Since it first broke nearly 14 months ago, the Paul Moore Ethics scandal has brought a steady stream of shame to the City of Milton. Worse, it has distracted valuable government attention and resources away from much more important priorities. The scandal is like a bad accident . . . you want to look away but cannot seem to turn your head.
The City is making progress on some important issues, but unfortunately the City’s accomplishments are being shrouded by the ethics scandal, but also by 1) council’s obsession with petty White Columns HOA issues and 2) a deeply flawed, unfair, and dishonest election design/implementation process that is making Milton the laughingstock of North Fulton County. And at the center of all three fiascos are Council Members Paul Moore and Rick Mohrig, who have become Milton’s Frick and Frack of government dysfunction. It is difficult for me to see how Moore and Mohrig can survive challenges in the 2023 election considering their numerous and deep self-inflicted wounds.
I have promised to keep readers current about the ethics scandal. This includes providing source materials so that you can form your own judgments. (The Milton Coalition blog is the only place where you can find all these documents and a full compendium of the news stories about the ethics scandal.)
As reported in previous blog posts, Paul Moore lost his appeal in Superior Court. Following are links to two news stories that provide the details. The WSB Yahoo link provides the WSB video that was aired on local news.
Since Mr. Moore’s defeat in Superior Court, a few events have transpired.
First, Moore has submitted an appeal of the Superior Court decision against him. Mr. Palazzo, the ethics complainant, has submitted a response to Mr. Moore’s appeal. I am providing copies of both Moore’s appeal and Pallazo’s response.
Second, Mr. Palazzo has filed a motion in Superior Court to recover his legal and other costs. I am providing a copy of Palazzo’s motion. The Superior Court ruled that Mr. Palazzo could sue to recover his costs.
My understanding is that within 30 days the appellate court will decide whether it will consider Moore’s appeal. And it is likely that the Superior Court soon will decide whether Mr. Moore must reimburse Mr. Palazzo for some/all of Mr. Palazzo’s legal costs.
I will keep readers updated on further developments in the ethics scandal. And don’t forget about the Milton Coalition Bits and Pieces page where I provide additional analysis and commentary for citizens that want to dig deeper into the issues: Bits & Pieces: For A Deeper Understanding
It delights me to pass along some good news in Milton politics. (Please forward this email to family, friends, and neighbors.)
Doug Hene (pronounced “Haney”), a longtime resident of Milton, has announced his candidacy for City Council. Mr. Hene has filed a Declaration of Intent (DOI) to raise and spend money for his campaign. Hene has also issued a press release. Should Paul Moore run for re-election, Milton will have a competitive city council race for District 2, Post 2. This is good news. Competitive races force discussion and debate about important issues; help to ensure accountability; and theoretically should result in better representation.
Unfortunately, competitive city council races are relatively rare in Milton. Since 2009, less than 25% of council seats have been contested. Since 2009, there have been NO competitive District 3 races. Furthermore, lack of contested races in Milton is in marked contrast to Milton’s sister cities, where all races in 2021 were competitive. Milton’s lack of electoral accountability is often evidenced by incompetent and dishonest representation on city council. It is also evidenced by a lack of integrity and accountability among many City Hall staff. In the absence of consequences for failure, citizens have witnessed a proliferation of failure—the latest example being a $35M judgment against Milton in the wrongful death of a motorist resulting from the city’s gross negligence in maintaining its roadways.
Following are some useful links about Mr. Hene, including his LinkedIn profile, his campaign website (at this time, only a fund-raising page), and his DOI. I am also attaching Hene’s candidacy announcement.
Council Member Paul Moore has not yet announced whether he will seek re-election. However, in fairness to Mr. Moore, I am including links to Moore’s LinkedIn profile; his candidate website (there is nothing there right now); his campaign Facebook page (inactive since 2019); and his latest campaign finance report.At my Bits and Pieces page ( Milton Coalition Bits and Pieces Page), I provide my prediction about whether Moore will run and my opinion about whether he should run . . . the answers might surprise you.
As I did in 2021, I will eventually create a separate page at the blog that provides candidate information for all council candidates (without any commentary) so that citizens have a one-stop-shop for candidate information useful for making voting decisions. This will include candidate websites, LinkedIn profiles, newspaper stories, etc.
In 2023, there will be a competitive race in each of Milton’s 3 districts. We can only hope that other candidates will step forward to challenge the incumbent in District 1 (Carol Cookerly) and the incumbent in District 3 (Rick Mohrig). Both have run unopposed in their last 2 elections.
Advocating For Good Governance,
Tim
Note: I have never communicated with Doug Hene, but hope to engage him soon to better understand his candidacy. During the 2023 elections, I will offer all candidates for city council, including those running unopposed, an opportunity to engage voters through my blog.
