VALDOSTA — Valdosta City Council met in a special called meeting Tuesday to deal with the question of government ethics after a city employee filed a formal grievance against a city council member.
On May 21, Anetra Riley, the city’s neighborhood development/community protection manager, issued an official ethics complaint against Councilwoman Vivian Miller-Cody, a statement from the city said.
In a copy of the complaint contained in the city’s statement, Riley claims Miller-Cody had, on a number of occasions, “aggressively and maliciously conveyed misinformation concerning my performance and integrity in my position with the City of Valdosta.”
Among the claims Riley makes in the complaint:
— In 2021 Miller-Cody supposedly vented her anger on Riley for the councilwoman being late for a ribbon-cutting event, claiming Riley provided her with the wrong information about the event. Riley denied in her complaint that she provided incorrect information.
— In 2023, a woman reached out for help regarding her home’s roof, supposedly leading to claims from Miller-Cody that Riley and another city employee were taking kickbacks from a roofing company, which Riley said was a “false, derogatory and unsubstantiated allegation,” according to the complaint.
After listing other claims against Miller-Cody, Riley asks in the complaint for a formal investigation of these events.
Multiple efforts to reach Miller-Cody were unsuccessful.
The overall work for city council during the called meeting was to consider the establishment of a Code of Ethics Complaint Board, which the city in its statement calls “the next step in the Ethics Complaint process.” The council recommended the board consist of two people, but it put off deciding who those people would be.