Town Council members believe what was described as “abuse” of the Code of Ethics in the Council Rules and Procedures has gotten out of hand in Fountain Hills to the point where they gave direction to staff to delete the ethics complaint process from the code and cease action on all ongoing investigations and pending complaints.
Since the beginning of 2023 there have been approximately 20 complaints that a council member had violated the code of ethics. Vice Mayor Hannah Toth said she asked Finance Director Paul Soldinger about the cost of third-party investigations and was told the town spent $10,554 during 2024.
Councilmember Rick Watts asked for a clean slate on complaints and sanctions. “The silliness has got to stop,” he said.
