After nine months and more than $80,000 in costs, Dunwoody has settled a flurry of ethics complaints filed in the wake of information leaked from a closed-door meeting in February.
The investigation into those leaks sparked charges and countercharges among City Council members and the mayor, led to the resignation of the city attorney and gave the city’s Ethics Board its first cases since the city formed four years ago.
It also brought criticism from residents who objected to the time and expense the probe cost.
Dunwoody resident Norbert Leahy said he thinks the whole issue was flawed from the start when Mayor Mike Davis persuaded the council to adhere to strict rules governing the prosecution of closed session violations.
“No grown-up in a large corporation would’ve handled things this way,” he said. “You do all that very quietly.”
Councilwoman Adrian Bonser sent a letter of apology to the mayor, the council and residents last week for inadvertently including details of a land swap deal while responding to a constituent’s email.
“There is nothing going on with the sale or trading of this land that could not be discussed in public,” Bonser’s email said. “After all, it is the citizens of Dunwoody who own this property, not the Council.”
Bonser said Monday that the apology was not an admission of guilt for the original leak. Information about the land deal was already published on a local blog a full week before she sent her email, she said.
The land swap involved trading 16 acres of city property, known as the PVC park, to a developer.
Bonser and City Attorney Brian Anderson were named sources for the leak in May after a two-month, $49,000 investigation. Anderson, who denied any wrongdoing, resigned later that month, agreeing to a severance totaling $29,178.
The City Council then filed ethics charges against Bonser, who responded by filing ethics charges against the mayor and council for discussing the sale of city property behind closed doors. Georgia law at the time allowed for closed discussion of acquiring real estate but not to discuss its sale.
Davis issued a statement as part of the settlement saying state law allows for certain closed discussions as a means to protect the public. Prior leaks from closed sessions before he became mayor, he said, could have cost taxpayers dearly.
“This was important,” Davis wrote, “as it underscored the ethical and legal responsibilities which our elected and appointed officials must uphold.”
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