Newspaper Page Text
. The Summerville News, Thursday, October 9, 1986
8-A
Five-Member Board, Manager Plan Cited
from front page
expect of the commissioners. I think it's a
ver¥l workable situation. I think it works
in the very best interests of the people to
have a direct say-so in the policy-setting
Erocess that ym;dget with the five-man
oard, as opposed to a sinile commis
sioner. There's no question that the sole
commissioner is the most effective. I don't
think anybody will argue with that. It is
the most effective form of government. A
dictatorship is a whole lot more effective
than a democracy and yet the accountabili
ty that we all look for 1s achieved through
tKe election of a board because each of
them has his own constituency, each of
them has his own people that he relates to
and that gives everybody a chance to have
their voice heard through their elected
representative. | think it's a much better
process.
* * *
THE NEWS: Do you think a multi-man
commission is divisive from the standpoint
of each member trying to get all he or she
can for his particular district? Has that
been a problem with the boards you have
worked under?
COUNTY MANAGER McCUL
LOUGH: Never. Never. Now, there's no
uestion that even though we don't have
gistrict commissioner, everybody is from
somewhere and it just so hapgens that the
present makeup of the board of commis
sioners is such that we have every district
of this community represented on the ex
isting board of commissioners. But the
parochialism of ‘‘looking after their own in
dividual little district to the detriment of
the others;”’ I have never seen evidence of
that. Now, there's no question that each is
strong-minded — they wouldn’'t be in
politics if they weren't. They have their
own desires and responsibilities of achiev
ing the goals that they themselves have
set. Ans yet the idea of having to come
together and interface with the give and
take of political discussion, the “running
of the test’ of having everybody sitting in
Ludgment on everything that is to be done,
as a very positive effect. It weeds out the
weak projects and it ensures that the
limite(f) resources that are available are ap
plied to those areas that really need it, as
opposed to doing something simply
because it fits their own individgual needs
in their own ingividgal cc:‘mmunity.
THE NEWS: You've dealt for years
with all forms of county government in the
state. Which form — sole commissioner or
multi-member board of commissioners —
do Xou think lends itself to more openness
and public participation?
COUNTY MANAGER McCUL
LOUGH: There's no question. There is no
question but the muclti-member commis
sion. The multi-member commission as
established in Floyd County is required to
hold two public meetings a monet?x. Those
meetings are well-publicized. The public
has an opportunity to come and sit in judg
ment on the efforts of their elected
representatives, unlike a single-member
commission, or if I could equate it to a con
stitutional officer who is actually held ac
countable to the public once every four
years at election-time. The county commis
sioners (on a board) are accountable every
morning following the board meetin
because you can see what they've done ang
what they haven’'t done. You can sit in
judgment and let your feelings be known.
There's no question that it's much more
open and much more receptive to public in
put through the multi-member commis
sion. It is reé;uired by law to hold public
meetings and they cannot meet in secret
under the Georgia sunshine law whereas,
how does a single member comply with the
sunshine law? Because...each time he
puts on his hat, he's in session. There's no
question in my mind as to which one is
more attuned with the public — and that
is the multi-me:nber*comlyission.
THE NEWS: Under a multi-member
board elected by districts, each member
answers to a smaller constituency than
would a sole commissioner answering to an
entire county. Does this allow such com
missioners to be closer to the people than
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a sole commissioner elected countywide?
COUNTY MANAGER McCUL
LOUGH: I don't think there's any question
about that. Out of 80,000 people, one voice,
if it has to compete witfieSI)Q.OOO others,
may not be heard. But one voice among
10,000 stands a good chance of being
heard. That maybe is a poor analogy but
what I'm saf'in is the smaller the consti
tuency, the ouger one voice becomes and
the more receptive would be the commis
sioner . . . The multi-member commission
gives minoritg' representation — minority
in the sense of being different from the ma
jority in view as opposed to a racial or
ethnic type situation — an opportunity for
minoritf‘l' re:rresentation to make their
voices heard through the multi-member
commission.
* * *
THE NEWS: What do you see as the
disadvantages or benefits of staggered
terms for members of a board of
commissioners?
