Monroe’s City Council has voted to open an ethics investigation into Councilman Gary Anderson after city leaders said they reviewed a police report involving a 15-year-old boy. The move triggers an outside review while law enforcement continues its own work, and it left Anderson as the only member at the dais to oppose the inquiry.
The council voted 6-1 to launch the probe after Mayor Robert Burns made a motion to look specifically at whether Anderson’s alleged conduct violated the city’s ethics policy, rather than to weigh criminal guilt. According to city records, the matter stems from a report that a 15-year-old contacted police about an incident at a south Charlotte barbershop. That case was referred to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s Crimes Against Children unit and assigned to specialized investigators. An independent investigator will now be asked to review reports, records, communications and witness statements as the council examines whether the code of ethics was breached, as reported by The Charlotte Observer.
Anderson, who has already said he will not seek another term after losing a recent primary, told council members the allegation is “a baseless claim” and declined further comment. He cast the only "no" vote on the motion. Election data show Anderson did not finish among the top vote-getters in the March primary for council seats, according to branch.vote, and he will face the ethics review during the remainder of his current term. The Charlotte Observer also reported that Mayor Burns told colleagues the allegations had been substantiated by information received from law enforcement.
Council context and city records
Gary Anderson appears as a sitting member of the Monroe City Council on the city’s official directory, which also includes agendas, minutes and the rules that govern council procedure. The City of Monroe publishes meeting schedules, agenda packets and related documents online and lists its main City Hall contact on the council page. For background on how the council manages meetings and agenda items, residents can review the city’s council page and its adopted rules of procedure.
What comes next
The independent review will be administrative in nature and focused on whether council rules or the city’s ethics policy were violated. Any criminal questions remain with CMPD and any prosecuting authority. If the investigator or the council ultimately finds an ethics violation, the council’s rules and city charter provide options for discipline or other remedies. Any criminal finding would move forward through the usual policing and prosecutorial channels.
Legal and procedural note
Monroe’s Rules of Procedure spell out how the council handles agendas, hearings and motions and set the framework for referring matters for investigation or committee review. The ethics review is separate from any criminal proceedings and will turn on whether the independent investigator and the council conclude that city policies were violated. Procedural details are laid out in the council rules and related municipal documents.
The council did not announce a public timeline for the independent review at Tuesday’s meeting. Officials said they want a thorough examination of records and witness statements before deciding on any further action.
