Day 2 in Levent ethics hearing set for today

FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Former assistant to the Board of Commissioners Carol Haag Balcome and District 4 Commissioner Cindy Mills gave key sworn testimony on the first day of the Todd Levent ethics hearing Monday.

The hearing will resume at 9 a.m. today in the commissioners meeting in the County Administration Building, 110 East Main Street.

Levent is accused of bypassing Georgia’s Open Records Act in obtaining emails from Mills’ account without her knowledge and without filing an Open Records Request (ORR).

Attorney Tom Beaver called about half a dozen people to testify.

Balcome went first. She testified Levent asked her to obtain the emails and that she did so without informing Mills.

“I am his subordinate,” she explained. “I didn’t want to upset him.” She came to regret her decision. I was suspended for one day and relieved from a job I loved.” She accepted a lateral move to become and assistant in the county elections office.

Mills said she was “shocked” to learn Balcome had released the emails to Levent but that she felt bad for Balcome. “I felt like (he) was taking advantage of her.” She added that she believed the Board of Commissioners would no longer trust her after the disclosure.

Levent has maintained the ethics charge is a political vendetta against him for his opposition to the creation of the City of Sharon Springs, something Mills supported.

When his attorney, Zachary Smith, asked Mills about her feelings toward Levent, she said, “I don’t dislike Commissioner Levent. I like him fine.” But when pressed on that issue, she admitted she told Commissioner Cooper that she “loathed” him. She also said she and Levent had filed a number of ORR “against” each other.

Asked if she and Cooper had a conversation with former Commissioner Marcie Kreager about replacing Levent with Beth Tipton on the Board of Commissioners? She said, “That is not true.”

Cooper provided the final testimony of the day. In questioning her, Smith pointed out that the county ordinance that requires commissioners to use the ORR to obtain emails from another commissioner was not adopted until May 2020, after the complaint against Levent was filed.

Cooper said the purpose of the ordinance was to “clarify an existing policy.”

Smith then asked if there is a Forsyth County handbook or manual that outlines the policy.

“I’m not aware of one,” she answered. “I don’t know where it is.”

It was a recurring theme Smith repeated throughout the day. He also questioned Balcome and Mills, and neither could identify a written policy.