Wayne County receives 2025 Ethics Board year‑end report; commissioners press for investigative authority and clarity on complaints
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Summary
The commission received and filed the Wayne County Ethics Board's 2025 year‑end report, questioned the board’s lack of investigative powers and discussed two complaints cited in the report; outside counsel said the board relies on other agencies’ investigations and that some ordinance amendments to grant investigatory authority have been proposed.
The Wayne County commission voted to receive and file the Wayne County Ethics Board 2025 year‑end report after questioning procedures used in two cases summarized in the document.
Commissioner Peterson Mayberry asked how long board members serve and how many members are appointed by the prosecutor’s office. Charles Oliver Longstreet II, outside counsel for the ethics board, said the board has seven members serving four‑year terms and that one member is appointed by the Wayne County prosecutor’s office.
Mayberry and other commissioners probed the board’s investigatory process on two complaints summarized in the report. Longstreet said the ethics board currently lacks independent investigative powers under its ordinance and therefore relies on other agencies’ investigations. He cited one matter that originated with an internal affairs investigation at the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department and said the manager involved was disciplined; Longstreet said he did not have detailed personal knowledge of the sheriff’s department’s investigative file. Commissioners discussed prior subcommittee work to amend the ethics ordinance to request investigative authority and said those proposed amendments have been pending for about two years.
Commissioners also noted that an initial motion to pass the item earlier in the meeting had been carried and then a later motion to reconsider brought the item back to committee for further discussion. After the ethics board’s counsel joined online and answered questions, the commission moved to receive and file the report.
During the exchange Commissioner Peterson Mayberry described one case as showing potential abuse of power; Longstreet identified the matter as the complaint of Bobby McGrew versus Derrick Anderson, and said there has been no independent Wayne County ethics board investigation because the board lacks investigative powers. The board’s reliance on outside investigative findings and pending proposed ordinance amendments were the central issues raised by commissioners during the discussion.