COMMISSIONER BLANKENSHIP:
I've served under both setups and the stag
gered terms gives continuity and stability
to government and I'm very much in favor
of it. There've been times, and ['ve been a
part of a board that was brand new . . .it
takes a long time to become familiar with
what's going on because county govern
ment is so complex. I think even the most
knowledgeable would find that it takes a
lozfi time to become acclimated to what's
really happening. Staggered terms are the
best thing that's happened to Floyd Coun
ty, in my opinion, and I believe that belief
is shared by a lot of peo;lle.
*
THE NEWS: What do you see, Mr.
McCullough, as the advantages or disad
vantages of a sole commissioner form of
government versus a multi-member board
of commissioners insofar as long-range
planning and technical expertise is concern
ed? Does a sole commissioner have time to
do more than take care of day-to-day ac
tivities, in most cases?
COUNTY MANAGER McCUL
LOUGH: The single man commissioner is
responsible for the day-to-day operations
of a county . .. Every act he takes, he has
to look at the ramifications of that act in
how it's going to affect him politically.
Now that's just realism, it's a truism
because he does, in fact, have to run.
Everytime he has to do something, he has
to keep in mind, “‘I can’t do good for this
community if I can't get elected.” Like I
say, that's just a truism of politics. So I
think that we — meaning that elected
manager-commissioner — sometimes
hesitate to do something because it would
be controversial. It might be in the best in
terests but it would be controversial. It
might be subject to being misconstrued so
he would hesitate to do it. It is always
easier to deal with the everyday problems
than it is to sit down and make long-range
plans. I think that's my answer to your
question.
* * *
THE NEWS: Which is the most effi
cient longterm, a person who may be
elected but has no technical or professional
training or a board with a manager? The
board may change and the manager may
change, but aren’t the qualifications for *‘a
manager’’ still there?
COMMISSIONER BLANKENSHIP:
May I respond to that? One of the pro
blems with government is that it's run by
amateurs. By the time you really get to
knowing what's going on, you're voted out
or you quit or something. But let me tell
you about the hazards of what we're talk
ing about. One mistake, just one mistake
can cost you literally thousands of dollars.
One incorrect decision can cost you literally
thousands of dollars whereby if you had
had some expertise, a little bit of ex
perience, you could have saved those
thousands of dollars and been on the plus
side. There is no way, there is absolutely
no way in this world that one man can
know where the grants are and have time
to go after grants and make all the sound,
good, correct decisions. He might get by
but his errors are going to cost the county
literally hundreds of tfiousands of dollars
Three Face Burglary Charge
Three more suspects have
been charged with burglary in
connection with a Sept. 17 in
cident at Pennville Amuse
ment Center and three people
have been charged with l?jndeer
ing their arrest, including two
susgects previously charged
with the same burglary.
Inv. Ron Turner of the
Chattooga County Sheriff's Of
fice identified the trio charged
with burglary as Tony Lavon
Pegg, 26, Trion, James R.
Hewitt, 21, Summerville Rte.
2, and Johnny Andrew
Freeman, 20, Valley Head, Ala.
Freeman was still in the Chat
tooga County Jail Wednesday
afternoon, as was Hewitt. Pegg
was released Tuesday on
$25,000 bond.
Charged Monday with
hindering the apprehension of
a criminal in connection with
the arrests of Pegg and Hewitt
Durham/
McDaniel
Reunion
Mark Durham and
Jeannie McDaniel
Durham, now residing
in Jacksonville, Fla.,
are having a family
reunion, Saturday,
Oct. 18 beginning at
12:80 .at . East Trion
Chureh of God,
Friends and family are
invited. Families bring
covered dishes.
over the period of a term. Am I right, Dick?
(7()[l%'l‘\' MANAGER McCUL
LOUGH: Absolutely.
COMMISSIONER BLANKENSHIP:
[t might not look to the public — it might
look good but actually had he been really
in the know and made the correct decisions,
it would have been worth literally hundreds
of thousands of dollars, There's no way in
this world I could justify, as a citizen,
voting for a one-man commissioner to run
my county.
COUNTY MANAGER McCUL
LOUGH: Let me say this and I'd like to
get Buddy's reaction. Every commissioner
I've ever known — and they were elected
to four-year terms — said it took them the
first two years ““to find out where the
bathroom was.” In other words, it takes
two years to know what your job is as an
elected official because it is diverse. It is
a lot of responsibility. But it takes you two
years just to find out what your job is. And
you equate this to an elected suie commis
sioner who has to physically run the coun
ty. You take two years to become ac
climated to the job, then he's got one year
of working on the job and then he's got
another year of getting ready for reelection.
