The Fayetteville City Council has appointed people to its newly created ethics panel.

The council on Monday appointed five people to the commission, which will give advisory opinions on ethical dilemmas posed by residents or city officials and investigate complaints of ethical lapses.

The commission has been given city authority to issue fines not exceeding $1,000. The mayor first proposed an ethics commission in 2008.

Three of the five people were nominated from other institutions or organizations, and two were chosen by the council itself. All of the nominations were reviewed and recommended by the city's Appointment Committee.

The council voted 9-1 to approve the following slate of appointments:

Renny Deese, representing the Cumberland County Bar Association.

Kelly Puryear, representing the Sandhills chapter of certified public accounts.

David Sullivan, representing the nominee chosen from colleges and universities. He is vice president of legal services and risk management for Fayetteville Technical Community College.

Stephon Ferguson, representing the at-large citizenry.

Gwen Holloman, representing the at-large citizenry.

Councilman Keith Bates voted against the appointments, he said, because he is not on the city's Appointment Committee. He said he wanted to have a more direct say on the appointments.

The voting members of the Appointment Committee are council members Bobby Hurst, Val Applewhite and Bill Crisp and Mayor Tony Chavonne.

It is not known when the Ethics Commission will hold its first meeting.

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