Rock Springs ethics hearing examines social‑media post that linked branding to city employee

An administrative ethics hearing of the Rock Springs City Council considered a formal complaint by city employee Chad Banks who said Councilor Maloneis posted a March 30, 2026, social‑media video that falsely attributed the city’s new branding colors and logo decisions to Banks while invoking his sexual orientation.

Banks told the council that the matter is not about political disagreement but about whether an elected official crossed the line of the recently adopted code of ethics by publicly singling out a city employee with knowingly false statements and derogatory language. "This isn't about politics... it's about whether an elected official crossed the line established by the city council's recently adopted code of ethics," he said in opening remarks.

Banks offered seven exhibits, including a timeline of events, the councilor’s March 30, 2026 video transcript, email chains dated March 8 and March 25, 2024, a formal complaint emailed to city staff on March 30, 2026, and printed examples of the logo transformation. The presiding official admitted the exhibits into evidence after the parties had no objections.

According to Banks, the documentary record and email chains show the color palette and PMS values were selected before he had any involvement in branding work; he said he merely updated an existing downtown logo file at the city's request and later provided that file to IT. Banks said the social‑media post characterized the colors as "the colors of the rainbow" and included the line, "Everybody knows the head of the URA is gay," which he argued was derogatory and unrelated to any legitimate governmental purpose.

In his closing statement, Banks asked the council to find the alleged violations proven by clear and convincing evidence and "impose the appropriate sanctions within the ordinance in order to reaffirm the city's expectations regarding professionalism, civility, and respectful treatment of city staff and employees."

Councilor Maloneis denied the allegations and defended his statements as true and based on what he said the mayor had communicated. "All of this is a clear violation of my First Amendment right," Maloneis said, characterizing the hearing as a "kangaroo court" and repeating that, in his view, Banks designed the current logo and has promoted events he described as a "gay agenda." Maloneis also submitted respondent exhibits, including emails and logo files, which the council admitted.

The presiding official closed the evidence and recessed the hearing so the council could retire to executive session to determine whether Banks met the burden of proof, which the official explained is "clear and convincing evidence." The council will return to public session to announce any decision and, if it finds a violation, to determine any sanctions under the code. No final finding or sanction was announced at the hearing's close.

The hearing record includes formal admissions of both parties' exhibits and the procedural adoption of the hearing format. The council scheduled deliberation in executive session with a public vote to follow.