The proposed impeachment of a long serving public official is moving to the next step.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Cumming City Council voted to move forward with the impeachment of Councilman Rupert Sexton. The vote was 4-1, with Sexton being the only sole vote not to impeach. The next step is for an investigatory panel to gather information and produce a report.

“They will come up with a report, that investigatory panel report would be returned to the city council at a subsequent meeting,” said city attorney Dana Miles. “If, based upon that report, the city council votes to impeach Councilman Sexton, then a trial will be set before the city council on specific charges.”

The panel will include Miles, Steve Page and Patrick Bell, and the report can use any information gathered by the panel or used in the meeting.

According to Miles, the current facts of the case pertain to a recent executive session during a council meeting, and a list of purported documents containing financial and insurance information of city employees.

“A week ago on December the 16th, Councilman Sexton made a motion to go into executive session for employee benefits,” Miles said.

“At that executive session, Councilman Sexton presented a proposal … [to add] councilmember’s wives as employees with no designated job duties, but for the purpose of getting paid city health insurance benefits for their lifetime.”

Miles said that the proposal would have been a “very significant cost” for the city, and was not “proper purpose” for an executive session.

“The executive session was immediately adjourned,” he said. “Councilman Sexton did not seek to add this proposal to a regular meeting agenda, but instead remarked twice, that he was now going to quote ‘Do what he had to do.’”

Miles said after that meeting was when information about city employees’ insurance coverage first appeared on a social media site, and that Sexton had originally requested the information.

“Later that same evening, an [Microsoft] Excel spreadsheet containing the private and protected health insurance and related information on the city’s 139 employees was published on social media.”

That excel spreadsheet was created by HR director Phil Higgins, and was only given to Councilman Sexton on Councilman Sexton’s request.”
Sexton said that he didn’t release the documents, and that the documents were public information.

“I’ve served the citizens of Cumming for the past 44 years with the utmost integrity. I’ve done nothing illegal, immoral or unethical,” Sexton said. “I’ve not released to any media source any list or records. I’m respectfully asking the mayor and my fellow council members to provide any proof to the contrary.”

“If I’m correct, this information can be provided to any citizen, through the Open Records Act.”

Sexton said that even though Mayor H. Ford Gravitt said in a meeting that Sexton was the only one with the leaked list, that he had sent the list to the mayor and other councilmembers.

“I’ve not released any documents to anybody other than Mayor Gravitt on April 19, 2014, Councilman Ledbetter on Nov. 14, 2014. I emailed Councilman Perry the same list, which has been alleged and is public record,” Sexton said. “My question is, why isn’t Mayor Gravitt, Councilman Ledbetter and Councilman Perry not the one being impeached? They got the same list I got.”

The leaked list has caused controversy, as it shows the mayor’s girlfriend, Angela Mullinax, receives health insurance from the city. While the question has be raised as to whether Mullinax is a city employee, City Administrator Gerald Blackburn said she is an employee, and works part time.

Though not a city employee, Miles also receives health insurance from the city, but said it wouldn’t affect his decision as part of the investigatory council and he is not the one who will decide.

“City attorneys across the state are covered by the cities that they act as city attorneys for,” Miles said. “I have an official role as the city attorney and therefore I qualify under the Georgia Municipal Association to receive insurance, but I’m not ultimate decision maker in this matter, the city council is the ultimate decision maker.”