LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Testimony continued Wednesday in the ethics trial of Metro Council member Anthony Piagentini, who is accused of violations over his role backing a grant for a future employer, the Louisville Healthcare CEO Council.

Kevin E. Fields Sr., who filed the complaint against Piagentini, told the Louisville Metro Ethics Commission he did so because he had concerns about Piagentini getting hired by the CEO council and said he feared the risk could be the erosion of public trust.

Fields is the CEO of Louisville Central Community Centers, which unsuccessfully sought American Rescue Plan funding appropriated by the Metro Council. He testified that his organization scored ninth-highest among organizations that were seeking the funding in early scoring by Metro government; the CEO council's initial proposal scored 29th out of 30 plans, according to other testimony this week.

Metro Council President Markus Winkler also testified Wednesday, saying former Mayor Greg Fischer's administration did those rankings. Winkler said he and others were not consulted on what the scoring guidelines were.

He also said he was not particularly impressed with the scoring because he did not know what was being considered in the scores.

Winkler, a Democrat, and Piagentini, a Republican, led a workforce development workgroup to help decide where the American Rescue Plan funds should go. The money was part of a sweeping federal coronavirus relief package meant to stimulate the economy.

Winkler said he was "very surprised" when he learned in January 2023 that Piagentini had taken a job with the CEO council. He said was unaware of Piagentini's conversations with the group and said he "wished" he had known.

Piagentini faces seven ethics counts, including failing to disqualify himself from a matter before the Metro Council that he had a financial or personal interest in, as well as failing to disclose that interest. He also is accused of failing to update his financial disclosure statement to reflect his new work for the CEO council.

He has repeatedly denied having conversations about working for the CEO council, describing his initial interactions with the group's president and CEO, Tammy York Day, as "networking."

Piagentini testified this week that he received a nondisclosure agreement on Nov. 17, 2022, from the Louisville Healthcare CEO Council. Hours later, the Metro Council's budget committee voted to approve $40 million in coronavirus relief funds for one of the organization’s top initiatives, a measure Piagentini co-sponsored and vocally supported.

Piagentini said he didn't recall checking his emails that day. He signed the agreement — which came in an email with no further description — the next morning and then called York Day.

Under questioning from ethics commission members Wednesday, Piagentini said he's signed dozens of NDAs in the past and wasn't sure what the one from York Day was about.

York Day said she mentioned a job opportunity with the CEO council during the Nov. 18 phone call, testifying that Piagentini told her he would have to recuse himself from future advocacy on the grant if they continued the call.

He remained as a sponsor of the ordinance until the final Metro Council vote on Dec. 1, 2022, when he asked to be removed as a sponsor because of a "potential conflict of interest."

Closing arguments are scheduled for Thursday morning at the Louisville Free Public Library downtown. The ethics commission then plans to deliberate in a closed session.

The commission has the power to decide if Piagentini committed ethics violations; if it does, the Metro Council then would determine whether he would face disciplinary action.

Related Stories:

Copyright 2023 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.Â