Ethics Commission Expands Green Complaint, Hearing March 31

The ethics complaint against Louisville Metro Councilwoman Judy Green will now include the charge of nepotism. Green has been accused of using a city-funded summer jobs program—dubbed the “Green Clean Team”—to benefit members of her family.At its scheduled meeting Thursday, the Ethics Commission added the new charges citing the city's ethics ordinance.“An argument can be made that she hired some of her (family) and paid them more than other employees doing the same work,” says commission member Gus “Skip” Daleure, who moved to expand the complaint. The commission refused to add a complaint forwarded by the Metro Council’s government accountability committee that accuses Green of circumventing council rules by instructing a non-profit group to reroute money to other agencies.In 2009, Green allegedly told officers with 100 Black Men to ask for more money than it needed to give out the additional funds at her discretion, including the purchase of tickets for a Kentucky Derby fundraiser that she attended.In a letter addressed to Councilwoman Tina Ward-Pugh, who heads the accountability committee, Ethics Commission Chairman Jonathan Ricketts said any new complaint must be entered with a sworn statement.A hearing on the charges is scheduled for March 31.