Mayor agrees to investigation

NICOLE NORRIS/THE GREENVILLE STANDARD

Last Monday night the Georgiana City Council held a special called meeting in reference to Resolution 2016-11. The resolution requests an external investigation by the Attorney General’s Office of the State of Alabama into allegations made against Mayor Jerome Antone by resigned police officers.

Mayor Antone had initially refused to sign the document due to the wording. The resolution has been changed three times. The first draft included complaints of “verbal abuse” by the mayor to city employees and residents, restrictions placed on the police department by the mayor and the mayor requesting services from the police department that were “unrelated to city business.”

The second draft excluded the residents from the allegations of verbal abuse.

The third and final draft did not include any of the verbal abuse allegations. City officials stated that verbal abuse and harassment are “political matters” and are not illegal, which is why they were taken out.

Mayor Antone signed the final draft Monday night and left the meeting.

According to Mayor Antone a new chief of police should be appointed at the next city council meeting.