Baldwin County Commission Approves Revised Delegation Office Lease, Cutting Rent in Half

BAY MINETTE, Ala. — The Baldwin County Commission on Tuesday approved a revised delegation office lease that cuts in half the monthly rent the Baldwin County Legislative Delegation will pay, with public money, to Bay Minette Mayor Bob Wills for space in his longtime law office building.

Terms of the lease

Under the original terms, reported in December, the delegation would have paid $4,090 a month for five years for the entire ground floor of 125 D’Olive Street.

Under the revised agreement, the delegation will have access to two offices, two conference rooms, the parking lot and other amenities for $1,750 a month until December 2027.

Ethics questions

County Commission Attorney Brad Hicks said he sees no ethics violation in Wills renting his building to the delegation and possibly sharing office space with it.

Paul Ripp, who told commissioners he had filed complaints about the arrangement, urged the commission to seek an official opinion before going ahead.

“I don’t get how you can go ahead with this when I’m telling you I have filed complaints with it,” Ripp said. “And I think you’re setting an extremely dangerous precedent for other elected officials in Baldwin County.”

“I think you should get an official opinion before you go further,” he said.

Background on state ethics law

The Alabama Ethics Commission was created by the Legislature in 1973 under Act No. 1056. The commission generally handles questions of conflicts of interest or the use of office for personal gain by public officials and employees, through both its advisory opinion process and its enforcement process.

State law defines a conflict of interest as “a conflict on the part of a public official or public employee between his or her private interests and the official responsibilities inherent in an office of public trust,” under Ala. Code Section 36-25-1(8).