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Ethics Committee puts off golf complaint to March 7

Bo Bennett filed the complaint in September, after two commissioners played on a pro-am golf team at the invitation of Priority Ambulance, viewed as a potential bidder for county ambulance services.

The Knox County Ethics Committee will consider March 7 a complaint filed against two county commissioners accused of improperly accepting free play and donated gifts last year during the Knoxville News Sentinel Open golf tournament.

The committee originally was set to meet Wednesday, Feb. 14. It's being delayed at the request of committee Chairman Jonathan Cooper, the county Law Director's Office announced Friday.

The postponement follows release last week of a report by Knox County Law Director Bud Armstrong looking into Bo Bennett's complaint. Bennett, who filed the document in September, argues Armstrong failed to follow proper policy by first investigating his objection before consulting with the committee.

Cooper, after checking the committee's rules of procedure, told 10News on Saturday the group will follow the required format.

Related: Report finds little evidence to back ethics complaint

When they meet March 7, the panel will seek to decide if Bennett's allegations would, if proven, constitute a violation of the county ethics code.

"This initial review will not include presentation of evidence or any evaluation of the merits of the complaint," Cooper said in a statement. "If the Committee determines that the “four corners” of the complaint state a violation, we may then schedule a hearing on a subsequent date for presentation of evidence, testimony, and oral argument."

Bennett objected to Commissioners Charles Busler and Bob Thomas accepting an invitation from Priority Ambulance to play on a four-person team during the Open, held in August.

Priority was given a team for free after providing an ambulance during the tournament at Fox Den Country Club. It's fielded similar teams in the past.

More: Commissioners respond to complaint

The commissioners played during a pro-am round and received vouchers with an estimated value of $500 to pick up items donated for the Open.

Armstrong spent several months looking into Bennett's complaint, assigning an investigator to interview him and several others before preparing his report. The investigator didn't speak with the commissioners, and while they've addressed it in several media reports including stories by 10News, it appears Thomas and Busler were not formally notified of the review.

Bennett previously ran against Busler for a commission seat. He says he's not interested in seeking the seat anymore and is now running for Circuit Court clerk.

Busler and Thomas say they did nothing wrong.

Days after the golf game, commission began discussing a request by AMR, which provides ambulance service to Knox County, to exercise a contract option to provide service another five years. County staff supported the request.

AMR has been criticized in the past for quality of service, including response times, but county staff argued last summer it has shown improvement in recent years.

Busler objected in a commission workshop to extending the company's contract, saying he'd heard complaints from constituents about billing and service.

On Aug. 28, commission met to formally vote on approving AMR's extension request. The measure passed 7-4, with Thomas, Busler and two other commissioners voting no.

Priority is viewed as a potential competitor to provide future ambulance service.

Armstrong's review cited flaws in Bennett's complaint. He alluded to possible violations of state law, but Armstrong said those don't apply. Priority wasn't a tournament sponsor, the investigation showed.

What commission voted on also addressed extending AMR's contract, Armstrong found. It didn't include any bid by Priority, he noted.

Thomas, a candidate for Knox County mayor, has told 10News that while he didn't think he did anything wrong, he ended up writing a check to the American Red Cross for $500 as a show of good faith. There's dispute over the actual value of the gift voucher because the items were in fact all donated for distribution to those who took part in the tournament, Armstrong's report shows.

A lot of what Bennett reported is based on hearsay, according to Armstrong, which by itself is not grounds to pursue a formal complaint.

Armstrong told 10News it's ultimately up to the Ethics Committee to decide how it wants to proceed.

Bennett argues the commissioners had no business accepting the free golf game. They then took part in voting on AMR when Priority is a potential county vendor, he said.

He also said there's an error in the investigator's report. It states that he gave the investigator phone records involving Thomas when in fact he provided records involving Busler.

Armstrong should have first let the committee receive the complaint before seeking to find out what happened, Bennett said.

According to the county's rules of procedure, once the Law Director's Office gets the complaint, the committee chair is supposed to submit it to the full committee. The chairman is then supposed to notify the targets of the complaint and give them a copy of it.

The chair then files public notice that the committee is going to look into the complaint. The committee may ask the law director to conduct interviews about the "viability" of the allegations, the rules state.

Bennett said that didn't happen in his case. Armstrong went ahead and started an investigation, he said.

Procedure should be properly followed, Bennett said.

"I feel like in essence by handling this the way he has, he's drug me and Bob and Charlie much more into this than was necessary," Bennett said..

If the committee does decide to hold a hearing, Cooper told 10News, "all parties will be notified."

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