“As your mayor, I want to apologize for the disruption that what happened on Jan. 8 caused to you and your wife,” Mayor Charlie German said to Bruce George at a meeting of the Camp Verde Town Council on Wednesday, Feb. 5.
“I apologize for thinking that we had as a council measures in place that would prevent that kind of an action that had happened,” the mayor said.
The Jan. 8 incident in question occurred when George applied to be re-appointed to the Camp Verde Planning & Zoning Commission.
Councilman Joe Butner surprised George, as well as some of his fellow council members, by bringing up a police report accusing George of a minor crime.
George denied the accusation, which was based on a second-hand witness, when asked by The Camp Verde Journal. George was never charged with any crime by the Camp Verde Marshal’s Office and because CVMO had not yet spoken to him, was unaware of any allegation until Butner questioned him.
George removed his name from consideration for the position Jan. 8 but filed a complaint with the town based on Butner’s actions on Jan. 13, arguing that Butner had engaged in personal attacks and harassment in violation of the council’s code of conduct.
At a Feb. 5 council meeting, Camp Verde Town Attorney Bill Sims explained that a complaint necessitated an independent investigation by an attorney on behalf of the town, meaning either him or outside counsel. The fear of the resulting costs, especially by an outside law firm, led to German asking George if he would be willing to withdraw his complaint, leaving the counsel to adjudicate the issue themselves without needing an official investigation.
George agreed.
“I would like to thank you for your comments. They are really appreciated,” George said at the meeting. “At this point I would like to withdraw the complaint against the Town of Camp Verde, while town officials conduct their investigation into the actions of Mr. Butner.”
George, who himself had previously been a vice mayor and councilman on the Camp Verde Town Council, expressed his desire to avoid the cost to the town. The issue that was brought up by the complaint will still be discussed by the council, which may act on it, but it will not have a formal investigative process.
In addition to discussing the issue of the complaint, Sims recommended to the town a series of potential changes to town procedures in order to prevent a similar instance from happening again. The recommendations, as outlined by Sims, are as follow:
- “The town should review public records policies and undertake training to make certain staff/council are aware of the need for redacting information from police reports when the report is preliminary and not yet conclusive.
- “Council training including but not limited to the allow- ance for Town Council members the opportunity to review town documents without having to file a public records request and the procedures for council and public dissemina- tion of the same.
- “The Town Code should be modified to clarify that any council member, not just the proponent of an agenda item, should deliver materials that the council member desires to circulate at a council meeting to the clerk a minimum amount of time prior to the Council meeting so that staff and all council members are aware of the documents.
- “Investigations by the [Camp Verde] Marshal’s Office should be completed as timely as possible.” [The allegation against George was made nearly a month before the Jan. 8 meeting.]
- “The town should adopt procedures for inquiring about the qualifications and background of persons applying to sit on Town boards and commission.”
The council voted to ask the town’s staff to look at the recommendations and bring back a plan to the council in the near future.
