Piedmont College has accused the City of Demorest and some of its officials of fraud, racketeering, conflict of interest, breach of contract, and deprivation of equal protection, calling for the removal of Mayor Rick Austin and his firing as a tenured professor at the college.
In a nine-page letter to Austin and other city officials, Piedmont College attorney Patrick W. McKee of Newnan laid out allegations against Austin, City Clerk (now City Manager) Kim Simonds, City Treasurer Joely Mixon and others.
“The demand letter accuses the city and individuals of misconduct that the city deems unfounded and without a factual basis,” said Demorest City Attorney Joey Homans.
In his response to an Open Records request for the demand letter, Homans provided copies of documents, including legal advertisements for public hearings and minutes of public meetings where the rate changes were discussed, related to the water and sewer rates approved by the Demorest City Council in December 2018.
Homans also provided correspondence about a building permit for the new Piedmont College Conservatory and documents related to Massachusetts Boulevard, located between the college’s new conservatory and Demorest Springs Park.
Lastly, Homans included documents about the Piedmont College Police Department, which was a point of contention in the college’s allegations of extortion by the city.
McKee’s lengthy letter to city officials was copied only to Piedmont College President James Mellichamp and Piedmont College Chairman of the Board Gus Arrendale, not the full Board of Trustees.
In that letter, McKee named the City of Demorest, Austin, Councilman Nathan Davis, Councilman John Hendrix, Councilman Sean Moore, as well as Homans, Mixon and Simonds. The allegations also took issue with the actions of Demorest Police Chief Robin Krockum, which the letter alleges were at the direction of Austin.
Deprivation of Equal Protection under the Fourteenth Amendment
Allegations under the Deprivation of Equal Protection Clause under the Fourteenth Amendment include:
- An “unreasonable hike in water and sewer rates against the college,
- “The 2019 water and sewage rate scheme serves no rational basis”,
- “Beginning in the Fall 2018, the City of Demorest – including, in particular, Mayor Austin, Treasurer Mixon and Clerk Simonds – revised water and sewage rates to be implemented in 2019”, noting those rate changes are aimed at Piedmont College, “a class of one”.
Fraud
“Mayor Austin and the City of Demorest also have engaged in fraud against the college,” McKee’s letter asserts.
That alleged fraud involved Austin and Mixon stating publicly that the city’s water and sewer rates should be increased to offset the increased cost of providing services to the college, a tax-exempt entity.
RICO
McKee’s letter alleges that Austin, Simonds and the city utilized both the U.S. Postal Service and electronic means to perpetuate mail fraud, wire fraud and extortion.
“Mayor Austin and the city are not only guilty of fraud and Equal Protection violations against Piedmont College, but these claims are part of a larger conspiracy by the city and its officials against the college which constitutes racketeering through a government enterprise in violation of the Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act,” the letter states.
That alleged extortion involved public hearings held by the city, in which Austin advocated closing Massachusetts Boulevard to expand the adjacent Demorest Springs Park and add parking for that facility; Krockum’s statement that college police officers who were not certified would be arrested for impersonating an officer, which McKee asserts was an effort to force the college to contract with the city for its security; and by “devising a targeted, fraudulent water and sewage rate scheme that violates the college’s constitutional rights and Georgia law.”
Conflict of interest
“Rick Austin is in conflicting positions as mayor of Demorest and professor of biology at Piedmont College,” McKee’s letter states. “Rick Austin took office as mayor of Demorest in January 2014. Rick Austin also has been employed by the college as a full-time employee since 1997. As mayor, Rick Austin has introduced and voted on countless measures that directly deal with the college.
“Mayor Austin’s public record discloses a strong personal bias against the college that he has used his public position to avenge,” McKee’s letter states.
Breach of contract
“Mayor Austin’s conduct shows a regular pattern of negative bias toward the college and this interferes with his obligations as a college employee,” McKee’s letter states. “This policy provides that a tenured faculty member may be terminated when the faculty member’s conduct is found to be ‘seriously prejudicial to the college’. Because Mayor Austin has been allowed by the city and the city council to use his position in a manner that directly violates the city charter to the significant detriment of the college, the college will seek resolution of Mayor Austin’s contract with the college as part of any litigation with the city.”
While alleging harm, fraud and extortion, the demand letter calls for the removal and termination of Austin in lieu of further legal action by the college against the city.
McKee’s letter, dated Aug. 7, gives the city 30 days to take action to the college’s satisfaction.
“We are providing you with this notice to allow the city and its officials an opportunity to resolve these claims without incurring the time and expense of litigation,” McKee’s letter states. “However, if the college is unable to resolve these claims to its satisfaction within 30 days of your receipt of this letter, we reluctantly will pursue whatever legal remedies are available. We are providing you with this notice in the hope that resort to our legal remedies will not be necessary.”
Former Demorest City Manager Kristi Williams, who served the city from January 2017 until February 2019, now serves as controller for the college. Prior to working for the city, Williams also served as bursar at Piedmont College from November 2011 to October 2012, then as senior financial analyst for the college from October 2012 to January 2017.
Williams is not named in the lawsuit, except in a reference to Austin having her removed from a meeting after she left city employ.
Contacted by AccessWDUN, Austin said, "I have no comment regarding pending or future litigation."
Because Homans is named in the demand letter, the city’s insurance company would assign legal counsel should litigation proceed.
