An ethics complaint lodged against Chattanooga City Councilwoman Carol Berz, of Brainerd Hills, by her next-door neighbor has been unanimously dismissed by her colleagues.
The neighbor, Olivia Tawzer, had loud parties late into the night to the irritation of Berz — who went on to sponsor legislation to rein in such neighborhood noise.
Berz did not violate ethics rules by sponsoring the legislation, City Attorney Phil Noblett said during Tuesday's council meeting.
"I did not find any information that established that the amendments to the noise ordinance were caused as a result of any interaction between Councilwoman Berz and Ms. Tawzer," Noblett said during the meeting. "I do not believe that there was any attempt to use her position for personal financial gain or to secure any privilege or exception. As such, at this point in time, it would be my recommendation that this complaint be closed."
Closing the complaint required a council vote, which passed without opposition.
Because council members cast their votes all at once by saying aye out loud, rather than using a roll call, it's not clear whether Berz voted to exonerate herself. She did not declare a conflict of interest, and she did not immediately return a phone call asking whether she voted to dismiss the complaint against her.
In August 2020, Berz and her husband, Charles Dupree, called the police following a loud, Thursday night party at Tawzer's house celebrating her 21st birthday. Tawzer said the pair came into her home uninvited — walking in on topless people in the hot tub.
In March 2022, Dupree sent a cease and desist letter to Tawzer regarding noisy gatherings on her backyard porch that he said had recently lasted from 3:30 a.m. to about 5 a.m.
(READ MORE: Next-door neighbor lodges ethics complaint against Chattanooga City Council member)
The City Council approved an update to the city's noise rules April 18, and two days later, Tawzer sent a message to the city's ethics email address claiming Berz had abused her position and should have disclosed her "ongoing personal dispute" with Tawzer.
Berz had no additional comment Tuesday, but she has said there haven't been any issues with her neighbor since the cease and desist letter sent in 2022. She did not believe it was necessary to recuse herself or publicly disclose her past disputes with Tawzer about noise.
All council members had the opportunity to provide input on the update during multiple public meetings, she noted, and the council approved the ordinance unanimously on two readings.
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Noblett has noted that the updated noise rules clearly address issues also occurring in the districts represented by Councilwoman Demetrus Coonrod, of Eastdale, and Council Vice Chairwoman Jenny Hill, of North Chattanooga.
"There's nothing there that shows a personal financial gain ... or an attempt to use this for some sort of special benefit based upon a 3-year-old incident," Noblett said in an interview after the meeting.
Contact David Floyd at dfloyd@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249.