Over a four-year term, how much truly pro
ductive effort, knowledgeable with a basis
of understanding of your work, can you get
done?
* . B
THE NEWS: Does it help with in
dustrial prospects to have a county
manager who can speak their language
technically and professionally and in plan
ning and development?
COMMISSIONER BLANKENSHIP:
It certainly does. I think it makes a world
of difference because people coming in wan
ting to invest in your county, they don't
want to talk to somebody who knows less
about the county than maybe they do
themselves. Before they even come in to
talk, they've surveyed your county and
they know what you've got to offer and
they come in to confirm it and to actually
check to see what quality leadership you
have in the county. The only way t?ney'll
know about the quality of leadership is by
having discussions with the leaders
themselves.
* * *
THE NEWS: Have you ever had an op
portunity where the county manager has
gone beyond what the board of commis
sioners has said in its policies, as far as tak
ing action on his own without approval of
the board?
COMMISSIONER BLANKENSHIP:
I don’t think there's been any. There may
have been times where there wasn't a clear
policy on something that he might have
acted and the policy may have been later
changed but I don't think that we've ever
had any problems. Well, I know we haven't
because that kind of thing wouldn't be
tolerated. Everybody has got to know what
his job is and everybody has got to act
responsibly.
COUNTY MANAGER McCUL
LOUGH: Let me tell you this. One of the
first things a manager learns to do with a
five-man commission is *‘to count to three.”
That's said in jest but it's true. You asked
the question whether the manager might
overstep his bounds. And that's quite
possible where no clear policy has ?)een
established and a decision has to be made,
and that a decision may be made which
runs contrary to the ultimate desires of the
commission. But the commission is the
ultimate authority, the commissioners are
the seat of authority. A manager is only ex
ercising those authorities for which a void
has been created or has been specifically
delegated to him and if he's acting where
a void has been created, then the commis
sion has an opportunity to come back and
review it, because it is the governing body.
The commissioners are the final word on
anything. I've got a lot of authority I can
exercise but it's all subject to their review
and if I overstep, they can always jerk me
back.
* S
THE NEWS: Both of you have been in
government a long time. l-save you had any
problems with commissioners getting
were James Monroe Pierce, 22,
Pennville, Johnny Lee Fowler,
26, Pennville, and Darrell
Wayne Pettyjohn, 25, Trion.
They were released Tuesday on
$5,000 bond each.
Freeman was arrested in
DeKalb County, Ala. while
Pegg and Hewitt were both ar
rested in Pennville, Turner
reported.
Fowler and Pierce had been
charged with burglary Sept. 25
while Freeman was being held
at that time by DeKalb
authorities.
GOATS DIE
Meanwhile Sgt. Dan Young
said Franklin Ward, Filter
Plant Road, reported late last
week that dogs had killed
several of his goats and injured
several more. Ward was final
ly able to kill one of the dogs
and wound another, Sergeant
Young said.
A 1979 Mazda owned by
Marsha Wilson, 202 Rossville
Blvd., Trion, was stolen from
the parking lot of Fred's Dis
count store last Thursday, said
Inv. Turner.
A S4OO plate glass window
was broken in the front of a
store owned by Billy Tate,
Trion, on Oct. 1, said Inv. Greg
Latta. The investigation is
continuing.
A battery valued at SSO
was reported stolen from a
lawnmower at the maintenance
shop at James H. “‘Sloppy”
Floyd State Park between
Sept. 26 and last Thursday,
said Inv. Latta.
VEGETABLES
Around 150 pounds of
vegetables valued at approx
imately S2OO were stolen from
a freezer at the home of Edna
together and conspiring to do anything il
legal where the county is concerned,
whether it be selling materials to the coun
ty or uttemptins to make money off the
coung in some form or luhion‘y
COMMISSIONER BLANKENSHIP:
We as commissioners work under the bid
law. We have a central purchasing depart
ment and it's run by a purchasing agent
and we have to competitive?y bid
everythir:ig over X number dollars. You
have to advertise and bid. On some things,
you can bid with a minimum amount of
advertising but as the price goes up, the
time of advertising len%,thens and
evvrything that the county buys — and
we're audited constantly — is bought
through competitive bidging and I don't
see how that could in anyway ever be any
kind of conspiracy to deg*aud the county.
