DeKalb County Board of Ethics Meeting - October 16, 2026

The DeKalb County Board of Ethics convened its monthly meeting on October 16, 2026, beginning shortly after 6:00 PM. The board adopted the agenda, approved minutes, considered a proposed amendment to the ethics code, received the Ethics Officer's report, deliberated two formal advisory opinion requests, dismissed a case, heard public comment, and addressed scheduling.

Consent Calendar

• Adoption of Agenda: Moved, seconded, and unanimously approved by voice vote.
• Approval of Minutes: Moved, seconded, and unanimously approved by voice vote.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Benny (community member): Asked whether fines remain in the proposed amendment (board confirmed). Noted the county recently laid off a third to half of its law department lawyers and is replacing them with contracted specialists; suggested the board evaluate how contract/temporary employees are treated under the ethics code. Expressed support for police and fire officers’ right to make public comments but believed that individuals connected to commissioners should wait until regular citizens speak. Also referenced Commissioner Spears’ experience and suggested that parameters should be set for public comment. Praised the board's work on the contract employee opinion request.

Discussion Items

• Oversight Committee Report – Proposed Amendment to Section 22AK1C: The Oversight Committee presented draft language that would add referral of intentional ethics violations to the district attorney or solicitor for prosecution, with possible fines, restitution, and imprisonment (current penalties: up to $1,000 fine and six months imprisonment). Board members discussed phrasing and clarified the delineation of prosecutorial responsibility. The board voted unanimously to forward the amendment to the county commission and General Assembly.
• Ethics Officer Monthly Report (Elisa Murphy): Reported providing in-person ethics training to 1,099 new and reassigned employees since September 17, 2026. Issued an ethics blast on prohibited sources. Coordinating with HR to ensure annual training for over 6,500 employees. Update on cases: one new intake and one pending. Hotline reports: code enforcement issue, sick time (referred to HR), alleged drinking on the job (referred to COO, HR, CEO), underage driving matter. One open records request awaiting payment. The budget, which was due September 25 (45 days earlier than the usual December deadline), was deferred to the next meeting. Welcomed new board member Ward Howe.
• Formal Advisory Opinion 2026-2 (Commissioner Michelle Long Spears): Commissioner Spears asked whether the ethics code prohibits current, former, or prospective employees from participating in public comment at Board of Commissioners meetings. General Counsel Hakeem Hilliard advised that Section 22A does not create a blanket prohibition, but individual circumstances could trigger ethics violations. The board voted unanimously to issue a formal advisory opinion consistent with that advice.
• Formal Advisory Opinion Request (Alan Mitchell, Director of Community Development): Mitchell requested guidance on whether eight employees in temporary non-benefited status (averaging 23 months in temporary roles) are subject to the two-year cooling-off contracting restriction when transitioning to independent contractor status. Hilliard concluded that temporary status does not exempt them from the ethics code and recommended the board not issue an opinion, as the request sought a legal interpretation rather than an ethics opinion. The board voted unanimously not to issue an advisory opinion.
• Case – Donna Thieler (Preliminary Determination): Ethics Officer Murphy explained that the alleged violation occurred July 1, 2022, and the four-year statute of limitations began at discovery. Prior internal affairs investigations and court proceedings (Superior Court and Court of Appeals) had addressed the matter. The board found no jurisdiction and unanimously voted to dismiss the case.
• Board Comments on Public Participation: A board member suggested that parameters should be set for former employees’ public comments to prevent disclosure of proprietary or confidential information.

Key Outcomes

• Amendment 22AK1C: Unanimously approved forwarding the proposed amendment to the county commission and General Assembly.
• Formal Advisory Opinion 2026-2: Unanimously approved issuance.
• Second Advisory Opinion Request: Unanimously approved not issuing.
• Case Dismissal: Unanimously dismissed Donna Thieler’s case for lack of jurisdiction.
• Executive Session: Unanimously approved entering executive session to discuss pending litigation and personnel; later approved exit and the required affidavit.
• Next Meeting: The board decided to cancel the regular November meeting (due to scheduling conflicts and counsel unavailability) and scheduled the next meeting for December 17, 2026, when the budget will also be discussed.