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Marietta council advances ethics ordinance change restricting election-period complaints to post-election review
Summary
The Marietta City Council approved a first reading to bar filing certain ethics complaints during election periods, making the provision effective Jan. 1, 2026 if adopted after required readings. Council members debated due-process concerns and cited a Georgia Municipal Association model.
The Marietta City Council approved a first reading of an amendment to the city ethics ordinance that would prevent certain ethics complaints from being filed or accepted during election periods and defer them until after the election, the council discussed at its Aug. 13 meeting.
The proposal — presented as a recommended model from the Georgia Municipal Association — would, if adopted after subsequent readings, make the complaint-filing restriction effective Jan. 1, 2026. Supporters said the change is intended to leave allegations to the electorate during campaigns, while critics raised due-process and free-speech concerns.
Council discussion focused on whether the ethics committee acts as the factfinder and on the timing and scope of the proposed filing restriction. "Let the electorate vote for who they want to have in office," said a supporter referencing GMA materials. Opponents said the restriction could deny timely remedies or allow untested allegations to influence voters; one council member said that the proposal "denies due process." (Speakers are identified below.)
City staff described the recommended ordinance as already used by other Georgia cities, and said the ethics committee conducts an initial fact-finding review and can dismiss frivolous complaints without a hearing. "If there is, we do accept it. It has to go through a fact finding hearing," a staff speaker said, noting procedural time limits for the committee's review.
Council members also discussed the ordinance's effective date and the committee's powers. The council did not adopt the change today; the item proceeds to the required second reading and additional committee review before final action. The first reading vote was recorded at the Aug. 13 session; the exact final tally for the first reading was not specified in the meeting record excerpt.
If ultimately approved, the amendment would mean certain complaints related to candidates or campaign-period conduct could not be filed with the city until after the relevant election, subject to the full ordinance text and any applicable legal challenges.
The council scheduled further review and at least one more reading before a final vote on the ordinance change.
