Hamilton County commissioners are again calling for District Attorney Neal Pinkston to answer concerns about potential nepotism in his office after he refused to appear before the board.
Commissioner Tim Boyd, R-Chattanooga, said he was “disappointed” that the DA didn’t show up to Wednesday’s meeting before reiterating his concerns about county funding being used to pay Pinkston’s relatives.
“All of these actions over recent years have put a big question mark on the ethical conduct, the truthfulness, the candor with the public. And we as a body need to get to the bottom of it,” Boyd said.
Pinkston, who began his eight-year term as the county’s prosecutor in 2014, did not respond to requests for comment. He has been under fire this summer after Boyd raised the issue of Pinkston hiring relatives during a routine May budget hearing.
Boyd asked Pinkston as the commission considered his proposed budget whether the county payroll included any of the DA’s relatives. Pinkston said no and the discussion ended.