Senator Butch Miller's car dealership caught using state property without approval or payment

ATLANTA - A FOX 5 I-Team investigation has found a state agency sent a cease and desist letter to a powerful State Senator.

A Labor Department official caught Governor Deal's floor leader, Senator Butch Miller, using state property without approval or payment to the state.

Brinkley Serkedakis, director of Common Cause, a good government group, says “It seems like a sweet deal for someone in public life. For someone to receive this asset for free.”

The controversy revolves around Hall County State Senator Butch Miller.  Miller is co-owner of Milton Martin Honda in Gainesville.  For years his dealership sat next to an empty Labor Department office and parking lot.

In 2010, State Senator Miller wanted to use the Georgia Labor Department parking lot for his overflow of cars. He signed a rental agreement paying the Labor Department $1800 a month. But, Labor Department emails show in late 2010 the agreement lasted only two months, and payment stopped.

Mark Butler became Labor Commissioner in 2011, after the rental agreement ended. He asked his staff what happened. He says, “I was lead to believe they (Milton Martin Honda) terminated the agreement because they decided they didn't want to use the lot anymore.”

In an email to me, State Senator Miller gave his only explanation for his interest in the lot: "This property had been vacated by DOL, adjoined our property and we needed to expand."

But, Senator Miller, who refused to do an interview with FOX 5, also wrote: "To my knowledge, there was no systematic or approved parking by me or anyone else in our management at any time when we did not have a rental agreement."

So, did he use the parking lot without compensating the taxpayers?

A Google Earth map shows in August of 2013 the Labor Department parking lot was full of Hondas.

And in April of 2014, a Labor Department employee discovered its so called empty lot was full of dealership cars.

“One of my employees happened to go by that area and noticed there were cars on the lot,” says Commissioner Butler.

A Labor Department official sent Senator Miller a letter stating without a rental agreement Senator Miller must “remove all of its vehicles from state property" and must "cease and desist any further use of the parking lot."

“It didn't matter who owned the dealership,” says Butler, “if they wanted to continue to park cars on that property, they have to pay rent. It would be an unfair advantage to use state property for free.”

We asked Senator Miller for an interview. He wanted to know our questions, and we gave him a general outline of what we wanted to ask and so he agreed to sit down with us. 24 minutes before he was supposed to conduct the interview he sent an email saying he was not coming.

I asked Commissioner Butler if it was a good deal for the taxpayers that Senator Miller’s company had use of state property at times for free.

“No,” said the Commissioner, “I'd have to say, it’s kind of one of those things we probably should have been notified of.”

In 2014, Senator Miller’s company signed a new rental agreement for $800 less a month than the 2010 agreement.

If Senator Miller’s company paid the old $1800 a month rental rate during the three and half years that no payments were made, taxpayers would have collected some $70,000.

“It is serious, says Serkedakis, “This is real money. More importantly, it can be considered a gift to a legislator, a payment to this legislator and it’s not disclosed.”