THOMASVILLE — Archbold Memorial Hospital could put to rest this month a complaint filed last year alleging that it violated state ethics laws in connection with a Grady County sales tax referendum.

A consent order between Archbold and the complainant, Grady County resident Samuel Prince, has been drafted and will come before the Georgia Ethics Commission at its May 22 meeting, commission spokesman Rick Thompson said.

Thompson said he cannot discuss the terms of the agreement.

The ethics complaint related to a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) referendum put to Grady County voters in March 2007. It was filed the same day the election was held.

The sales tax included $1.5 million for an imaging center at Grady Memorial Hospital, which is managed by Archbold.

Voters approved the March 20 sales tax referendum by a margin of 58.97 percent supporting it and 41.03 percent voting against it, Grady County Probate Court Judge Sadie Voyles said.

The ethics complaint alleges that the hospital “distributed, circulated, disseminated and published campaign literature” encouraging voters to vote for the SPLOST. The complaint further alleges that the campaign literature was designed in such a way “to mislead voters into thinking that the campaign literature was sponsored by organizations that may or may not have endorsed a ‘yes’ vote on the SPLOST question.”

After the complaint was made, the hospital filed campaign disclosure forms indicating that it spent more than $4,000 on campaign literature and mailing costs. Archbold said at the time that not filing the forms on time was a “mistake.”

“At all times, Archbold has fully cooperated with the state in resolving this unfortunate oversight,” Archbold said Monday in an e-mail response. “We have met our reporting obligation to the state, and have been advised that no further action is required.”

On March 30, 2007, Archbold reported to the ethics commission expenditures totaling $2,085 on the Grady County sales tax referendum, including $85 for signs, $1,756 for postcards and $243 in postage expenses.

At that time, the hospital sent a late filing fee of $25 and a $50 penalty for filing more than 15 days after the report was due.

On April 30, a more detailed report was sent which also included two in-kind marketing contributions totaling $1,924, bringing the hospital’s reported contribution to $4,010.

The ethics commission’s signing off on the consent order is a “formality” if both parties involved are in agreement, said George Anderson of the government watchdog Ethics in Government Group.

It likely includes a cease-and-desist clause and an agreement by Archbold not to engage in similar activity in the future, Anderson said.