Council Discussion over Ethics Probe Heats Up

An ongoing city ethics probe led to a heated discussion Tuesday when Councilwoman Adrian Bonser questioned the city's recommendation for an attorney who will oversee the outcome of allegations she leaked confidential city information.

The city's legal counsel and ethics board had recommended Richard Carothers provide independent legal advice to the city's ethics board as it convenes to hear allegations against Bonser.

Bonser challenged that recommendation at Tuesday's council meeting. She claimed that City Manager Warren Hutmacher had compromised the relationship by talking to Carothers since Hutmacher was named - along with all members of the city council - in an ethics complaint filed by Bonser last week.

"You have an ethics complaint against you. That is a conflict of interest," she said to Hutmacher.

Bonser then said that she has been left out of key council discussions surrounding the ethics charges.

She said she was not present at meetings where the alleged leaks were discussed, and that she did not vote on a contract that authorized $50,000 be spent on an independent investigation regarding who leaked the city's inside information.

The resulting investigation, headed by former DeKalb District Attorney Bob Wilson, named former City Attorney Brian Anderson and Bonser as the source of the leaks of confidential information from two executive sessions on Jan. 28 and Feb. 3.

The information that was leaked surrounded the city's largest redevelopment project to date - "Project Renaissance" and led to Anderson .

"I was not here when the council voted on the $50,000," she said. "I would have never agreed to that."

Bonser's complaints drew protests from Council members Denis Shortal and Terry Nall. Both halted discussions started by Bonser on the grounds that the the agenda item called for a resolution for outside counsel for the ethics board and not a discussion of the ethics complaint.

Earlier in the meeting, Mayor Mike Davis talked about the ethics charges before being halted by Bonser - who was backed in her protest to Davis' comments by the city's legal counsel.

"We know we had an executive session breach," he started. "We have a lot of people telling us we should sweep this under the rug ... Was there a different path we could have taken?"

Bonser responded, "It's illegal to be talking period about any ethics charges. Completely illegal." 

After council members had weighed in, Bonser called for an ammendment to the council's resolution that would have allowed the ethics board to vet and appoint an independent attorney other than Carothers. That motion died for lack of a second.

The council on a 6-1 vote, with Bonser dissenting, approved a resolution to that would allow Carothers to come on board. Carothers would bill the city for $150 per hour, which the city's legal counsel said was the going rate.

Councilwoman Lynn Deutsch expressed her concern that ethics investigations in other areas had cost a lot of money. She said she was concerned that the city would pay too much.