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Live Oak City Councilman Banned From City Property

LIVE OAK (CBS13) - A Live Oak city councilman accused of bullying, abuse, and public outbursts, is now banned from stepping foot on city property except to vote in meetings.

In fact, after serious allegations against J.R. Thiara were brought to light, he's not allowed to do much of anything inside city hall.

"The only employee he's allowed to have contact with is myself," said Live Oak City Manager Aaron Palmer.

Thiara was stripped of his responsibilities after allegations of his abusive behavior were found to be true.

"He's only required to get the public agenda that is posted for the public," said Palmer. "He comes here, he listens, he asks questions…and he's allowed to vote."

And that's it -- after Live Oak city council released a confidential report of an investigation by a private attorney that concluded if Thiara's behavior was "…left unchecked, Mr. Thiara's unpredictable outbursts could eventually lead to a lawsuit against the city."

And stated, "Many of the witnesses expressed what I perceived to be a genuine fear of Mr. Thiara…"

"No good deed goes unpunished," J.R. Thiara told CBS13.

We met up with the councilmember at his home in Live Oak.

"It's simply false and unfounded. I have been singled out for asking the tough questions," he said.

Thiara says he's called out the city for mishandling money, and now has a target on his back.

"Misappropriation lies and not managing the city properly," he said.

We asked Palmer how he would respond to Thiara's allegations.

"It's all false; there was even a grand jury report last year that found nothing wrong," he said.

So, why is Thiara still on the city council despite the allegations and being censured by his fellow councilmembers?

"They cannot be fired; they're elected public officials," he said. "At this point, the only way to be removed from office would be through a public recall."

The private attorney who conducted the investigation says he reached out to Thiara to interview him about the allegations of abuse and intimidation but after three weeks of trying to make contact, closed the investigation.

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