In my opinion, there's just no possible way.
COUNTY MANAGEI{)O McCUi‘:-
LOUGH: If you go back many, many years
— or maybe you don't have to go back that
many — county government was pretty
well contained within itself. You went to
work in the morning. You did your daJ‘s
work, you went home in the evening. You
had very little exchange with the state
government except on road contracts and
even then you hag people who came in and
told you, ‘““Hey, we're foinito give dyou a
contract to do this.” In other words, we
looked inward. You didn't really rely on
anyone other than your own resources.
Time passed. And it grew away from be
ing a f()x:ally centered to a part of a larger
organization, that being the state. And
with the federal government'’s involvement
in local affairs — whether you like it or
whether you don't is imnmaterial, the fact
remains that the federal government,
revenue sharing and some other programs
involve that local community in still a
larger concept of local, state and federal.
And now you have to interact with all of
them. That brings a lot more tension into
your operation. It brings about such things
as the single audit ru%es that we have to
live under today. This means that years
ago, Floyd County, at one time, had never
had an audit of some of the constitutional
offices of this county. Because the law
didn’t require it, it wasn't done. Now,
under the single audit, we must bring
together every operation that county
dollars go into, that public tax dollars go
into ans they're subjected to independent
audit. This almost efiminates the possibil
ty of undetected collusion. Now, collusion
could always take place but the point now
is that it's going to be identifieg. It’s go
ing to be identified on rather a routine basis
because the laws have been changed to re
quire outside scrutiny of your operation to
the point that you've got to account for
your dollars. You've got to publicize them.
You can't hide things. Not that anybody
wants to but I'm just saying the laws have
been written now that really are safeguards
of the public dollars and insist on ogen
records, open accountability of all public
funds.
* * *
THE NEWS: Do you think that having
a board of commissioners provides for
more open government than a sole commis
sioner form?
COMMISSIONER BLANKENSHIP:
Certainly, it does. It makes you more ac
countable because you're subject to the
sunshine law and you can take no action
other than in an offrcial board meeting. The
public and the media are certainly invited
to be there. I know in our case, they're
always there. So there's not much oppor
tunity for misunderstanding because
you've got to have your facts and your
business together because they’re going to
be aired out in the media and people are go
ing to have an opfiortunity to express their
opinions about them.
* * *
(NEXT: A discussion of the trend in
county governmental organization in
Georgia).
Cook, Georgia Avenue, Lyerly,
said Dep. P. R. Hill. The theft
occurred between Sept. 27 and
last Friday, reports indicated.
Thieves took a stereo and
equalizer from the car of James
L.. Bartlett, Trion Road, Sum
merville, last Saturday, said
Dep. Hill. Value of the items
was listed at S2OO.
An AM/FM cassette radio
and equalizer valued at $630
were reported stolen from the
car of Robert Earl Craig, Sum
merville Rte. 2, while it was
parked at the Dairy Queen in
Summerville, said Sgt. Jerry
Davenport.
Two men drove their brown
car across his lawn twice last
Friday, causin% damage to the
turf, said Wally Cohely, Red
Oak Road, according to a
report filed by Sgt. Young.
ARRESTS
Among the arrests made by
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|TE A | \\\ | M Summerville
- | n\ )‘\ \ / \ I\l |1 857"46] 6
the sheriff’s office during the
last week were the following:
— Robbie Baker Dooley, 32,
Summerville Gardens, was
charged Monday with writin
two %ad checks, and releases
Tuesday on SI,OOO bond.
— Paul Gartrel Peppers, 28,
Summerville Rte. 1, was charg
ed Monday with writing a bad
check and released that same
day on sllO property bond.
~ — Steve Louis Staton, 25,
LaFayette, was charged Tues
day with simple battery and
released that same day on SSOO
property bond.
SHOP CHATTOOGA
COUNTY MERCHANTS
IN MENLO
Easement For
Sewer Progress
Mayor Theresa Canada
reported to the Menlo Council
Tuesday night that most of the
40 property easements needed
for the new sewer Nsiystem have
been approved. Mrs. Canada
expressed confidence that the
remaining six to nine easement
recfit)xests would soon be approv
ed by Menlo property owners.
