CLEARWATER - A grand jury report criticizes Pinellas County's purchase of land from the property appraiser, an action that took all of 19 seconds but which the panel said will have a lasting effect on how residents view their public officials.

"The manner in which the transaction was handled has raised questions that continue to impact the perceived integrity of our county's government," reads the 22-page report unsealed Tuesday.

Although the report rebukes the key figures involved in the land deal, Property Appraiser Jim Smith and County Attorney Susan Churuti, it falls short of accusing anyone of criminal wrongdoing or of "maliciously" abusing their public positions.

It recommends legislative reforms and changes in the way the county conducts the public's business.

State Attorney Bernie McCabe impaneled the grand jury this month to examine the county's purchase of Smith's private, vacant land in north Pinellas for $225,000, nearly four times what the one-quarter-acre site was valued for tax purposes by Smith's office. The site was valued at $59, 400.

The land purchase came four months after an attorney for Smith sent Pinellas a letter contending county workers ruined Smith's property by cutting down trees and clearing debris after storms in 2004.

The transaction raised questions about whether Smith, a Republican first elected property appraiser in 1988, received favorable treatment. Smith was represented by Churuti while she was advising the county commission. Without public discussion, commissioners took 19 seconds to unanimously approve buying the property for stormwater control June 5.

The grand jury, which received evidence and testimony from 41 witnesses during three days this month, questioned the inconsistent valuations of Smith's land. The report points out that the county spent more for the property than what Smith himself said the land was worth in sworn annual financial disclosure forms filed with the state.

Smith's 2006 disclosure form, filed the day after commissioners approved the purchase, lists the property's value at $179,800.

The grand jury was especially critical of Churuti, calling the actions of the 20-year lawyer "perplexing and misleading." The report notes that Florida law prohibits local government lawyers from representing any person in a claim against the agency that employs them.

Commissioners voted July 31 to place Churuti on paid suspension for her role in the matter. In a lengthy written statement Tuesday, Churuti said she believes the property purchase was in the county's best interest and that she regrets any confusion or misunderstanding she might have caused.

Attempts to reach Smith for comment were unsuccessful. His Clearwater attorney, Sherwood Coleman, said Smith "doesn't entirely agree" with the report's conclusions. However, Coleman said Smith thinks the public would be best served by the report's release, rather than challenging it in court.

"Hopefully that will allow the public to have a more complete understanding of the circumstances," he said.

Among the report's recommendations: that commissioners review the Pinellas charter to decide whether the county attorney should continue to represent constitutional officers such as Smith. The grand jury also said the county's legislative delegation should seek to enact a state law that would provide for an independent review of appraisals of property in which any county property appraiser has an interest.

County Administrator Steve Spratt, whom the report said was pressured by Churuti to resolve Smith's damage claim, said in retrospect he would have handled the matter differently. Among other things, Spratt said he would have moved more slowly on the deal and not allowed county workers on Smith's private property.

Spratt also said the transaction should have been "discussed more thoroughly" with the seven commissioners. Several commissioners have said they were not given all the facts of the land deal.

"I think it's been an unfortunate, negative experience for many of us, and it does cast a question of proper stewardship," Spratt said. "And I feel, as many people feel, very badly about that."

News Channel 8 reporter Mark Douglas contributed to this report. Reporter Carlos Moncada can be reached at (727) 451-2333 or cmoncada@tampatrib.com.