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Resident questions Commissioner Hoyte about court filings; commissioner declines to respond in public forum
Summary
A resident publicly alleged that Commissioner Damon Hoyte has filed multiple court actions against the county and asked whether Hoyte pleaded guilty in magistrate court in 2022. Hoyte declined to answer during the meeting; the county attorney reminded the public that commissioners are not required to answer. Hoyte later said he would not resign.
During the Aug. 6 regular meeting open forum, resident Steve Wagner pressed Commissioner Damon Hoyte with a series of questions about legal filings and conduct. Wagner said he had found magistrate and superior‑court filings and asked whether Hoyte had pleaded guilty to a county ordinance on Dec. 8, 2022 and whether Hoyte had filed motions on the county’s behalf. Wagner said he had counted three magistrate motions and seven superior‑court filings as of a week before the meeting and that he planned to forward a complaint to the Georgia Ethics Commission.
When asked directly, Commissioner Hoyte declined to answer some of Wagner’s questions during the public forum, saying there were matters he could not discuss in that setting. The county attorney reminded the room that commissioners are not required to respond to public questioning.
Wagner told the commission he had documentation and recordings and said the litigation had cost the county taxpayer funds and could affect county employees and budgets. The minutes record Wagner urging a written resignation from Hoyte within 14 days if Hoyte did not step down; Hoyte later told the commission he had considered resigning after the election but ultimately chose to remain.
The minutes do not include court filings, case documents, or a direct rebuttal from Commissioner Hoyte addressing the specific counts Wagner cited. The allegations and Wagner’s intent to file a complaint with the Georgia Ethics Commission are recorded in the minutes but remain unresolved in this meeting’s record.
