Council faulted Over Fund-Raiser Ad

By Doug Nurse / dnurse@ajc.com

A Milton City Council member said he was trying to stay within the law
when he directed the cityclerk to advertise a fund-raiser Thursday
for him and another council member, a violation of the city of ethics code.

"There were going to be four or five members of the City Council there,
and that's a quorum," said City Councilman Neal O'brien, who is up for
re-election this year. "I understood that if there was going to be a quorum,
it had to be advertised. We were merely trying to comply with the
open meetings law."

He said there were no plans to discuss or vote on any issues pending
before the City Council. The fund-raiser, conducted at the Atlanta National
Golf Club, was also arranged to raise money for City Council member
Bill Lusk, who is seeking re-election as well. City Council members
Karen Thurman, O'Brien, Lusk, Rick Mohrig, and Mayor Joe Lockwood
were expected to attend the event.

Under the city ethics code, city resources cannot be used for
political campaign purposes. Neither O'Brien nor Lusk have any declared
opposition, although each survived runoffs that started with a field of five.