When Integrity Becomes Optional

We must insist that public service remain a privilege, not a private benefit. Because when the lesser among us lead unchecked, the city they govern inevitably becomes lesser too.

The Meaning of Public Service

There is a reason we call it public service. People who run for office are supposed to serve, not themselves, not their buddies, but the people who pay the bills. Yet here in Athens, that line between service and self-interest has gotten so blurry you would need a microscope to find it.

A healthy community runs on two things: honest leadership and an engaged public. When one of those goes missing, the other starts to crack. Athens is right there, balancing between accountability and apathy.

Every small town runs on trust. Without it, ordinances are just paperwork and council meetings are just theater. And right now, that trust is hanging by a thread.

The License That Wasn’t

Business licenses are not complicated. They are the basic “I follow the rules” card for anyone making money in the city. But when the guy helping write those rules does not bother to follow them for over a decade, that is not an oversight, that is a choice.

Councilman Chris Seibert operated multiple rental properties for more than twelve years without business licenses, according to city records. Twelve years.

And here is the kicker, he even voted to raise the city’s business license fee on November 14, 2022, when he was Council President. The very ordinance he approved, 2022 2243, spelled out that landlords need licenses. So either he did not read what he voted for or he just did not think it applied to him. Neither answer screams leadership.

Damage Control, Not Governance

Eventually, after people started asking questions, the city confirmed that Seibert’s licenses were brought current and his fees were paid. Conveniently, that all happened right after citizens went public with the issue.

To get clarity, a public records request went in on July 2, 2025, asking for receipts and payments from Seibert’s various LLCs. The city’s response? A big fat no.

They quoted state law about taxpayer confidentiality and confirmed only that the licenses were renewed and “all amounts due have been paid.” Translation: We will tell you it is handled, but don’t you dare ask for proof.

Transparency should not require a magnifying glass and a lawyer, but apparently in Athens, it does.

The Law They Ignored

City code is not vague about what happens when you skip a business license. Section 18 314 of Athens’ ordinances lays it out plain: fines between fifty and five hundred dollars per day, and possible jail time.

Each day you operate without one is a separate offense. Do the math. Twelve years of unpaid licenses could add up to hundreds of violations. For the rest of us, that kind of “oversight” would mean fines, code enforcement, and maybe even a court date.

But when you are in the right circles, it seems the laws you help write are more like suggestions.

The Properties and the Pattern

The paper trail does not stop at business licenses. Complaints have piled up about Seibert’s rental properties, reports of unsafe conditions, poor maintenance, and “stop work” orders for using unlicensed contractors.

Let’s pause there. Unlicensed contractors. The same city ordinances that require state licensing and insurance for anyone doing work inside city limits, the same rules the council proudly touts as “protecting the public,” apparently do not apply if your nameplate is on a council desk.

According to Section 18 307, the city cannot even issue a business license to someone operating in a regulated trade without proof of insurance or a state license. For anyone else, that is an automatic shutdown. For a councilman? Just another Tuesday.

Before we ever attended our first city council meeting, we sat down with our district councilwoman, Dana Henry, who openly admitted in front of a WAAY 31 reporter that Seibert’s houses had caused the city problems in the past. And yet here we are, over a year later, watching the same man get promoted instead of held accountable.

This is not a paperwork problem. It is a pattern, one that tells you exactly who is getting held accountable and who is getting a pass.

Transparency for Sale

If you have ever filed a public records request in Athens, then you know the routine. There is even a posted fee, seventy-five dollars for building inspection or code violation reports.

But when residents asked for inspection reports tied to Seibert’s properties, suddenly the rules changed. Not only did the city refuse to hand them over, they actually got the Alabama Attorney General involved to justify keeping them secret.

At a March 2025 council meeting, City Attorney Shane Black proudly explained that the city had sought an AG opinion about whether inspection files could be released. The opinion, 2025 023, said documents tied to a criminal investigation do not fall under the Open Records Act.

Here is the problem, nobody asked for criminal investigation files. Citizens asked for inspection reports. Using that opinion to hide routine code enforcement is like using a murder statute to fight a parking ticket.

When it’s about regular citizens, transparency costs seventy-five bucks.

When it’s about a councilman, it costs integrity. 

A Council Chosen in Familiar Fashion

Fast forward to the November 3rd, 2025, swearing-in ceremony. The City of Athens inner circle beamed with pride as it welcomed its newly elected officials, Mayor Ronnie Marks, along with councilmembers Chris Seibert, Allen Creasy, James Lucas, Dana Henry, and Amy Golden.

But what really stole the show wasn’t the ceremony, it was what happened immediately after.

In their very first act, the council voted on new leadership. And you guessed it: Chris Seibert was chosen as City Council President, with Dana Henry as President Pro Tem.

Apparently the lesson here isn’t “follow the rules.” It’s “fall in line.”

For anyone keeping score, this isn’t just déjà vu, it’s the same playbook. The same players, the same positions, the same shrug toward accountability. Athens didn’t just re-elect a council; it reappointed a club.

It’s hard to call that democracy when it looks so much like choreography.

The Standard We Should Expect

At this point, it’s not about paperwork, penalties, or who forgot to file what. It’s about integrity, and the fact that it shouldn’t take public embarrassment to make an elected official follow the law.

Leadership isn’t about titles. It’s about trust. And Athens can’t afford leaders who think compliance is optional or that accountability ends when the cameras do.

Athens deserves better. It deserves a council that understands public service means serving the public, not themselves.

Until that happens, we’ll keep watching. Because if the people won’t hold them accountable, no one will.

Editor’s Note

This is an opinion piece based on information gathered from public records, city ordinances, and Alabama Attorney General opinions. All cited materials are publicly available through the City of Athens and state legal archives. In other words, it’s not gossip, it’s paperwork. And yes, I did my homework.