Villa Rica council adopts 60-day moratorium on ethics complaints, appoints Connie Flowers to ethics board

Villa Rica — The Villa Rica City Council on Oct. 12 adopted a 60-day moratorium that temporarily bars the city from accepting or considering new ethics complaints while the council reviews and considers changes to the city’s ethics ordinance. The council also appointed Connie Flowers as the third member of the city’s Board of Ethics, enabling the board to convene on an existing complaint.

City Attorney Kevin Drummond told the council that discussions about the ethics ordinance have been ongoing for months and that most public feedback and council members he has spoken with favor changes. "I think everyone is in agreement that a change needs to occur with the ethics ordinance," Drummond said during the meeting.

The moratorium ordinance, read into the record at the meeting, states the city will not accept or consider ethics complaints for 60 days from the date of enactment; it also specifies that the moratorium "shall not apply to any complaints received prior to the date of the enactment" and "shall not deprive any party of any action such party might otherwise have at law or in equity against any city official." The motion to adopt the moratorium passed 4–1.

Nut graf: The council’s action pauses new ethics proceedings to give elected officials time to decide whether to amend or replace the current ordinance. Council members and staff…