“All of these easements
have been granted for the good
of the city,” Mrs. Canada said.
“None of them involved
money."’
The Council expects to
advertise for bids within the
next few weeks. Construction
on the sewer sgstem will be
gossible once a bid is accepted
y the Council. No date has
been set for the bid opening at
present, but it is expected to
occur in mid-November. A
previously planned bid-opening
date on gct. 14, was postpon
ed due to delays in approval of
property easements.
WATER
The Council voted
unanimously to approve
guidelines for water conserva
tion in case of a critical water
shortage. The guidelines were
Broposed by the Georgia
epartment of Natural
Resources for all cities.
The plan offers a graduated
Powell Plans
Charges Again
Chattooga County Commis
sioner Harry Powell said
Wednesday he would press
ahead with plans to seek
charges against Sheriff Gary
McConnelf for opening a jail
checking account at First
Federal Savings and Loan
Association in Summerville.
Powell, in an interview on
WGTA radio, repeated much
of what he had written McCon
nell two weeks ago about the
issue.
The commissioner said
Wednesday that he had given
a check written to the county
on the account and signed by
McConnell to Lookout Judicial
Circuit District Attorney D. L.
“Red"” Lominick but Lominick
“laughed’” about it at the time.
Powell had said Sept. 16 that
he had given the check to
Lominick and the foreman of
the August term Chattooga
County Grand Jury but no ac
tion had been taken.
CHECKS
McConnell said in
September he had opened the
account so he could deposit
checks from cities and counties
for boardini prisoners at the
jail because he had been unable
to obtain receipts from Powell
for the funds when he had
handed them over directly in
the past.
He wrote Powell the check
for $26,367.50 on July 7 and
then another check for $46,015
on Sept. 16. The second check
to Powell included copies of the
checks written to the sheriff's
department by other govern
ments for boarding prisoners
and added up to the amount of
PENNVILLE PHONE 857 1824
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NEW SHIPMENT OF
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systLeln vi couservation during
a severe droutght. and squests
means of enforcement for the
uidelines in various stages of
firou ht.
'l‘ie Council also
unanimously approved setting
aside $lO amonth in a savings
account as a retirement pen.
sion for one volunteer firemen,
The volunteer was just over the
age limit for joining the
Georgia Firemens Pension
Fund. All other volunteers
were eligible for the fund. The
city contributes $lO per month
to the fund for its volunteers,
The Council discussed the
possibility of metering its two
well sites to determine the
amount of water usage in the
city. No action was taken.
Mayor Canada reported
that the demolition of the old
Menlo CitK Hall should be com:-
lete within the next week.
g‘ollowing the demolition, that
area and the area in front of the
new city hall will be covered
with concrete at a cost of
around $4,000.
Present for the meeting
were Mayor Canada, City
Recorder Hester Hurtt and
Councilmen Tommy Ballard,
T.J. Luther and Danny
Powell. Council members
Leroy Tucker and Ernest Mit
chell were absent.
the checks, the sheriff in
dicated. Copies of checks were
supposed to have been includ
ed with the July 7 check to
Powell but were not due to an
administrative oversight, ac
cording to a spokesman at the
sheriff's office.
Powell had said on Sept. 16
when McConnell's procedures
and reason for opening the ac
count were explained that "I
don't see why it wouldn't
be ... acceptable. However,
he apparently changed his
mind overnight ans wrote
McConnell Sept. 17 that the
sheriff's actions were not ac
ceptable to him.
The county’s auditors, Fin
ney and Moore, said in their
report to the county on its 1985
finances that the checks to
Powell should be written mon
thly. McConnell had said that
his intent was to provide
Powell with a checfi each
month for the prisoner boar
ding payments. No payments
were made in August.
McConnell made the bank
statements available to the
public in mid-September.
“TEAM”
Powell said Wednesday in
the radio interview that he had
a "team’ of lawyers working
on the issue. In his Sept. 17 let
ter to McConnell the commis
sioner said he was sending a
copy of his hand-written com
ments to Georgia Attorney
General Michael Bowers.
The sheriff indicated
Wednesday he was tired of the
controversy with the commis
sioner and said he would prefer
not to comment on Powell's
latest remarks.