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Record of Proceedings

DeKalb County Board of Ethics Meeting - September 18, 2026

Board of Commissioners & Committees — Friday, September 18, 2026
BodyDekalb County, Georgia
SessionBoard of Commissioners & Committees
DateFriday, September 18, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:09:37

Original source
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0:08

Welcome everyone to the uh DeCab County Board of Ethics uh September 17th meeting at 6 p.m.

0:14

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

0:17

And uh as is usually the case, we'll go ahead and introduce ourselves and I'll start on my right with our administrator.

0:24

Kristen Rogers, Ethics Administrator.

0:28

Hello, I'm Tom Clements, board member.

0:31

Bob Dallas, Chair of the Board.

0:34

Shakita Wright, Vice Chair.

0:36

Scott Matthews, Board Secretary.

0:39

Mike Adow, board member.

0:40

Lauren Florence, board member.

0:42

Uh Hakeem Hilliard, General Counsel.

0:46

Good evening, Elisa Murphy, Ethics Officer.

0:49

Thank all of you, and uh welcome everybody who is here and watching.

0:53

And uh the next item on our agenda is adoption of the agenda.

0:57

You see it before you.

0:58

If there's any changes now, be the time to propose it.

1:01

Otherwise, I'll take a motion.

1:03

There is one change.

1:04

What is that?

1:06

On item four B as in boy, instead of putting the partial names of the individuals, I put uh DeCab County Sheriff's Office.

1:22

So it should read Jade R.

1:26

Cross versus DeCab County Sheriff's Office.

1:29

Ah, okay.

1:34

Because I couldn't verify whether these are deputies or not.

1:41

All right, well.

1:42

That's sort of makes it a little bit easier to read.

1:46

All right.

1:47

So is if somebody wants to um are there any other changes that you're proposing?

1:53

Or anybody else?

1:54

All right, if somebody wants to make a motion with that change.

1:56

So moved as amended.

1:58

Second.

1:59

All right, there's a motion and a second.

2:01

Any further discussion?

2:02

Seeing none.

2:03

All those in favor of adopting that agenda, signify by raising your hand or saying aye.

2:08

Aye.

2:08

Opposed like signed.

2:10

All right, we have our agenda.

2:12

The next item three is uh approval of the minutes of the meeting from August 20, which have been uh sent to you and are in front of you.

2:22

So you move to accept them?

2:25

All right, we have a second.

2:26

Second.

2:27

All right.

2:27

Are there any more comments?

2:30

Seeing none, I'll go ahead and call the question.

2:32

All those in favor of adopting the minutes from August 20, 2026, 75 by saying aye, raise their hand.

2:38

Aye.

2:39

Aye.

2:39

Opposed like signed.

2:41

All right.

2:41

They have been adopted.

2:42

I will sign them.

2:44

Uh the next item is report of the committees, and in your package, you will see you have something that we've talked about in the past, and that has to do with uh our DeCab County and State Code be large relating to governance of this body.

3:04

And what we have found, for example, is that some of the things that come before us will exceed in terms of uh potential prosecutorial value, more than a thousand dollars.

3:21

And um, so what this is trying to do is to address that, and I think Mr.

3:26

Ferriss working with our officer has uh talked about it.

3:32

Yes, I worked with Mr.

3:34

Ferrens, Mr.

3:35

Dial, uh, and me.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Ethics And Governance████████████████████████████████████████40%
Procedural█████████████████████████25%
Ethics Training█████████████13%
Personnel Matters███████████11%
Pending Litigation██████6%
Public Safety███3%
Appointments█1%
Public Engagement█1%
Summary of Proceedings

DeKalb County Board of Ethics Meeting - September 18, 2026

The DeKalb County Board of Ethics convened on September 18, 2026, at 11:00 AM. The meeting included adoption of the agenda, approval of previous minutes, committee reports, the Ethics Officer's monthly report, discussion of formal advisory opinions, and preliminary case reviews. The board dismissed two complaints, discussed potential code amendments for prosecutorial referrals, and addressed public comments on procedural issues.

Consent Calendar

  • Adoption of Agenda: Approved with an amendment to Item 4B, changing the name to "Jade R. Cross versus DeKalb County Sheriff's Office" for clarity.
  • Approval of August 20, 2026 Minutes: Adopted unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Mike Cooper (Stone Mountain resident): Noted confusion over the numbering of formal advisory opinions, pointing out that two different opinions are both labeled "2026-1" on the board's website. Suggested renumbering to avoid confusion.
  • Stephen Benny (Clarkston resident): Recommended State Representative Viola Davis as a legislative contact for proposed code changes. Discussed Commissioner Michelle Long Spears' recusal on Callanwald matters and raised concerns about the temporary employee loophole, urging the board to clarify that temporary employees are subject to the ethics code.

