Politics in Menlo has been very lowkey for most of the past several decades, but recently the Menlo City Council and Mayor Allen Keen have been at odds over several issues.  The latest issue involved employees driving trucks home.  The mayor maintains that has been the policy for many years, but some council members say that it goes against the city’s charter.  Also, a group of Menlo City Council members met with a local attorney recently and some say that meeting was illegal.  Mayor Keen and the local newspaper have accused the council members of “secretly meeting” with the attorney.

The council members maintain that they were going to see the attorney in their capacity as private citizens.  The reason for the meeting with Summerville Attorney Steve Miller has not been made clear publicly by the council members. Add to the mix, former Mayor Theresa Canada and Mayor Keen have been publicly at odds at recent council meetings.

WZQZ News confirmed with Chattooga County Magistrate Judge Tracy Maddux that Mayor Keen approached him with questions about taking legal action against the city council.  Judge Maddux told WZQZ News, “I was asked who has jurisdiction in these matters and if it was a misdemeanor or a civil infraction.  I told him I would have to read the statute.  After doing so, I told him it was the jurisdiction of Superior Court and it could be pursued as either.  I referred him to his attorney and the Georgia Municipal Association”.