed to take the money from the two Paid Parking Funds to move into the General Fund of our Town budget. This action was suspiciously supported by Mayor Dennington and resident Bruce Larson. The question is… What is their motivation? Why do they want the Paid Parking money that funds our parks? Don’t be fooled when they tell you they want to use it for storm water. Storm water mitigation requires much more money than these parking fees generate. Isn’t it more likely that they want the parking money to offset the legal fees imposed upon the town by the Denningtons (Funoe LLC)? It certainly seems timely… as Funoe’s attorneys emailed the Commission and Town Manager just prior to the budget workshop, demanding $167,000.00 from the Town to settle. Please be aware, this demand of $167,000.00 is over and above the $200,000.00 mentioned above.
It’s worth noting that failed Town Commission candidate Bruce Larson spoke at the recent budget workshop in support of current Town Commissioner Tim Reed’s proposal to move the Paid Parking Funds. The implications of an alliance between the two is particularly intriguing, especially when both presentations were very similar in content and the mayor sat quietly, nodding her head with approval as Larson spoke and even granted him additional time to speak. During his failed election campaign, Larson openly backed the mayor’s initial settlement proposal with the Town and made it clear that they would have a Supermajority to obtain the payout. Despite losing the election, he continues to align himself with the mayor in her pursuit of reimbursement of her attorney fees from the Town.
The next trial date is Wednesday, May 20, 2026 at 9:00 AM
Viera Courthouse, Moore Justice Center and is open to the public.
Please attend.
Residents believe that Mayor Dennington’s motivation is driven by her self-serving agenda to destroy our town. As one neighbor put it, “She has done nothing for our Town or us as taxpayers. Her actions are despicable.”
Now, Commissioner Reed and Mayor Dennington want to take away the funding for our parks. If they accomplish this breech of allocation of funds, the beautification, safety and accessibility of our parks will suffer. Public Works Director, Tom Davis, expressed his concern based on his past experience, stating that the Paid Parking Funds are allocated for the intended purpose of continual maintenance of the parks. Commissioner Tim Reed contends that he would not take away funding if, “A hurricane came through and wiped everything out”. Mr. Davis tried to explain that a hurricane disaster is not the same as maintenance of the parks. Mayor Dennington, in a fit of classless rage, blasphemously cut him off and screamed, “Jesus Christ Tom!” Vice Mayor Cronin took control of the gavel and shortly thereafter ended the chaotic workshop.
Our parks are a wonderful asset to EVERYONE in our town, young and old. We have bocci ball, pavilions for shade, tennis and pickle ball courts, rest rooms, wooden rocking swings at the river and ocean, walking paths, the MB pier, beach accesses and crossover platforms, a basketball court, bicycle parking, golf cart parking, gazebo and grills for family gatherings as well as age appropriate playgrounds… ALL with police and fire patrol. THIS is what makes our town special for the entire community. It should be the responsibility of everyone to support a lifestyle that encourages safe outdoor activities, not just hurricane clean-up! Tell Commissioner Reed and Mayor Dennington to LEAVE OUR PARKS ALONE!
The budget is meant to provide services to the townspeople.
The chaos caused by Mayor Dennington is no benefit to the townspeople. We are not only forced to pay Mayor Dennington’s (aka Funoe LLC) excessive legal costs, we also have to pay employment costs to search for, hire and train new employees that have quit as a result of the toxic work environment created by Mayor Dennington. CLICK HERE
We recently lost our fourth key employee since Dennington was elected. Town Clerk Amber Brown stated, “ The toxic work environment has impacted my health, ability to grow and feel supported” as the reason for her resignation. Amber’s last day was May 8th, a loss that could have been avoided. Collectively, and as a result of Mayor Dennington’s abusive behavior toward staff, our Town has lost 39 years of experienced employees and had to pay over $103,000.00 of payouts. Additionally, let’s not forget that our Town had to pay close to $40,000.00 to hire a search firm to find a new Town Manager. It stands to reason why Dennington and Reed are scrambling to move money around in the budget.
To make matters worse, an $8,000.00 request from Southern Software, dba Computer Experts (the Town’s IT company), was received, asking the Town to pay for their legal fees involving the lawsuit filed by Denningtons’ company, Funoe LLC. Funoe’s attorneys served a subpoena, forcing Computer Experts to appear for a deposition about their operations with the Town, demanding confidential documents. These chaotic accusations against a company that has successfully worked for our Town for many years is another example of the abuse Dennington is inflicting. A Protective Order was needed for confidentiality and was granted by Judge Bookhardt. CLICK HERE
Isn’t it also curious that Bruce Larson is the chairperson of the Town’s newly formed Technical Advisory Board… a board that Dennington requested to be created? HMMMMM….. At the onset of Funoe’s lawsuit against the Town, Bruce Larson spoke at length for five months in a row questioning the operations of the Town’s computer systems, wanting access to confidential information. Is there a connection here??
Many neighbors and local leaders continue to ask how Dennington’s personal grievances have escalated into a legal crisis in our Town. “We have to wonder what could’ve happened in Alison’s life that triggered her to attack so many people for no reason,” remarked another resident. The overall effect is evident; we live in a small town struggling to maintain effective governance while Mayor Dennington's internal conflicts play out through her court filings, attacks on town staff and continuous chaos—resulting in wasted resources crucial for serving our community.
A former member of our Town Commission sums it up perfectly, “Be sure to thank Ali. She has been, and continues to be, an absolute disaster as a neighbor, resident and mayor.”
For more news and updates from Truth and Accuracy Matter, CLICK HERE