An appointed panel of Cedartown residents Thursday night reviewed, and for a second time dismissed, an ethics complaint brought by a Rome resident who runs a non-profit government “watchdog” organization.

The complaint was filed by George Anderson, who runs Ethics in Government Group. Anderson first filed an ethics complaint last fall, right before the city elections, that was dismissed by the City of Cedartown’s Ethics Committee as having no merit. One of the targets in that complaint was Commissioner Scotty Tillery — the sole target in the latest complaint.

The new complaint was over a property purchase.

After a presentation by Anderson and a response from the city’s attorney, the ethics panel determined that Anderson had failed to present any evidence of wrongdoing and decided the complaint did not warrant any further review.

“I don’t see anything here that is evidence that he (Tillery) has done anything wrong,” Ethics Committee member James Couey said.

Other committee members agreed. Ethics panel member Dave Grove made a motion to dismiss the complaint. The motion passed unanimously.

Anderson’s newest complaint took aim at a property purchase made by Tillery. Tillery has half interest in a vacant commercial building located at 110 Herbert St. The purchase was made last October.

Anderson claims the property purchase violates ethics policies because the building lies within a new enterprise zone, which provides for tax incentives for business development. Tillery, as a commissioner, voted in favor of creating the enterprise zone. That constitutes a conflict of interest, Anderson stated in his complaint.

Anderson was slated to make his case first before the ethics panel Thursday. However, he was not present when the meeting convened. Committee chairman Tom Lowe instead asked city attorney Rob Monroe to proceed.

Monroe’s presentation was succinct, taking only about five minutes of the seven minutes alloted to each side. Anderson’s complaint, Monroe said, “is completely lacking in merit.”

He said that Anderson cited a portion of law that applies to a different kind of development that is completely unrelated to the type of projects undertaken by the city.

“The code section cited by Mr. Anderson, O.C.G.A. 36-44-21, is applicable only when a government has designated a particular area as a tax allocation district (TAD),” Monroe said. “The city has not designated any areas as a TAD.

“Because the Commission has not designated any areas within the city as tax allocation districts, the code section cited by Mr. Anderson is inapplicable.”

Further, Monroe explained, the ordinance enacted by the city does not convey any kind of financial benefit to Tillery as a result of his purchasing the property.

“This property is included in the Downtown Enterprise Zone and the Main Street Enterprise Zone, along with over 100 other properties,” Monroe said. “As of now, the city has not identified any projects to be undertaken in either of these areas and has not offered any tax incentives or other services to any property owners.

“Commissioner Tillery has therefore not received any tangible benefit whatsoever as a result of the inclusion of the Herbert Street property in these zones.”

Anderson arrived near the end of Monroe’s comments, nearly 10 minutes into the meeting. He apologized to the committee, explaining that he had to get off work and drive from Rome.

Anderson took the podium and began explaining his case. He ran over his allotted time, taking more than eight minutes until he was cut off by the committee.

Anderson’s presentation ran long in part because he brought up a variety of issues that were unrelated to his written complaint. This led to his being chided by the committee.

Among the other issues brought up by Anderson were complaints — which he said have been relayed to him by city employees and former city employees — that the city has hired new employees for the city’s maintenance department instead of rehiring former employees who were laid off due to budget cuts.

Lowe interrupted Anderson and directed him to get back on topic. He stated that while the committee was not insensitive to the complaints of laid off employees, it was not relevant to the issue that had been forwarded for review.

Anderson also brought up a couple of issues that were in his complaint filed last October – issues that had already been reviewed and dismissed by the committee. Among them, Anderson referred to Tillery as “a micromanager” who had overstepped his authority as a commissioner. These allegations include Anderson’s claim that Tillery tried to influence which employees were hired and fired.

In a previous interview with The Cedartown Standard, Tillery has labeled Anderson’s repeated filings as a political vendetta. Tillery said he has made an enemy somewhere — simply in the process of performing his elected duties — and that person appears to be working with Anderson.

Anderson also accused Tillery of having a conflict of interest due to contract work that his brother’s plumbing business has performed for the city. Anderson said Tillery is part owner of the plumbing business. Committee members pointed Anderson toward a letter from The Gammage Firm that affirmed that Scotty Tillery has no financial interest in the company.

Anderson said he was aware of the letter but remained unconvinced.

“I have considered filing an ethics complaint with the State Bar Association (against Miles Gammage) but didn’t want to take it that far,” Anderson said.

Committee member Dave Grove, a pastor, pointed out that Anderson had provided no documentation to prove his claim. Anderson was asking the committee to take his word over a lawyer who “is putting his professional credentials and reputation on the line,” he said.

After Anderson’s presentation, Monroe had three minutes for further arguments and Anderson was then given the same amount of time. Committee members were then given time to ask questions.

After the vote went against him, Anderson stated that “I expected this decision again,” but added, “my concern is for the public.”

After the chairman announced adjournment, Anderson exclaimed “Hallelujah!” before gathering up his paperwork and leaving.