Commissioners consider changing form of government
The Walker County Board of Commissioners has been in office just 17 months and some commissioners are talking about making a serious change in how the county is run.
At least two district commissioners, Mark Askew (District 2), Robert Blakemore (District 1), are actionably unhappy with how the new government is working under a chairman administrator — or at least the chairman administrator they have: Shannon Whitfield.
Commissioners Askew and Blakemore took the initiative recently to retain the services of the secondary council for the county — an attorney named Ken Jarrad of Jarrad & Davis law firm in Forsyth County.
Most counties have secondary or standby attorneys they can call on if the county’s main attorney is too busy or for some other reason cannot handle particular legal issues. Jarrad & Davis LLC specializes in filling this role for many Georgia counties.
Jarrad was asked by Askew and Blakemore to provide information on what would be involved in switching from an administrative chair form of government to a county manager form.
Jarrad made a presentation to the Board of Commissioners at its regular meeting on May 26. He outlined the main duties of the current chairman and the other board members and the variety of ways that could change under a county manager form of government, including modifications to the current government that would not involve a wholesale change to a county manager.
The room was packed with local residents, deeply attentive and eager to share their thoughts, which they got the chance to do.
The most important thing to establish, Jarrad told the board and audience, is whether the board has the authority to make changes in the form of government.
It does, Jarrad said, and he read from Georgia Code (OCGA § 36-522): “(a) The governing authority of any county of this state or the General Assembly may create in and for those counties in which it deems necessary or advisable the office of county manager and may vest in such office powers, duties, and responsibilities of an administrative nature. The qualifications, method of selection, appointment, compensation, tenure, and such other related matters pertaining to the office of county manager shall be provided for by the governing authority of the county.”
Before local residents were provided an opportunity to speak, some commissioners shared frustrations that led to their consideration of a change in how Walker County government is administered.
District 4 Commissioner Robert Stultz said he was not happy with how the board would make official requests of Commissioner Whitfield and then those requests would sit dormant on his desk, as if they hadn’t been made at all, a practice referred to as “slow-walking.”
At the board meeting of
Feb. 10 commissioners asked that Whitfield and human resources formulate a plan to consolidate animal control and the animal shelter and include an organizational chart of staff and updated job descriptions, as well as a start date for the newly formed department. The information was to be presented at the March 10 commission meeting for review and discussion. But that never happened.
Whitfield admitted that he was slow-walking the request but said it was for the good of the animals and employees. He said he didn’t feel it should be rushed.
Other issues commissioners were concerned about were the length of time the county has been without a human resources director (since Feb. 1), the chairman hiring an employee from Whitfield Oil who was “unqualified” for the position he was hired for, and other decisions Whitfield made without seeking input from the other commissioners.
When it came time for residents to speak, they had plenty to say. As each took to the podium, a predominant theme emerged: they felt some change was in order but were doubtful about a county manager model, in spite of the fact that
Jarrad had told them that most counties in Georgia operate on this model.
A county manager, said more than one resident, would incur extra costs to taxpayers. Some asked for specific numbers and were presented with figures ranging from $100,000 to $130,000 a year.
One resident commented that Catoosa County was a good example of why a county manager was a bad idea; they can’t seem to hold on to one for more than two years, he said. Every time one leaves, a new one has to learn the ropes, get to know the county culture, and then they’re gone, along with the cost of their severance package.
One person asked if severance packages were necessary. Jarrad explained that they are fair when someone is uprooting their family and taking a chance on a county.
Many residents praised Jarrad for his clear and thorough explanation of what was under consideration.
What would the chairman of the board do if there was a county manager, some people wanted to know. Jarrad suggested that the chair retain executive functions while the county manager would cover administrative duties.
Among things the chair should continue to do, said Jarrad, would be ceremonial duties, running meetings, assigning people to committees and creating and presenting a county budget.
The county manager should be in charge of hiring and firing, meeting with department heads and overall making sure the county runs smoothly on a daily basis.
Some duties, Jarrad said, would overlap. The chair and the manager would have to work together on many things. Duties should be outlined before making any changes,
Jarrad made clear, though, that how duties were assigned was entirely up to the board.
What residents really seemed to want was for commissioners to work harder at communicating with each other effectively and at coming up with doable solutions.
Efforts to concey that desire ranged from mild scolding to cheerleading, “you can do this” talks.
One resident half-jokingly suggested locking the board in a room together without food and water for a few days.
Another resident said later that he feels the board should go on a retreat
and hammer things out there. Other boards do it, he said, and it seems to work for them.
One person asked Jarrad how much he had been paid for consulting on this issue. He said he thought around $5,000. According to Joe Legge, public relations director for Walker County, the Jarrad & Davis firm has been paid “$3,555.32 to date for services rendered in relation to the advice and presentation to the board regrading this issue.”
Commissioners made it clear that
everything at this point was an exploration of options.
If the board were to choose a county manager form of government, they would simply have to pass a resolution at a single board meeting, then recruit and hire someone to fill that position. But Jarrad recommended that they also modify the enabling legislation that created the board to begin with. Enabling legislation is a form of a city or county charter.
Jarrad suggested making sure no
conflicts of duty existed in enabling legislation that would confuse the responsibilities of chair and county manager positions. In order to alter the enabling legislation, the changes would have to be approved at two consecutive board meetings. No approval by the Georgia legislature would be necessary as it is in some cases concerning city charters.