OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

DeKalb County Board of Ethics Meeting – February 19, 2026

Board of Commissioners & Committees — Thursday, February 19, 2026
BodyDekalb County, Georgia
SessionBoard of Commissioners & Committees
DateThursday, February 19, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 35:12

Transcript — Verbatim
0:08

Welcome everyone to the DeCab County Board of Ethics meeting here on February 19, 2026 at 6 p.m.

0:14

Thank you all for being here.

0:16

So I'd like to go ahead and call our meeting to order.

0:19

And before we get into the specifics of the agenda, I would like to have folks introduce themselves.

0:25

I'll start on my left with our ethics officer.

0:28

Good evening.

0:29

My name is Elisa Murphy.

0:31

I'm an ethics officer.

0:33

Good evening, Hakeem Hilliard, General Counsel.

0:36

Good evening.

0:37

I'm Lauren Florence, board member.

0:40

Good evening, I'm Scott Matthews, Board Secretary.

0:44

Good evening, I'm Shakira Wright.

0:46

I'm sorry.

0:47

Good evening, I'm Shakita Wright, Chair, Vice Chair.

0:50

Are you sure you want that?

0:52

No, sir.

0:53

Bob Dallas, uh, Chair of the Board of Ethics.

0:55

Tom Clements, board member.

0:57

George Ferrand, member of the board.

1:00

Kristen Rogers, the Ethics Administrator.

1:03

All right, thank you all for that.

1:04

Uh the next item on our agenda is the adoption of the agenda, which is before you.

1:09

And uh with that, I would take a motion, second, and any discussion that follows.

1:13

Motion to adopt.

1:14

Second.

1:15

Is the motion a second?

1:16

Is there any more conversation about the agenda?

1:19

Hearing none, we'll go ahead and take a vote.

1:21

All those in favor of adopting the agenda, see if they five by saying aye, raising your hand.

1:25

Aye.

1:25

Opposed, like signed.

1:26

All right, we have adopted the agenda.

1:29

And next are our administrative items.

1:32

Uh the first item up is the uh minutes which have been uh provided to you and are in your package right now.

1:39

So those are the minutes from our January 15th meeting.

1:44

So if anybody has any uh comments on that, we first take a motion, a second, and then uh discuss any amendments to the minutes.

1:54

Motion to adopt the minutes.

1:57

Is there a second?

1:58

Second.

1:58

Okay, there's a motion and a second.

2:00

Is there any discussion on the minutes?

2:02

Any revisions?

2:04

Hearing none, I'll take uh vote on the motion to adopt the minutes.

2:09

All those in favor signify by saying aye or raising your hand.

2:12

Aye.

2:12

Aye.

2:13

Opposed like sign.

2:14

All right.

2:15

We have our minutes.

2:16

I will sign those later.

2:17

And next we have uh reporter committees.

2:20

I'm not aware of any, but uh if there are, we have human resources, budget which we discussed last time, and oversight.

2:27

Yes.

2:27

Introduction, the new member.

2:29

Uh that's right.

2:30

I'm gonna get to that.

2:31

Um I had it on the wrong way.

2:33

So uh I didn't I just want to put up but you're right.

2:36

I apologize for that.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Ethics And Governance█████████████████████████████████████████████49%
Pending Litigation██████████████15%
Procedural█████████████14%
Procurement Policy███████████12%
Public Engagement█████5%
Public Safety███3%
Education██2%
Summary of Proceedings

DeKalb County Board of Ethics Meeting – February 19, 2026

The DeKalb County Board of Ethics held its regular meeting on Thursday, February 19, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. The meeting included adoption of the agenda and minutes, introduction of a new board member, presentation of the 2025 annual and monthly ethics officer reports, consideration of a formal advisory opinion on a potential conflict of interest, and dismissal of five preliminary complaints. The board also moved into executive session to discuss pending litigation and personnel matters.

Consent Calendar

  • Adoption of the Agenda: The board unanimously approved the agenda as presented.
  • Approval of Minutes: The minutes from the January 15, 2026 meeting were unanimously approved.

New Member Introduction

  • Lauren Florence, appointed by the new Tax Commissioner Nicole Golden, was introduced. She expressed gratitude for the appointment and committed to ethical stewardship in DeKalb County.

