NOLENSVILLE, Tenn. -- As shoppers know, there's nothing like getting something at a volume discount, but there are ethics questions about whether some local leaders could have benefited from a volume deal for a city's banking business.

People's State Bank of Commerce opened a new headquarters in Nolensville this year and they wanted to do business with the city.

"I talked with the mayor and the recorder and they said make me a proposal,” said bank CEO Rick Moody.

Moody wrote a letter promising the city a very good interest rate if they deposited at least $150,000. There were also perks for city employees like free checking and savings accounts, Christmas club accounts and discounted loan rates for qualified employees.

"The part of the proposal for employees is straightforward, the same you would make to employees of any business,” Moody said.

There was just one problem for the city of Nolensville -- the mayor and aldermen voting on those perks are also employees and stood to benefit from their own votes.

"I wasn't aware of that letter or any offers they had never been discussed,” Alderman Joe Curtsinger said.

Curtsinger and several other aldermen said they never saw the letter and had no idea employees were offered special deals.

Curtsinger voted against the proposal and believes accepting the deal is a violation of the city's brand new code of ethics they adopted the same night as the banking vote.

"Whether that's money handed to you, whether it's a discounted loan, free ATM card, any perks like that, I think we as elected officials have to be large enough to say no,” Curtsinger said.

Nolensville Mayor Tommy Dugger said he sponsored the bank's proposal strictly to help the city's fund balance.

"The only reason was the interest rate on the checking account to get more interest to look out for the funds for the town,” Dugger said.

Dugger said he lost the bank's letter and takes responsibility for not letting other aldermen know what was in the proposal and he said he understands how that oversight looks.

"It may look that way (like a conflict of interest) but it was not meant to be that way. We will certainly address those issues and correct them on the second reading,” Dugger said.

In a state where lawmakers are going to prison for bribery, politicians in the smallest of towns are learning what it means to do business under new ethics laws.

Dennis Huffer with the Municipal Technical Advisory Service, a group that advises local governments, said cities are expected to pass code of ethics measures specifically to avoid these kinds of situations.

He said city leaders are supposed to base their decisions on the public interest and not their own interests.

In this case, there was no conflict of interest for the aldermen who didn't know about the bank's offer.

Huffer said the real problem may be the fact that the bank made the offer in the first place.

Several people interviewed pointed out that Alderman Curtsinger, who voted against the bank's proposal, is running for mayor.

His opponent, Alderwoman Beth Lothers, said she also wasn't aware of the bank's proposal and said she based her yes vote on the information that was presented.