Discussion Items

  • Committee Report on Code Amendment (Section 22K1C): The board discussed a proposed amendment to refer ethics violations exceeding $1,000 to the District Attorney or Solicitor General for prosecution. After debate, members simplified the language to end at "prosecution" and agreed to retain the clause covering elected, appointed, paid, or unpaid officials/employees. A final vote is planned for the October meeting before submission to the county legislative delegation.
  • Ethics Officer's Monthly Report:
    • Training: 1,111 new and transferred employees have received in-person ethics training; an additional year-in-training program with time-driven modules is being developed with HR.
    • Ethics Blast: Weekly emails focus on conflicts of interest and gifts; the website has an education section addressing these topics.
    • Pending Cases: Two anonymous reports – one involving a school district (outside jurisdiction, forwarded to superintendent) and one internal case.
    • Warning Letter: Commissioner Michelle Long Spears was advised to recuse herself from Callanwald-related matters; she apologized and agreed to do so.
    • New Appointment: Ward Howe's background check is complete; final appointment expected at the next meeting.
  • Formal Advisory Opinions:
    • 2026-1 (First Amendment speech policy): The Ethics Officer stated the request falls outside board jurisdiction but presented it for information. Board members noted specific code sections that might apply to employee speech.
    • 2026-2 (Temporary employees under Section 22A): The request from the Community Development Director asks whether temporary, non-benefited employees (average tenure 23 months) are covered by ethics restrictions. General Counsel Hakeem Hilliard opined that the code definition of "employee" does not exclude temporary workers, so they are covered. The board deferred final decision to the next meeting for further input.
  • Preliminary Cases:
    • Case 2026-12 (Heban v. Commissioner Messiah): Complainant alleged Commissioner Messiah denied a rezoning based on a conversation with Mr. Tolliver. The Ethics Officer found no evidence to support the claim and noted the commissioner's vote was unanimous against the project. Complainant did not cure deficiencies after a 10-day notice and 30-day extension. Motion to dismiss under Rules 4.5 and 5.4 carried unanimously.
    • Case 2026-17 (Cross v. DeKalb County Sheriff's Office): Complainant alleged excessive force (Fourth Amendment) during jail detention. The board lacks jurisdiction over constitutional claims, and the complainant failed to provide required information despite notice. Motion to dismiss carried unanimously.
  • Executive Session: The board moved into closed session to discuss legal and personnel matters. After reconvening, the executive session was adjourned and the open meetings affidavit approved.

Key Outcomes

  • Dismissal of Case 2026-12: Unanimous vote to dismiss based on lack of evidence and failure to cure.
  • Dismissal of Case 2026-17: Unanimous vote to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction and insufficient information.
  • Code Amendment Referral: Final draft to be voted on at the October 15, 2026 meeting, then submitted to the legislative delegation.
  • Next Regular Meeting: Scheduled for October 15, 2026; the November meeting location is uncertain due to room conflicts with a zoning board meeting.

Meeting Transcript

Welcome everyone to the uh DeCab County Board of Ethics uh September 17th meeting at 6 p.m. So I'll go ahead and call our meeting to order. And uh as is usually the case, we'll go ahead and introduce ourselves and I'll start on my right with our administrator. Kristen Rogers, Ethics Administrator. Hello, I'm Tom Clements, board member. Bob Dallas, Chair of the Board. Shakita Wright, Vice Chair. Scott Matthews, Board Secretary. Mike Adow, board member. Lauren Florence, board member. Uh Hakeem Hilliard, General Counsel. Good evening, Elisa Murphy, Ethics Officer. Thank all of you, and uh welcome everybody who is here and watching. And uh the next item on our agenda is adoption of the agenda. You see it before you. If there's any changes now, be the time to propose it. Otherwise, I'll take a motion. There is one change. What is that? On item four B as in boy, instead of putting the partial names of the individuals, I put uh DeCab County Sheriff's Office. So it should read Jade R. Cross versus DeCab County Sheriff's Office. Ah, okay. Because I couldn't verify whether these are deputies or not. All right, well. That's sort of makes it a little bit easier to read. All right. So is if somebody wants to um are there any other changes that you're proposing? Or anybody else? All right, if somebody wants to make a motion with that change. So moved as amended. Second. All right, there's a motion and a second. Any further discussion? Seeing none. All those in favor of adopting that agenda, signify by raising your hand or saying aye. Aye. Opposed like signed. All right, we have our agenda. The next item three is uh approval of the minutes of the meeting from August 20, which have been uh sent to you and are in front of you. So you move to accept them? All right, we have a second. Second. All right. Are there any more comments? Seeing none, I'll go ahead and call the question. All those in favor of adopting the minutes from August 20, 2026, 75 by saying aye, raise their hand. Aye. Aye. Opposed like signed.

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