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Council reviews ethics ordinance revisions and hearing‑officer procedures
Summary
Council members reviewed proposed changes to the ethics ordinance, including a steering officer selection process, hearing‑officer powers (including subpoena authority) and a 15‑day sufficiency procedure for citizen complaints; members also raised concern about deterring frivolous lawsuits.
The Norcross City Council discussed proposed revisions to the city ethics ordinance, including whether to adopt a steering‑officer model similar to that used by larger jurisdictions and clarifying hearing‑officer powers. Council members described a proposed process in which a steering officer would be selected from a list of at least five attorneys kept by the clerk’s office.
Members discussed hearing‑officer authority and the ability to issue reports and subpoenas. The council noted that hearing officers could report that a person refused to cooperate and that the ordinance language includes a provision for complaints that do not meet initial requirements: rather than blanket dismissal, the hearing officer would take a 15‑day period to notify a complainant that the complaint is deficient and provide guidance to correct it or reference the ordinance.
Council discussion also touched on concerns about frivolous lawsuits and whether procedural safeguards should deter meritless claims while protecting legitimate complaints. No final vote on the ordinance changes was recorded in the transcript excerpt.
