A year after a grand jury indicted one Gwinnett County commissioner and forced the resignation of another, the Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved new ethics rules that supporters say will help restore public trust.
Commissioners unanimously approved rules requiring private companies that do business with Gwinnett to disclose their financial ties to elected officials. The commission also required anyone spending more than $100 a year on county officials to disclose the expenses.
“I hope this demonstrates that we’re serious about ethics. If we’re not there’s a mechanism for people to file complaints,” said Commission Chairwoman Charlotte Nash.
The new ethics rules are the latest fallout from a 2009 Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation that uncovered a series of land deals in which Gwinnett commissioners bought land based on inflated appraisals.
The AJC reports prompted a 10-month special grand jury investigation. Last fall the jury charged then-Commissioner Kevin Kenerly with bribery for allegedly accepting or agreeing to accept $1 million to arrange for Gwinnett to buy land to expand Rabbit Hill Park in Dacula. Jurors also charged Kenerly with failing to disclose financial interests in two properties the county rezoned.
Kenerly denied the charges but resigned last November. His criminal case is still pending. Commission Chairman Charles Bannister also resigned rather than face a perjury charge in connection with the grand jury investigation.
Jurors issued a scathing report that found Gwinnett paid millions more for some properties than they were worth.
In July commissioners approved new rules for buying land.
On Tuesday commissioners approved revised ethics rules that include:
• Requiring anyone selling land to Gwinnett to disclose any direct or indirect financial interest in the property held by an elected official. The disclosure would be a mandatory precondition of closing the deal.
• Establishes a revised ethics board to hear complaints of violations. However, complaints could not be filed against a sitting elected official during a political campaign. Nash said some commissioners expressed concern that ethics complaints could be turned into political weapons.
Many local governments — including Gwinnett — require public officials to disclose their financial interests. But the Association County Commissioners of Georgia is not aware of any other county that requires private businesses and individuals to disclose ties to public officials.
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