A conflict of Interest Complaint was filed with the Sevier County Ethics Committee November 20th of 2007 by James J. Wilson of Sevierville.
The complaint alleges that Mr. David Taylor, appointed to serve a five year term on the Sevier County Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA.) contends there is a conflict of interest.
The complaint states that Mr. Taylor is employed as an engineer with Vision Engineering and Development Services, Inc., a local engineering firm that has frequent matters before the BZA.
It goes on to say, it is a conflict of interest for Mr. Taylor to place himself in a position to consider and vote on matters that his employer has before the board and especially since Mr. Taylor recently was elected to be the chairman of the BZA.
The complaint even goes further into the conflict by stating; This appointment also does not meet the minimum code of ethics and conduct that the National Association of Counties (NACO) requires of its members. Further, I contend that Mr. Taylor should have known his appointment to sit on the BZA would place his judgment and subsequent votes into question. He, therefore, should not have accepted the nomination. It is NOT sufficient for Mr. Taylor to simply recue himself from a potential vote concerning Vision Engineering Company; his votes on matters concerning potential (Vision) competitors can not be considered impartial. It is further stated that Mr. Taylor’s employer, Vision Engineering and Development Services, Inc, should have objected to him accepting the BZA position. They should have known that such an appointment to the BZA by one of its employees places the entire company in the very precarious position of being viewed as having gained an unfair competitive advantage. The increase in negative publicity and legal liability should be of concern to the company.
According to the complaint letter, Mr. Taylor’s appointment to the BZA should be found to be unethical by this Committee and the appointment should be rescinded. To restore the public trust, Mayor Waters should appoint another person; one who does not stand to gain by his/her vote. It is the ethical thing to do. Public trust is severely eroded when conflicts of interest of this nature go unchallenged by the public or are simply glossed over.
Following this complaint and others, the county commission addressed these issues at the December meeting. Some members of the Ethics Committee along with the county attorney, Jerry McCarter, expressed concerns that the high number complaints referred to as "frivolous" complaints will hurt their ability to pursue real issues.
The concern comes from two individuals filing eight complaints between them.
After much discussion A motion by committee member and County Commissioner Phil King was made during December’s meeting to make the committee's meetings quarterly rather than monthly. This motion was unanimously supported by the other commissioners.
Many in the audience were shocked at this move. Some were heard commenting that this wipes out everything the Ethics Committee is about.