Georgia Attorney General's Office offers settlement to Gordon mayor for alleged Open Records Act violations

If Gordon Mayor Mary Ann Whipple-Lue doesn't sign a memorandum of understanding drafted by the state Attorney General's Office, admitting that she violated the state's sunshine laws, the city may be headed for another legal battle -- this one with the state.

A copy of the unsigned document, obtained by The Telegraph through a request filed with the Attorney General's Office, alleges that Whipple-Lue used personal email accounts to conduct city business, but failed to hand over all emails subject to disclosure under the state's Open Records Act when The Wilkinson County Post filed a request for them Aug. 25.

Whipple-Lue also is accused of trying to charge more than the 10-cent-per-page copying fee allowed by law as well as other procedural violations.

The state's offer to settle the matter without litigating it, as enumerated in the drafted memorandum, is that the city pay a $1,000 fine for the violation. Any additional violations within the next year would cost up to $2,500 per violation.

A phone message left for Whipple-Lue seeking comment was not returned last week.

Her personal attorney, Wayne Kendall, said, "She's not going to sign that," referring to the memorandum of understanding.

Kendall said Whipple-Lue isn't guilty of any wrongdoing and that she received inadequate assistance from the city's attorney in handling the Open Records Act request.

The mayor sent a letter to the Attorney General's Office on Dec. 3 requesting that the settlement agreement include a stipulation that "as a novice office holder," legal advice she received wasn't sufficient.

The letter and other correspondence pertaining to the alleged violations were included in The Telegraph's request for records.

Jim Green, an Irwinton attorney who advised the mayor on the matter, emailed the Attorney General's Office on Dec. 18 objecting to the mayor's requested stipulation, saying that although attorney-client privilege prevents him from discussing what advice the mayor received, her request is "improper."

He also said Whipple-Lue can't claim to be a "novice office holder" after nearly two years in office and prior service on the county's Board of Education.

City Councilman Terry Eady said the memorandum of understanding will likely be on the agenda for the council's next meeting Jan. 4.

A lawsuit filed against Whipple-Lue in 2014 by two city councilmen and the Concerned Citizens of Gordon group still is pending.

The group, which seeks the mayor's removal from office, alleges that she also violated the state's Open Meetings Act as well as other misconduct.

ALLEGED VIOLATIONS

According to records obtained from the state:

In a Nov. 24 letter, an assistant state attorney general wrote to Whipple-Lue describing the allegations against her.

Although Whipple-Lue initially claimed in a Sept. 8 letter to Green that she'd never conducted city business using her personal email accounts -- both of which are listed on her city business card -- in phone conversations with the Attorney General's Office Sept. 10 and 11, she admitted receiving emails about city business on those accounts.

On Sept. 11, Whipple-Lue sent a letter to The Wilkinson County Post saying the records would be available in a week, but didn't indicate that the cost was expected to exceed $25.

The 60 emails she ultimately provided included about 500 pages and a copying bill of $172.47, more than triple the 10-cents-per-page fee allowed by law.

While investigating the complaint filed against Whipple-Lue, the Attorney General's Office filed its own Open Records Act request with the Middle Georgia Regional Commission asking for copies of emails the commission had received from the mayor's personal email accounts.

When comparing the records provided by Whipple-Lue to those provided by the commission, the office found the commission provided 10 emails not included in the records that Whipple-Lue provided The Wilkinson County Post.

To contact writer Amy Leigh Womack, call 744-4398 or find her on Twitter@awomackmacon.

This story was originally published December 26, 2015 at 8:34 PM with the headline "Georgia Attorney General's Office offers settlement to Gordon mayor for alleged Open Records Act violations ."