Ethics Officer Annual and Monthly Report

  • Ethics Officer Elisa Murphy presented the 2025 annual report. Key statistics:
    • 20 cases received in 2025 (listed with pending cases for 2026).
    • 44 anonymous hotline reports in 2025 (down from 47 in 2024). Breakdown of hotline calls: 3 disconnected, 5 employee relations/misconduct, 4 court-related (no jurisdiction), 4 customer service, 8 school-related (no jurisdiction), 9 private citizen disputes, and 6 miscellaneous (utility, weather, fire department conflict, training, SNAP benefits, unscheduled meeting, police complaint).
    • Open records requests: 2 in 2025 (down from 10 in 2024 and 23 in 2023).
    • Training: 120 new employees trained year-to-date; one ethics blast sent regarding Black History Month and website resources.
    • 7 pending cases.
    • Legislative changes were sent to the General Assembly on January 21, 2026, with no movement reported as of the meeting.
  • Monthly report: No hotline reports or open records requests since January 15, 2026. The annual ethics forum is proposed for either May 8 or May 15, 2026 (both Fridays). The board discussed preferences and will coordinate with the caterer and potential speakers.

Formal Advisory Opinion

  • General Counsel Hakeem Hilliard presented a formal advisory opinion request from Ed Wall. The initial question involved whether a conflict existed for the same person serving as chair of the DeKalb County Pension Board and as a financial advisor to the county (via Piper Sandler). After analysis, the board’s counsel determined no per se conflict exists, but any potential conflict could be cured by recusal. The board unanimously voted to adopt the opinion as presented.

Preliminary Cases (Dismissals)

  • Case 2026-1: Malcolm Peoples vs. Noah Hightower – Dismissed. The complaint concerned a motor vehicle collision and alleged inaccurate police reporting. The board voted to dismiss.
  • Case 2026-2: Tony Covington Graham vs. Emily Brian – Dismissed for lack of jurisdiction over non-employee private citizens regarding a homeowners’ association dispute.
  • Case 2026-3: Quentin Wright vs. Galbreth and Powell – Dismissed because the complainant failed to correct defects in the complaint after being given more than the required 10 business days to do so.
  • Case 2026-4: Kerlisia Powell vs. James Holloway – Dismissed for lack of jurisdiction; the matter involved student safety and bullying at Cedar Grove Middle School, which falls under school board jurisdiction. The complaint was referred to the superintendent.
  • Case 2026-5: Robin Morgan vs. James Holloway – Dismissed for lack of jurisdiction; similar to the previous case, involving bullying allegations at Cedar Grove Middle School. The complaint was referred to the superintendent.

Public Comments

  • Stephen Benny (Clarkston, GA) provided information about a presentation made by the pension board chairman to the county’s PECS committee on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, suggesting board members review it for further context.

Board Comments

  • A board member thanked the ethics officer for the annual report and inquired about its distribution. The report is provided to the CEO, Board of Commissioners, the ethics board, and posted on the website.

Executive Session & Adjournment

  • The board unanimously voted to move into executive session to discuss pending litigation and personnel issues. After reconvening, the board approved the executive session affidavit. The next regular meeting was announced for March 19, 2026. The meeting adjourned.

Meeting Transcript

Welcome everyone to the DeCab County Board of Ethics meeting here on February 19, 2026 at 6 p.m. Thank you all for being here. So I'd like to go ahead and call our meeting to order. And before we get into the specifics of the agenda, I would like to have folks introduce themselves. I'll start on my left with our ethics officer. Good evening. My name is Elisa Murphy. I'm an ethics officer. Good evening, Hakeem Hilliard, General Counsel. Good evening. I'm Lauren Florence, board member. Good evening, I'm Scott Matthews, Board Secretary. Good evening, I'm Shakira Wright. I'm sorry. Good evening, I'm Shakita Wright, Chair, Vice Chair. Are you sure you want that? No, sir. Bob Dallas, uh, Chair of the Board of Ethics. Tom Clements, board member. George Ferrand, member of the board. Kristen Rogers, the Ethics Administrator. All right, thank you all for that. Uh the next item on our agenda is the adoption of the agenda, which is before you. And uh with that, I would take a motion, second, and any discussion that follows. Motion to adopt. Second. Is the motion a second? Is there any more conversation about the agenda? Hearing none, we'll go ahead and take a vote. All those in favor of adopting the agenda, see if they five by saying aye, raising your hand. Aye. Opposed, like signed. All right, we have adopted the agenda. And next are our administrative items. Uh the first item up is the uh minutes which have been uh provided to you and are in your package right now. So those are the minutes from our January 15th meeting. So if anybody has any uh comments on that, we first take a motion, a second, and then uh discuss any amendments to the minutes. Motion to adopt the minutes. Is there a second? Second. Okay, there's a motion and a second. Is there any discussion on the minutes? Any revisions? Hearing none, I'll take uh vote on the motion to adopt the minutes. All those in favor signify by saying aye or raising your hand. Aye. Aye. Opposed like sign. All right. We have our minutes.

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