In November 2016, a bright and promising young man was killed on Milton’s roads. His name was Josh Chang and he was a senior at Yale university. By all accounts, Josh was a young man who was going to accomplish great things in life. On Friday, a jury found the City of Milton (93%) liable for Josh’s death because of an obstruction (a massive planter) that the City allowed in its Right of Way. The City of Milton has been ordered to pay $30+ M to Josh’s family. This tragic event represents a low point in Milton’s history and should serve as a wakeup call to citizens that all is not well in Milton’s city government.
I will not provide details of the accident or the trial in this post. You can get the specifics from the following two stories from 11Alive and WSB:
Josh Chang’s death was tragic. And unfortunately, Josh’s death was also avoidable. Chalk it up to incompetence at Milton’s City Hall. Since 2015, I have been sounding the alarm about serious problems in Milton’s city government. I have exposed many instances of incompetence, corruption, and pettiness. This includes the surreptitious redrawing of city council district lines; multiple counts of egregious council member misbehavior; backroom dealings; and favors for friends in zoning matters. Instead of focusing on important issues, like public safety, Milton’s City Council is focused on minutiae, such as trifling HOA issues, granting favors to friends, and settling political scores. In fact, City Council recently made it nearly impossible for HOAs to install speed detection signs in their communities. This decision will surely make Milton’s roads more dangerous . . . worse, this decision was about settling political scores, not good policy.
Mr. Chang paid for Milton’s incompetence with his life. However, Milton’s citizens will also pay a high price for the City’s incompetence. The $30+M settlement means the average household in Milton will be on the hook for $2000 each. The city’s annual budget is only around $38M. The court’s judgment likely means the city will have to take on debt and taxes will substantially increase. And the city’s liability insurance—a paltry $2M—will barely help in paying off this heavy liability. And the judgment against the City begs the question of why the City did not negotiate a lower-cost settlement?
So what response should citizens expect from the City? I believe the City will provide its typical head-in-the-sand reaction to any negative press: silence and indifference. Maybe, they will ramp up their steady stream of look-good/feel-good posts at Facebook. Afterall, the judgement will be paid with other people’s money . . . your tax dollars. Do you think anyone at the City will be held responsible? Will anyone be fired? Fat chance! The City will stumble along in the usual fashion . . . fat, dumb, and happy. Nothing new here folks, move along. It is important to note that this accident occurred on the watches of current City Manager Krokoff and the city traffic engineer, who has since the accident been promoted to Director of Public Works. I have long asserted that basic accountability is lacking at City Hall. City employees who should be fired are rather rewarded with pay raises and promotions.
And of course, Milton’s City Council will do nothing. Council has completely lost its way. Over the past year, citizens have seen some of the worst misbehavior ever witnessed in Milton. Indulged and often supported by fellow council members, Paul Moore and Rick Mohrig have recklessly run amuck in the Milton City government—behavior that has resulted in huge amounts of negative press and public criticism (e.g., from the Georgia First Amendment Foundation). Paul Moore’s intrusion into petty HOA matters in his subdivision resulted in his conviction on three ethics charges. Mr. Moore and Mr. Mohrig were also members of a partisan elections committee that met secretly at least half a dozen times (and maintained no records of those meetings). Moore and Mohrig designed elections in which they will run in 2023 (should they decide to seek re-election), which strikes me as highly unethical. Their election design raises serious questions about equal polling access for Milton’s District 3 voters. And in the latest episode of questionable ethics, Mr. Moore is refusing to recuse himself from deliberations on zoning modifications being sought for the NW corner of Birmingham Crossroads, despite his deep involvement in 2018 in influencing the current configuration of the property in question. The net effect of Mr. Moore and Mr. Mohrig’s actions have been to bring disgrace to the city; to undermine the trust and confidence of citizens; and to distract the City from important priorities. And other fellow council members, particularly Andrea Verhoff and Jan Jacobus, have been willing accomplices. Moore and Mohrig’s non-stop nonsense and intrusions divert attention and resources from important issues . . . well, like road safety.
