OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

DeKalb County Board of Ethics Meeting – July 17, 2026

Board of Commissioners & Committees — Friday, July 17, 2026
BodyDekalb County, Georgia
SessionBoard of Commissioners & Committees
DateFriday, July 17, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 22:21

Transcript — Verbatim
0:08

Good evening.

0:10

I want to welcome everybody to our July 16th, 2026 Board of Ethics meeting.

0:16

Unfortunately, our chair, Mr.

0:18

Dallas is out of town, and our vice chair is possibly stuck in traffic, so we're going to go ahead and try to get started.

0:28

Our agenda today will begin with a call to order and also just a brief introduction.

0:35

I know that Chair Dallas likes everyone to kind of introduce themselves and go around, so I'll start with uh to my right with Mr.

0:43

Florence and let him introduce ourselves, and we'll just go around.

0:47

Yes, uh George Ferrance, member of the board.

0:50

And I'm Tom Clements, member of the board and substitute today.

0:55

Scott Matthews, board secretary.

0:58

Mike Adow board member.

1:00

Lauren Florence, board member.

1:02

Kathy Asimel Tentramenial board member.

1:05

I'm Hakeem Hill, your general counsel.

1:08

Good evening, Elisa Murphy, Ethics Officer.

1:13

Kristen Rogers, Ethics Administrator.

1:16

I apologize, Ms.

1:17

Rogers.

1:17

I should have started with you.

1:19

I I just looked I just looked too close to me.

1:22

Um next would um I'd entertain a motion to adopt our agenda for this evening.

1:29

Motion to adopt.

1:31

Second.

1:32

All those in favor say aye or raise your hand.

1:36

Thank you.

1:37

Um we have some administrative items to deal with.

1:42

Uh first would be approval of the June 18th, 2026 minutes from our meeting last month.

1:55

Could I get a motion for approval of those minutes?

1:58

So moved.

1:58

Thank you.

1:59

A second.

2:00

Second.

2:00

All those in favor say aye.

2:03

Aye.

2:03

Aye.

2:04

The minutes from June are approved.

2:07

And next we would go to report of committees.

2:10

I'm not sure that we have any reports, but uh our committees are in are broken up into three categories.

2:19

One is personnel, the other is budget, and then the last one is oversight.

2:25

I don't show that we have any reports to render, but does anyone have anything to thank you?

2:32

Um and that will take us to the ethics officers monthly report.

2:37

Uh Officer Murphy.

2:40

Thank you.

2:41

Uh Board Member Clements.

2:43

With regards to the new employees trained.

2:47

So far, it's 668 employees, and as you know, we train every other Monday in person.

3:01

With regards to the ethics blast, there's one that went out, and I will show that.

3:07

And I'm scheduled or uh tempting to schedule on their dot their dockets or not their schedules rather, a BLC uh staff training, purchasing and contracting, and human services.

3:23

Uh pending cases as of today is eight.

3:28

There are eight, rather, and uh two of them came in within the last week.

3:35

Regarding hotline reports, there are three.

3:39

There's one regarding a warrant issue, a school issue, and alleged clocking in and out, and two of the three I have uh or Kristen Rogers has contacted the proper officials regarding that.

4:00

There is zero open records request.

4:03

This is the ethics blast, and particularly it's involving jurisdiction, which is our power and authority to hear and decide the cases.

4:13

And I pointed this out because we were receiving so many cases that did not deal with our jurisdiction.

4:23

Uh and later on, I will talk more about uh us having to have personal as well as subject matter jurisdiction.

4:31

Uh but specifically training issues, uh, your conflict with the manager, supervisor, or team member, sexual harassment, hostile work environment, civil rights claims, usually human resources has exclusive jurisdiction over that trash pickup, utility issues.

4:52

I indicated please contact your provider, crimes, please contact law enforcement and order, a prosecutor, district attorney, school issues.

5:01

We do not have jurisdiction over the school issues.

5:06

The individual needs to contact their school district and court cases.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████████54%
Pending Litigation███████████████████████████████37%
Public Safety████████9%
Summary of Proceedings

DeKalb County Board of Ethics Meeting – July 17, 2026

Note: The transcript identifies the meeting date as July 16, 2026, but the provided date for this summary is July 17, 2026. This discrepancy is noted.

The DeKalb County Board of Ethics convened on July 17, 2026, with substitute board member Tom Clements presiding in the absence of the chair and vice chair. The board adopted the agenda, approved the minutes from the June 18, 2026 meeting, received the Ethics Officer’s monthly report, and considered three preliminary cases, all of which were dismissed. The meeting concluded with an executive session on pending litigation and personnel.

Consent Calendar

  • Adoption of Agenda: Motion made and seconded; approved unanimously.
  • Approval of Minutes (June 18, 2026): Motion made and seconded; approved unanimously.

