- The Northern Kentucky Regional Ethics Authority has issued an opinion that there is insufficient evidence to suggest City Commissioner Tim Acri violated ethics codes.
- The issue arose earlier this year after members of the public expressed concerns that Tim Acri and his family may financially benefit from the establishment of a public drinking area.
- The future of the drinking area itself is in flux, but Acri said he was pleased with the Authority’s decision.
The Northern Kentucky Regional Ethics Authority has issued an opinion on alleged violations of ethics codes by Covington Commissioner Tim Acri: Available information “does not establish a violation of the applicable code of ethics.”
“The whole thing was just strange, but they’ve rendered their opinion now, and I feel comfortable,” Tim Acri said.
The opinion follows rumblings earlier this year that Tim Acri and his family may benefit financially from the establishment of a public drinking area, known officially as a common consumption area, or CCA, in Covington’s Central Business District.
Essentially, the Authority argued there was insufficient evidence to establish that conflicts of interest or financial benefit for Tim Acri or his family might arise from the establishment of a CCA.
The commissioner initially proposed the idea back in April, purportedly as a defense against the economic downturns likely to afflict Covington businesses during the closure of the 4th Street Bridge and closures related to the Brent Spence Corridor Project. The Board of Commissioners tabled an ordinance for the CCA in August, indefinitely stalling any legislation.
The city hosted a public hearing in October to gather community input on the drinking area, where Covington business owners and residents shared their opinions – both positive and negative. Public records LINK nky obtained indicate that members of the public had contacted Commissioner Tim Downing with concerns about Acri in the days following the October hearing.
Tim Acri’s wife, Kara Acri, owns Scarlet Begonia’s Flower Truck, a mobile pop-up store that occasionally does business in the proposed drinking area. Kara Acri spoke out in favor of the CCA at the October hearing and concerns from residents suggested that Tim Acri might be using the CCA as a way to enrich his wife’s business – and himself by proximity – even though Tim Acri does not have any ownership stake in Scarlet Begonia’s.
Tim Acri himself works for O’Rourke Wrecking Company, based in Cincinnati.
Some had also expressed concerns about Commissioner Shannon Smith, who owns Revival Vintage Bottle Shop and Bar. Smith had come out in favor of the CCA, and Revival is located in the most recently proposed boundaries of the area.
Covington has several ordinances aimed at preventing conflicts of interest between elected officials, city employees, their family members and their business interests. More specifically, as it relates to this case, it bars elected officials, like Tim Acri and Smith, their families, and their businesses from directly financially benefiting from a vote or other “discretionary action.” Additionally, under Covington’s ethics code, the city is legally required to report suspected violations to the city’s ethics watchdog, the Northern Kentucky Regional Ethics Authority, which is itself a subsidiary of the Northern Kentucky Area Development District.
Acri had willingly sought an opinion from the Authority in the wake of the concerns and had even begun recusing himself from votes related to the CCA to avoid the appearance of impropriety. Smith did not seek an opinion but previously told LINK nky of her intention to recuse herself from any future votes on the CCA. LINK nky has reached out to Smith for additional comment. We will update this story if she responds.
LINK nky had also received an anonymous complaint about Acri in our inbox prior to the publication of our previous story, which was apparently sent off to the Ethics Authority, as well. At the time, however, the Authority declined to do anything with it because it wasn’t specific in terms of policies that could have been violated.
“Since it is anonymous and does not cite an ethics code that was allegedly violated, it can’t be acted on,” the authority wrote to the city in an email earlier this year.
“I was never concerned that I did anything wrong,” Acri said. “But visually, I mean–I don’t know; this first time I’ve ever been an elected official. I wanted to make sure I did it all right.”
In November, after the public hearing, Commissioner James Toebbe made a motion to direct city staff to investigate the safety and financial costs of establishing a CCA. Toebbe and Mayor Ron Washington voted in favor of the motion. Downing voted against it. Tim Acri recused himself, and Smith did not attend the meeting.
The numbers requested in Toebbe’s motion have yet to be presented to the Board of Commissioners. The Board had hoped to hold special meetings earlier this year about both the city budget and priorities for the city government, but these meetings had to be cancelled due to the recent winter weather. As a result, the position of the CCA on the board’s priority list is still in flux. Even if CCA legislation were to get passed, Acri said, it would be a good six months before it could be functionally implemented.
“I’m glad that the ethics board levied the decision the way it did so that we can just keep moving forward on this,” Acri said. “The last thing I want is somebody to think there’s something sketchy going on.”