And the issue of road safety (and the Crossroads fundamental look-and-feel) will figure prominently in tonight’s City Council’s meeting. At that meeting, Council will take up the issue of 4 variances being requested by Curtis Mills, the owner of the NW corner of Birmingham Crossroads. Previously, Mr. Mills had been granted 12 variances (none of which I believe met Milton’s strict standards for hardship and should have been denied). And if Mr. Mills gets his way, the intensity of use of his property will be dramatically increased far beyond what I believe is supported by Milton’s zoning laws or is reasonable for the property. (Interestingly, Mr. Mills and Council Member Paul Moore were members of the Birmingham-Hopewell Alliance that helped develop and negotiate the Crossroads overlay that Mr. Mills is now trying to circumvent.) Traffic safety is a central issue . . . or should be. The proposed variances mean many more cars will enter/leave the NW corner, just yards from a future roundabout that cars will enter/exit at much higher speeds (relative to the current 4-way stop). Can city staff and council really be trusted to understand and objectively analyze the public safety (and other complex) issues involved in this zoning matter? Will the City once again put public safety at risk and create future financial legal liabilities for its citizens? Will council honor their oath to uphold local, state, and federal laws or will personal/political considerations drive their decisions? (See above photo of vehicle that failed to navigate a roundabout in Milton.)
The City’s actions in the case of Josh Chang’s death are not isolated (as they will likely tell you). In my next blog post, I will explain another situation at Birmingham Crossroads where the City ignored the state’s assertions that certain parking were not permitted, constituted a threat to public safety, and violated state law. The City did nothing to my knowledge. I have provided a preview of my next blog post at the Bits and Pieces page at the Milton Coalition Blog: Milton Coalition Bits & Pieces
Nothing will bring back Josh Chang. However, the city can honor his memory (and reduce future payouts due to negligence) by acknowledging issues of incompetence and corruption in Milton City Government and fixing them. Citizens can honor Josh’s memory by demanding accountability that is sadly lacking within the Milton government. This includes not re-electing wayward politicians such as Rick Mohrig and Paul Moore. Milton deserves better . . . much better.
Advocating For Public Safety and Clean & Competent Government,
Yet again, the owner of the NW Corner of Birmingham Crossroads, Curtis Mills, is requesting variances from City Council. This is his 3rd time before council requesting variances. In his first two appearances, Mr. Mills was granted 12 variances. I advocated against granting any of these variances and I am advocating against the granting of the 4 variances that Mr. Mills is currently seeking from Council. (Tonight is the first presentation. The actual vote will occur at the next City Council meeting.) If granted, Mr. Mills will have secured 16 variances from Council, which I believe might be an ignominious record high for variances in Milton. In my opinion, the key problem is use intensity. Mr. Mills is seeking higher intensity use than his property can support under existing zoning. Accordingly, he is seeking variances (mostly related to parking) to key provisions of the Birmingham Crossroads overlay. If the variances are granted, the look-and-feel of the NW corner will deviate significantly from the other 3 corners of Birmingham Crossroads; I believe it will look much less attractive. I believe that no one in Milton should be above the law. Mr. Mills needs to be held to the same standards that other developers at the Crossroads have had to follow.
It is important to note that since 2018, at Birmingham Crossroads, Council has approved 28 variances in 4 separate hearings for 3 different properties. I strongly believe that not a single one of these variances was justified. Every variance should have been denied.The time in NOW to say NO to the promiscuous granting of variances in Milton.
Yet again, Paul Moore and ethics figures prominently in this issue. Given Mr. Moore’s previous entanglement with the development of the NW corner, good ethics would suggest that Mr. Moore recuse himself from deliberations and the vote on the variances.
Below is a letter that I sent to Council, the City Attorney, and the City Manager explaining 1) why Paul Moore should recuse himself and 2) why council should deny the variances being sought.
Mayor, City Council, City Manager and City Attorney:
I am writing about the request for 4 variances for the Crossroads NW corner. In summary,
Paul Moore has conflicts of interest that require recusal from the discussion.
All 4 variances should be denied by council.
Moore Recusal
Council Member Moore should recuse himself from discussion of variances at the NW corner. I believe Mr. Moore has obvious conflicts of interest. Minimally, Mr. Moore has perceived conflicts. And it is essential (to good governance) that elected officials avoid even the appearance of impropriety. This is especially true for Mr. Moore, who has recently been convicted (unanimously by a panel of 3 attorneys) of 3 ethics violations, which was upheld on appeal. Mr. Moore also recently, as a member of the “Election Feasibility Committee,” participated in designing elections in which he will presumably run in 2023. It is important to note that this election feasibility committee met half a dozen times in secret, without keeping any records of the proceedings. The questionable ethics involved in the committee’s functioning put further pressure on both Mr. Moore and the City to demonstrate Milton is a city that hews to the highest ethical standards.
