Lee votes to fund wife’s employer

Lee said he will urge his fellow commissioners to re-approve the grant, but said he won’t cast a vote next time.

Annette Lee is currently director of facilities for Ministries United for Service and Training, which provides food, shelter and housing assistance to poor people. She has worked in various capacities at the organization since 2006.

Since 2009, Lee has cast votes for about $3 million in funding to MUST for a variety of programs. That amount is a portion of the more than $41 million in grant money provided to the county by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development over the same time frame. The county commission allocates the federal money to MUST and other agencies through its annual budget process.

Lee also voted on a 2011 rezoning request that allowed the organization to operate a new facility it purchased in Marietta. About $1.2 million of federal funding allocated to MUST since ‘09 went to pay for the facility.

Lee would not respond to questions about the appropriateness of his multiple votes for MUST funding since 2009, or about his vote on the rezoning case.

Charles Bullock, political science professor at the University of Georgia, said elected officials at all levels of government routinely refrain from voting on issues in which they, or family members, have a personal stake.

“It’s a problem of potential conflict of interest — real or perceived,” Bullock said. “Any instance in which you might have an economic interest in the outcome creates a situation that most public officials try to avoid. Because it goes to a question of motivation.

“What we expect is that elected officials are making decisions in the best interest of the public. If there is a potential that the official would benefit or be hurt by a vote, then that personal concern might override their assessment of what’s in the best interest of the public.”

Abstaining from the vote, Bullock said, “removes any doubt.”

MUST Ministries requested the additional funding in September, saying that it was running out of money for a program that helps people pay rent and avoid homelessness. MUST officials first met with Kimberly Roberts, managing director of the county’s grants office, then followed up with the official request in a Sept. 23 email.

The email doesn’t request a specific amount, but says some families would become homeless over the holidays if additional funding was not provided. The program has received $193,000 in HUD funding through the county since 2012, and is set to get another $150,000 next year.

Roberts said all of the county’s leftover HUD money was given to MUST: “We reviewed expended funding, and that’s how the $85,000 came up.”

It turned into a controversial topic at the commission meeting.

Commissioner Lisa Cupid tried to have the award removed from the agenda, so that all eligible non-profits could be made aware of the available funds and make requests of their own. She was told the day before the meeting that the grant would not be voted on, then found out it was back on the agenda the next day.

“What changed between yesterday and today?” Cupid asked at the meeting.

Michael Hughes, the county’s economic development division manager, responded that “additional information” was provided by MUST, and said “I think some commitments have been made.”

“So you’re saying a commitment was made to (provide) funds that should be approved by (commissioners) without (commissioners) approving those funds?” Cupid asked.

“It sounds that way to me,” Hughes responded.

Cupid said in an interview that she was aware of Annette Lee’s employment with MUST, but was more concerned about creating a process in which all eligible non-profits could request leftover funds on equal footing.

“I heard Chairman Lee’s wife works for MUST prior to the vote,” Cupid said. “I also heard that he had not abstained from voting to award the organization funds in the past. Thus, I had no expectation he would abstain during this particular vote.”

Lee’s vote was concerning to Tom Cheek, the west Cobb software salesman who is one of three people to file ethics complaints against Lee this year over his handling of the Atlanta Braves stadium deal.

Cheek’s complaint alleged that Lee improperly hired an outside attorney to secretly negotiate a preliminary agreement with the Braves, and used private email accounts to skirt Georgia’s open records law.

At a trial-like hearing last month, the ethics board dismissed the complaints about the open records law, saying a court would have to determine if there had been a violation. Cheek then voluntarily dropped the complaint about the attorney, saying he was satisfied that Lee had learned from the experience after an apology.

The ethics board was considering the complaint under provisions in the ordinance that say elected officials “should avoid the appearance of impropriety, and the impression that any person could/can improperly influence them or unduly enjoy their favor in the performance of their official acts or duties.”

Cheek said his family supports MUST through donations and volunteering, but he was disappointed with Lee’s vote.

“Seriously, how do you vote on something involving your wife’s employer without blinking an eye?” Cheek said. “My goal was to make him understand that his actions are observed, and understand that he needs to follow the rules. He seems to be acknowledging that there are issues, but has not yet developed an instinct for ‘avoiding the appearance of impropriety.’

“I truly hope he can do it.”