In less than 20 minutes of deliberation today, a six-member jury found former Clay County Commissioner Christy Fitzgerald not guilty of using public works employees to do work at her home when they were being paid by the county.

Jurors in St. Johns County, where the trial was moved because of pretrial publicity in Clay, said the state did not prove the former commissioner knew she was doing anything wrong.

Ftzgerald was tried on a single count of petty theft that county employees worked at her Fleming Island home one day in the fall of 2004 to clean up debris at a storm-damaged dock while they were on the clock for the county.

County workers Walter Cercy and Stephen Burroughs said they separated good and damaged lumber for about five hours and that they split $150 Fitzgerald gave Cercy at the end of the day.

Arthur Ivey, then the Clay County Public Works Department director, was also at the house that day and at least directed some of the work.

County records showed Burroughs and Ivey were being paid by the county that day and that Cercy was on a regularly scheduled day off.

In the morning Assistant State Attorney Stephen Siegel dropped two other petty theft counts that county employees were used to build campaign signs and that county-owned lumber was used at Fitzgerald’s house.

Siegel said the decision to drop the charges was made to streamline the case and concentrate on the single charge.

Fitzgerald has been acquitted in two earlier trials including felony charges following a 2006 grand jury investigation into a dumping scandal at county landfills and possible government corruption. She was removed from office by Gov. Jeb Bush following the indictment.

Ivey, who was also indicted by the grand jury, is scheduled for trial in June.