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City Council Meeting Minutes May 19, 2020 The language of Section 2.421, regarding the policy and purpose of the Code of Ethics, is so broad that almost ANYTHING an officer or employee does, even in his or her private life, could somehow be interpreted as a violation of that section. There are specific provisions in other sections of the code that addresses conduct of officers and employees in the performance of their official duties and only those provisions should be the basis of an ethics complaint. Although the three complaints have been dropped during this time I resigned and the pandemic, I cannot begin to describe the incredible amount of stress these complaints have caused for myself and of course for my family. As a consequence of those complaints filed against me, there have been other unintended consequences such as the City of San Marcos having to pay a total of $1,804 in attorney's fees to advise the Ethics Commission on one of my cases that moved forward to public hearing. In addition, the media blowing constant stories on TV and print, social media backlash, and thousands of harassing comments that have escalated to threats of violence have affected me tremendously. Many of my close friends advised me to hire an attorney for the hearing that was scheduled for April 8th, 2020. I soon became discouraged when one attorney was asking for $500 an hour to review my case. I was blessed enough when a very prolific attorney in Austin kindly reached out to take my case pro bono. Recently, the Ethics Review Commission met on May 13, 2020 and adopted the following motion: A motion was made by Commissioner Rice, seconded by Commissioner Lollar, to recommend an amendment to Section 2.421 - Policy and purpose - by adding item (e) to read as follows: (e) This Section 2.421 shall not be used, cited, or considered by a citizen or by the Ethics Review Commission as the basis of an ethics complaint. The motion passed by the following vote, 6 in favor, 0 against, and 1 absent. There have been other complaints filed in 2020 citing this section of the Code as a violation. At this time, I would like the Council to consider an ordinance amendment to the Ethics Code to prevent misuse of Ethics Complaints and to prevent the Code of Ethics to be utilized as a political weapon or to intimidate or embarrass city employees and/or council members." Michael Cosentino, stated bringing forward an amendment and will read as City of San Marcos Page 21