Bloggers Are Getting It Done

I love how elected officials decline to comment. Thanks guys. I won't decline to comment.

From the T&G.

Sears faces ethical conflicts

By Emily Goodson

With just one regular meeting under her belt, Commissioner Charlene Sears is already facing some tough decisions.Sears, also the director of public relations for the Camden County Sheriff's Office, said she would cast her vote after press time Tuesday about whether to build a new county jail, but some citizens have recently questioned whether her employment creates a conflict of interest in the matter. Indeed, her position at the sheriff's office will likely mean future potential ethical dilemmas for Sears.
County Attorney Brent Green declined to comment Monday on whether Sears should vote on the jail issue, but said her decisions about which issues to vote on should be carefully considered."You have to take that on a case-by-case basis," Green said.One aspect Sears should consider, Green said, is whether she would receive direct financial benefit from a particular commission vote. Green also said if there is an ethical dilemma in the future, he and Sears will contact the Association County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG) for advice on the issue.Jim Grubiac, the general counsel for ACCG, also declined to comment but did say Sears' situation as a commissioner is unique.

"I doubt it happens much at all," Grubiac said.Sears on Tuesday morning said she planned to cast a vote regarding a new jail."I'll be voting on it," she said.She also said the only issues she will have to abstain from voting on are those from which she or her husband, a sheriff's office investigator, would gain direct financial benefit."I will not be benefitting in any way by the building of a jail," Sears said. "Neither me nor my husband have any interest in the jail; he's an investigator and I work in the administrative division."However, Commissioner Steve Berry said he thinks Sears should abstain from the jail vote, not because there is an ethical dilemma, but because her employment with the sheriff's office simply gives the appearance of impropriety."She's going to cast a vote that could obligate this community to spend $30 to $40 million in new taxes," Berry said. "I think she's going to have to give that vote some very serious consideration."Vice Chairman Katherine Nisi Zell also said she felt Sears should abstain from the jail vote, just so the public does not perceive a conflict of interest."If I were in her shoes, I would abstain from anything that dealt with the sheriff's office directly," Zell said. "I don't know her thought process. I know what I would do."However, Chairman Preston Rhodes said Sears' job on the commission is to represent District 4."It's not about conflict, but it's more about where do we have to go from here," Rhodes said of the jail issue.Rhodes also said he cannot project which future votes Sears should or should not abstain from."My position is I'm going to take issues as they come, in a civil manner, and go from there," he said.Sears' situation as a commissioner is almost identical to that of Capt. Jim Proctor. Proctor, now the jail administrator, was a road deputy several years ago when he decided to run for county commissioner.Upon his election, Proctor forfeited his arrest powers and took a civilian job as assistant jail administrator. He said the only votes he ever abstained from were those involving sheriff's office line items in the county budget, such as the jail, 911 center and patrol budgets."It removed any conflict," Proctor said.Proctor also said he fought as a commissioner to get raises for jail employees, many of whom were leaving for employment in Glynn County. However, Proctor said he abstained from the vote on the motion and did not accept his raise until his term as commissioner was through."I fought really hard for the jailors to get raises," he said. "I wouldn't accept my raise until I came off the board of commissioners."Proctor said he simply did not vote on issues from which he would receive direct financial benefit, though it did not stop him from making his opinions known."I always stated how I felt," he said.Commissioner David Rainer also said he does not see any conflict of interest with Sears voting on a new jail because she would have to receive personal gain from the decision for an ethical dilemma to be present."I don't know what the personal gain would be," Rainer said.Sears is also the only one who will be able to identify conflicts of interest in the future, Rainer said.The county commission had to reach a vote last night on the jail because an agreement has already been reach between the county and three cities - Kingsland, Woodbine and St. Marys - to earmark $10 million of the next Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) vote for a new jail.Rainer said Tuesday morning he was not sure what would happen."I haven't really discussed it with anyone," he said. "I'll have to just see what happens tonight and vote my conscience."For the results of last night's county commission vote on whether to build a new jail, see the Tribune & Georgian's Friday edition.