MARIETTA - Councilman Grif Chalfant wants to beef up what has long been called a toothless city ethics code.

He is proposing giving the Marietta Ethics Committee authority to issue opinions not just on whether an action violates the ethics code, but also if the matter could have a perceived impropriety - even if it's legal.

He asked the council during its Wednesday committee meeting to find a way to get an independent opinion as to whether certain circumstances might be perceived "by reasonable, well-informed citizens" to conflict with the spirit of the ethics code.

"It's just not right to continue to follow the letter of the law and ignore the spirit of the law," Chalfant said.

Chalfant said he, Councilman Van Pearlberg, Mayor Steve Tumlin and ethics committee Chairman Dr. Warren Herron have discussed the proposal for some time now.

Both Chalfant and Tumlin said too often in the past, certain actions by the council have not passed the smell test, even if they were perfectly legal.

"There's an awful lot of times when you go back in history where it was legal at the time, but just not right," Chalfant said.

He used the example of council members, the city manager and the city attorney gathering at the Marietta Diner after council meetings. The council may not be violating the Open Meetings Act in meeting at the restaurant, but is it a best practice to meet there rather than at City Hall, he asked.

A bad perception reflects poorly not just on the council member but on the entire city, Tumlin said.

Quick to raise concerns to Chalfant's proposal were political allies Philip Goldstein and Annette Lewis.

In an election year, allowing the ethics committee to weigh in on the spirit in addition to the letter of the law could be used for political reasons. Goldstein asked what would stop the ethics committee from being repeatedly asked to weigh in on the perceived actions of a council member.

In response, Tumlin said, "I'm willing to take that risk. Are you?"

Goldstein also pointed out that even if the ethics committee could rule on whether an action could be perceived as improper that didn't make it an ethics violation.

"Perception is not the law," Goldstein said.

Perhaps, Tumlin said, but "perception is reality."

Councilman Jim King worried about asking the ethics committee to take on such a responsibility.

"I think this is a lot to put on them," King said. "...You're asking them to step into a tough area."

The committee has three members nicknamed by some council members as "the three wise men." They are Herron; the Rev. James O. Speed, Jr., retired pastor from Marietta's First Presbyterian Church; and Jerry L. Gentry, a former attorney for Cobb County.

Council agreed to table the discussion until the next committee meeting to speak with all three members about their thoughts on the proposal.