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Sunbury mayor moves to hire outside counsel after resident reports councilman visit to private property
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Summary
After a Sunbury resident said a councilman came onto her property without permission following a public complaint, the mayor moved to appoint outside counsel to investigate a civil complaint; council discussed separating civil and criminal reviews and voted to refer the matter for an independent review.
The Sunbury mayor proposed appointing outside counsel to conduct an independent investigation after a resident said a council member visited her home without permission following a public complaint.
Anne Marshall, who identified herself during public comment, told the council she filed complaints about a neighboring property and later said Councilman Ramos came to her home unannounced around 8:30 p.m., walked across her yard despite posted no-parking and no-trespassing signs and questioned unrelated items. "I felt intimidated. I felt targeted, and I felt retaliated against for speaking out and reading my voice at a meeting," she said.
Mayor (speaker 2) said the police department had taken a complaint and that the district attorney had reviewed the case and was deciding which venue should handle it, including possible state police involvement. Solicitor (speaker 5) recommended that council appoint outside counsel for the civil complaint "so that nobody can question whether I did it wrong or whether anybody in this court has anything to do with it," and to separate the civil review from any criminal proceeding.
After discussion about conflicts of interest and whether the city solicitor should handle the investigation, the mayor moved to add an agenda item to appoint an outside counsel to investigate the civil complaint. The motion was seconded and carried in the council roll call vote. The motion directs the administration to identify and contract with an independent attorney to prepare a report on the civil complaint; council members noted that any financial terms would be subject to subsequent council approval.
The mayor said the city would also continue to follow up with the police department and the district attorney on any criminal matters. The motion did not resolve any civil or criminal liability; it only initiates an independent, outside-counsel review of the complaint and related records. Council did not announce a timeline for the outside counsel's work during the meeting.
The council made no findings of wrongdoing during the meeting. The district attorney and police department review were described in public remarks as ongoing and separate from the civil-investigation referral.
