Henry Commission chair faces complaint over ethics hearing witnesses
Henry County Commission Chair Carlotta Harrell faces an ethics complaint after she allegedly directed the removal of county employees from an ethics hearing in which they had been subpoenaed to testify.
Laurin “Brie” Smith, a former member of Henry’s ethics board, filed the complaint Thursday, alleging Harrell directed the county manager to advise employees in the county’s transportation department to disregard lawful subpoenas during the November hearing, putting the staff at risk of “adverse actions.”
Smith further alleges the move was in retaliation against the ethics board for ousting a friend of Harrell’s from the board earlier this year — a claim Harrell forcefully denies.
“This is an obvious attempt to strip the Board of Ethics of what little power it does have,” Smith says in the complaint. “Chairwoman Harrell is using taxpayer dollars to fund her personal agendas.”
Harrell’s directive led to a dramatic interruption of the Nov. 12 ethics hearing, when Ethics Administrator Gloria Banister told the ethics board that Harrell was asking that the witnesses leave and return to work. The hearing was postponed when they followed that direction.
“Those individuals that left just disregarded lawfully issued subpoenas,” said Tyler Kaspers, the hearing officer.
Speaking on behalf of the board, Banister declined to comment Friday.
In an interview this week, Harrell said she directed the county manager and human resources director to send the employees back to work because the entire transportation department had been called to testify. She said the board is overreaching into human resources matters.
“That’s not the first time they’ve done this where they subpoenaed a whole department,” Harrell said. “So I’ve got a whole department shut down. So I said: `No, go back to work. We’re not doing this.’”
The Nov. 12 ethics hearing involved a complaint against Scott Morris, the county’s transportation director, and two other DOT employees. Based on the complaint, the ethics board has found probable cause that Morris may have misused his position, disclosed confidential information and failed to show impartiality in the performance of his official duties.
Harrell cited the hearing as an example of an HR matter being handled by the ethics board, which she said should focus on corruption and waste.
“We’re going to deal with HR matters in the HR department,” Harrell said. “I might as well do away with my HR department if ethics is going to handle all complaints, and that’s not going to happen.”
The dispute has caught the attention of state Sen. Emanuel Jones (D-Henry), who sponsored the bill that created Henry’s ethics board. Jones has sponsored new legislation to address the county’s concerns.
The state Senate passed it in this year’s session, and Jones said he expects the House to approve it next year.
In an interview, Jones said: “I want to make sure that there’s a good balance and that we don’t have these kinds of things ... where certain individuals can take advantage ... and create disruptions in the function of our county government.”
Smith alleges that Harrell is retaliating against the ethics board for voting in April to remove alternate board member Benita Harris. Smith’s complaint notes that Harrell is a friend of Harris and the godmother of Harris’ son, Duro Haynes, chair of the Henry County Democratic Committee.
Harris, reached Friday, said the reasons for her removal were unjustified.
“Carlotta and I never had a conversation about my role on this ethics board,” said Harris, a retired senior public health analyst for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “I have been an ethics advocate for the federal government for over 37 years.”
Smith’s complaint points out that Harris was appointed as an at-large member of the county board of elections in May, the month after Harris was removed from the ethics board.
Harrell said she did not appoint Harris to either board. Harrell abstained from the May 28 board of elections vote to appoint Harris, according to minutes from the meeting.
Harrell said the claim that she is retaliating against the ethics board is completely made up.
Since early October, at least two HR officials have written memorandums to County Manager Cheri Hobson-Matthews to complain about the ethics board exceeding its intended purpose. In an Oct. 30 letter, County Attorney Rachel N. Mack wrote to the ethics board that the county has serious concerns about its “perceived lack of impartiality.”
Mack added that subpoenas issued by the ethics board are “unenforceable” because the board has not paid “witness and mileage fees at the time a subpoena is served,” placing an “unlawful burden on individuals compelled to appear.”
The board of ethics sent Harrell a letter Thursday informing her of the complaint. It says the ethics officer will conduct a preliminary investigation to determine whether the complaint is dismissed or a formal hearing is warranted.
About the Author
Reed Williams is an enterprise reporter on the Local team at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
