Tybee Island Council Member Jay Burke publicly apologized Thursday for violating the city's ethics code. The council approved the motion for Burke's apology in a four to one vote with Michael "Spec" Hosti opposing.
Burke's violation came during an exchange with a film production representative at a March council meeting. Burke told the rep, who was petitioning the council for a movie shoot on the beach, that filming would affect his family's beach rental business.
"I'm truly sorry that I misspoke. My concern was that the movie company needed to notify all the Tybee residents and businesses, not just my family business," said Burke.
Credit: City of Tybee Island
Credit: City of Tybee Island
Janet K. Will, the Tybee resident who filed the complaint, said she was glad the council voted the way they did, but felt that Burke's apology wasn't sincere.
"He didn't take ownership," Will said.
Burke declined to comment furter on the issue.
Council member Nancy DeVetter said the rest of the council can learn from this experience.
"We should be above reproach," said DeVetter, "We were elected to serve the public and to have them trust us."
The council, ethics commission and planning commission attended an ethics training session after the complaint was filed earlier in the year.
Mayor Shirley Sessions said they should continue to take a closer look at the ethics policy.
Nancy Guan is the general assignment reporter covering Chatham County municipalities. Reach her at nguan@gannett.com or on Twitter @nancyguann.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Tybee Island council member issues public apology for ethics complaint
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