Ethics Officer’s Monthly Report

Ethics Officer Elisa Murphy reported:

  • Employee Training: 668 employees have been trained in person (every other Monday).
  • Ethics Blast: One blast issued, focusing on jurisdictional boundaries (subject matter and personal jurisdiction).
  • Pending Cases: 8 cases as of the meeting, with 2 received in the past week.
  • Hotline Reports: 3 reports — concerning a warrant issue, a school issue, and alleged clocking in/out. Two of the three have been referred to appropriate officials.
  • Open Records Requests: Zero.
  • Training outreach scheduled for BLC staff, purchasing/contracting, and human services.

Discussion Items

Three preliminary cases were presented by Officer Murphy, each recommending dismissal.

Case 2025-9: Antoinette Holloway vs. TC Harrison

  • Complainant alleged that Lt. Harrison (Internal Affairs) violated Georgia’s mandatory child abuse reporting law (O.C.G.A. §19-7-5).
  • Officer Murphy stated the board lacked subject-matter jurisdiction over child custody/welfare matters; the proper authority is the Department of Family and Children’s Services. A wellness check found no danger. The complainant was given 10 business days to correct and refile but failed to do so.
  • Board members asked clarifying questions about refiling options. Officer Murphy noted that dismissal on jurisdictional grounds precludes refiling on the same facts, but new facts could allow a new complaint.
  • Motion to dismiss: Made, seconded, and approved unanimously.

Case 2025-10: Anonymous vs. Tyler Woods

  • Complaint alleged an individual posted nude videos and sexual content online. The complaint contained a fictitious address and phone number.
  • Officer Murphy investigated: contacted human resources; no record of Mr. Woods ever being a DeKalb County employee. The board lacked personal jurisdiction.
  • Motion to approve dismissal: Made, seconded, and approved unanimously.

Case: Nancy Scott vs. Tamara Dillard

  • Original allegations from 2022 (beyond the 4-year statute of limitations). A more recent incident (January 5, 2026) involved Ms. Scott overhearing a supervisor chastising an employee. The complainant was asked to provide more details and had 10 business days to correct/refile but did not. Officer Murphy referred her to human resources and training officials for the underlying issue, which did not rise to an ethics violation.
  • Motion to dismiss: Made, seconded, and approved unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments were offered.

Board Comments

Board members thanked staff and the audience. No additional comments.

Executive Session

  • A motion to convene in executive session to discuss pending litigation and personnel was made, seconded, and approved.
  • After the closed session, the board returned and approved a motion to adjourn the executive session and to approve the executive session affidavit. Both motions passed unanimously.

Key Outcomes

  • Case 2025-9 (Holloway vs. Harrison): Dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction and failure to cure complaint.
  • Case 2025-10 (Anonymous vs. Woods): Dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction (non-employee).
  • Case (Scott vs. Dillard): Dismissed for failure to correct/refile within 10 business days; complainant referred to human resources.
  • Next Regular Meeting: Scheduled for August 20, 2026.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening. I want to welcome everybody to our July 16th, 2026 Board of Ethics meeting. Unfortunately, our chair, Mr. Dallas is out of town, and our vice chair is possibly stuck in traffic, so we're going to go ahead and try to get started. Our agenda today will begin with a call to order and also just a brief introduction. I know that Chair Dallas likes everyone to kind of introduce themselves and go around, so I'll start with uh to my right with Mr. Florence and let him introduce ourselves, and we'll just go around. Yes, uh George Ferrance, member of the board. And I'm Tom Clements, member of the board and substitute today. Scott Matthews, board secretary. Mike Adow board member. Lauren Florence, board member. Kathy Asimel Tentramenial board member. I'm Hakeem Hill, your general counsel. Good evening, Elisa Murphy, Ethics Officer. Kristen Rogers, Ethics Administrator. I apologize, Ms. Rogers. I should have started with you. I I just looked I just looked too close to me. Um next would um I'd entertain a motion to adopt our agenda for this evening. Motion to adopt. Second. All those in favor say aye or raise your hand. Thank you. Um we have some administrative items to deal with. Uh first would be approval of the June 18th, 2026 minutes from our meeting last month. Could I get a motion for approval of those minutes? So moved. Thank you. A second. Second. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. The minutes from June are approved. And next we would go to report of committees. I'm not sure that we have any reports, but uh our committees are in are broken up into three categories. One is personnel, the other is budget, and then the last one is oversight. I don't show that we have any reports to render, but does anyone have anything to thank you? Um and that will take us to the ethics officers monthly report. Uh Officer Murphy. Thank you. Uh Board Member Clements. With regards to the new employees trained. So far, it's 668 employees, and as you know, we train every other Monday in person. With regards to the ethics blast, there's one that went out, and I will show that. And I'm scheduled or uh tempting to schedule on their dot their dockets or not their schedules rather, a BLC uh staff training, purchasing and contracting, and human services. Uh pending cases as of today is eight. There are eight, rather, and uh two of them came in within the last week.

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