CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Tensions ran high at the Clarksville City Council’s Sept. 3 meeting as council members discussed an ordinance that would reimburse some city officials for legal fees associated with ethics complaints filed against them.

Ordinance 24-2020-21, initially proposed by Councilman Gary Norris, establishes that during an ethics complaint hearing both parties have the right to an attorney and that the council may pay for attorney fees for city officials in an ethics complaint.

3 complaints vs. 7 officials

The ordinance follows a number of complaints filed against council members by Jeff Robinson, owner of The Blackhorse Pub & Brewery and plaintiff in a longstanding lawsuit against the city. Robinson filed three complaints, naming seven city officials.

The second of those complaints relates to the Finance Committee’s Aug. 25 meeting. The committee voted to hire an outside attorney for City Attorney Lance Baker, the subject of Robinson’s initial complaint.

Robinson argued in that second complaint, filed against all members of the Finance Committee, that they violated the City Ethics Code, which states that public officials may have legal representation “at their own expense.”

Councilman David Allen objected to the ordinance Thursday night, saying it retroactively solves a problem for the City Council, sets a bad precedent and demoralizes those who want to hold government officials accountable.

“I have a lot of issues with this,” said Allen. “A lot of (citizens) have a lot of mistrust for the government anyway. We know that. A lot of them have a lot of mistrust. And I think this just furthers that mistrust. … I think that the way we are proposing to do it, it sends the message that, when a citizen makes a complaint, we are going to use their taxpayer dollars. They are going to be paying for  a lawyer to defend the person that they are making the complaint against. That is not transparency. That is no good.”

Council members in favor of the ordinance, including Valerie Guzman, Stacey Streetman, Jeff Henley and Jeff Burkhart, said it protects city employees who may not be able to afford legal assistance on their own and ensures that anyone can hold public office regardless of their financial status.

Mayor: Recent ethics complaints are ‘inane’

Mayor Joe Pitts shared his belief that complaints filed by Robinson are a reaction to the lawsuit between Blackhorse and the city, calling them “inane.”

“One can only surmise that that the strategy was to discredit our city’s legal department and force us to spend money on outside legal help. While they have accomplished the latter, they have only proven our city’s legal department, who are vital parts of our city employee family, is doing their job and doing it well,” said Pitts.

“While elected officials are fair game, and in my case I don’t care what they think of me, our city employees should not be subject to the harangue and harassment that someone with a lawyer friend and a copy machine will likely file many of these ethics complaints.”

Robinson: Council changing rules

Robinson denied Pitt’s accusation, saying in an interview with Clarksville Now that his complaints were unrelated to other matters between the city and himself.

“That lawsuit doesn’t have anything to do with this. They should operate and follow their own rules regardless of this lawsuit or any other,” said Robinson. “The mayor and some city councilmen chose to interject our lawsuit into it, but ethics and lawsuit are not the same thing.

“So now, they are in the process of changing the rules to accommodate themselves. But, ya know, I guess when you are the guys that make the rules, you can do that,” he added.

Pitts, Streetman, Guzman, Henley and Burkhart stated at the meeting that they would not use public funds in their own defense against the ethics complaints.

Ordinance 24 passed first reading Thursday night (9 yes – 2 no – 2 abstain). It will be up for a second and final reading at the next meeting. To read the full ordinance, click here.

Correction: An earlier version of this report gave an incorrect tally for the vote.