Gwinnett Daily Post

SNELLVILLE -- After a series of complaints to the Snellville City Council, a government watchdog now faces a lawsuit from the city.

George Anderson, who recently dissolved his Ethics in Government nonprofit, said he was going to let his complaints about Councilman Tom Witts go, but he now must defend himself against the suit.

"I hate how many tax dollars, in this down economy, are being wasted," said the Floyd County man.

Anderson filed a series of complaints alleging Witts' swearing in was illegal because he owed back taxes.

But City Attorney Tony Powell said the city was at a loss as to how to act on the "incoherent" papers filed.

"It did not fit into any frames of the ethics policy," he said. "What it appeared to be were political attacks that had nothing to do with ethics."

The suit seeks a declaratory judgment on the matter and Powell said it had implications for other local governments.

"To me, it's more important to set a standard," he said. "The question becomes how long are we going to let people like that get away with it."