I remind council that the current configuration of the crossroads would not have occurred without Paul Moore’s intervention. It was Mr. Moore that took Mr. Mills to one of the last Matilda’s concerts in Alpharetta, introduced Mills to the operators, and suggested the move to the Crossroads. This is not hearsay. Mr. Moore explained his central role in the Matilda’s move over dinner and drinks at my home in Milton in early 2018. In addition to me and Mr. Moore, 4 others were present and heard Mr. Moore’s story. Others in Milton were similarly regaled by Mr. Moore with the same story. At the time, Mr. Moore indicated he would recuse himself from the matter but did not. Rather, as chairman of the Planning Commission, Mr. Moore presided over a hearing on Matilda’s where the PC approved recommendations that exceeded even what the applicant was seeking. Mr. Moore drove the PC’s discussion. Never once did Moore reveal his conflict of interest in this matter. And later (in a debate during the 2019 election), Mr. Moore would deny his role in the relocation of Matilda’s stating he was merely a customer, not unlike he is a customer of Carl Black or Publix.
However, my understanding is that in the wake of Mr. Mills being granted a “festival” special use permit and 9 variances (and 3 more variances later in 2018), Mr. Moore was given the stage at 1+ Matilda’s concerts for campaigning. See the following photo sent to me by a concerned citizen.
Mr. Moore and Mr. Mills have long enjoyed a relationship that might be interpreted by some (I am one of them) that might influence Moore to advocate for special treatment that might militate against the interests of the community. I strongly believe Mr. Moore cannot and will not be objective in this matter. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions . . .
If Mr. Moore does not voluntarily recuse himself, I believe the City Manager, City Attorney, and City Council have an obligation to discuss this issue and articulate a clear position on the ethics of Mr. Moore’s participation in tonight’s discussion and vote about the NW corner. And I warn council that ignoring this issue or allowing Mr. Moore to participate might result in further ethics complaints and all that entails in terms of legal costs, bad publicity, diversion from important priorities, wasted resources, etc.
Variance Denial
I recommend denial of all variances being requested.
Most current council members were not involved in the decision (June 2018) to allow Mr. Mills to bastardize a festival use permit with 9 variances. I doubt any of these newer council members understand the background involved in this matter. And an understanding of this background is necessary to making decisions tonight that will benefit the citizens and the community.
I remind Council that Mr. Mills has already been granted 12 variances for his property. He was initially granted 9 variances used to bastardize Milton’s festival use permit to locate a concert venue at the Crossroads. He later built a (second) parking lot under the power lines that was neither authorized by Georgia Power (which owns the easement and must approve such uses) nor the City. This required Mr. Mills to seek 3 more variances, which were granted without a word of scolding from Council.
Now, Mr. Mills is seeking 4 more variances for a total of 16 variances for his Crossroads property. I remind Council that Milton has a very stringent variance ordinance that requires variances satisfy the criteria of each of 4 tests. The applicant must demonstrate hardship, as defined in the context of zoning. No reasonable case for hardship can be made.
Let me get to the crux of the matter. Mr. Mills was granted some variances for the purpose of parking for Matilda’s. A parking lot is not a permitted AG1 use, but an exception was made for Matilda’s. Mr. Mills has mostly used this Matilda’s parking for his restaurant. To date, despite protests from citizens, the City has turned a blind eye to Mr. Mills re-purposing Matilda’s parking for his restaurant. Now, Mr. Mills wants to increase the commercial capacity of his commercially-zoned property, which is his right. However, it seems he wants to shift some/most of the parking from the commercially zoned property to the Matilda’s parking lot. Furthermore, he seeks to construct the parking in a design that does not follow the master plan/overlay for the Crossroads and therefore violates the look-and-feel that was approved for the Crossroads and which developers of the other 3 corners were forced to follow. It is fine for Mr. Mills to seek to commercialize his property and to maximize the return on his investment in his property. However, he needs to do so within the constraints imposed by the Birmingham Crossroads overlay. If parking is insufficient, then Mr. Mills needs to reduce the property’s intensity of use such that parking is adequate (and follows the Crossroads overlay) for the intensity of use within the commercial boundaries of the property and does not spill onto AG1 land. The City has been generous—overly generous, in my opinion—in granting Mr. Mills variances. Furthermore, to my knowledge, Mr. Mills has not provided the City anything of value in exchange for granted variances, which have enhanced the value of his property. Such “horse-trading” of variances for concessions is standard practice in other locales, but not in Milton.
In closing, it is important to note that both Mr. Mills and Mr. Moore were members of the Birmingham-Hopewell Alliance, which was instrumental in negotiating the current master plan for Birmingham Crossroads. At the time, neither Moore nor Mills had any interest—financial or otherwise—in the NW corner. However, both Moore and Mills now have personal/financial interests in the NW corner. This has resulted in their advocacy of variances that fundamentally undermine the master plan/overlay that both Moore and Mills helped to develop and promote. I trust the irony of this advocacy is not lost on you or, more importantly, the community.
Milton Coalition 