Wednesday, August 1, 2001
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Wednesday, August 1, 2001 |
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Unruly actions at council meeting can lead to ejection through suggested 'contempt' rules By JOHN
MUNFORD
Months of work to update Peachtree City's charter will likely end Thursday night as the City Council prepares to adopt the final document. City Attorney Rick Lindsey has presented drafts of several new ordinances for council to adopt which coincide with changes and additions to the charter. Those ordinances include a provision that allows the mayor to find a person in "contempt of council" and force that person to leave the council meeting. In those cases, the ejected person would be allowed to speak to council about the matter at the next regularly scheduled council meeting, according to the ordinance. If the ejected individual attempts to interfere with council business, that person can be banished from City Hall, according to the ordinance. This particular ordinance is recommended by Lindsey although council has not discussed it yet. Lindsey thinks council needs a way to address such a situation if it ever threatened to interrupt a council meeting, said City Public Information Officer Betsy Tyler. The process for filling one or more vacant council seats is also spelled out by an ordinance proposed by Lindsey. The process includes announcing the seats, accepting applications and interviewing applicants at a public meeting. If necessary, the number of applicants will be reduced to four finalists for interviews. After that, council members will record written votes for their final choice. Another charter-related ordinance would allow council members or the mayor to be penalized if they fail to attend two or more meetings in a calendar year without reason. In such cases, council could take a series of actions which could result in censure of that council member or mayor. The charter revisions include provisions that somewhat weaken the mayor's power, particularly in giving the daily operation and administration of the city to the city manager. The mayor, however, retains "general supervision and jurisdiction over the affairs of Peachtree City," the charter revision states. The mayor's power to veto has been taken away, though mainly for technical purposes since the mayor is required to have a vote on all council matters. The revised charter also eliminates the need to appoint officers such as the city clerk, city attorney and city auditor on an annual basis. Instead, such persons will serve at the pleasure of the mayor and council and can be removed at any time. Another portion of the new charter is designed to prevent council members from interfering with the work of city employees with unreasonable requests. Council members are forbidden from directly ordering city officers or employees; instead, such requests must be handled through the city manager. The revised charter allows council members to gather routine information which city officers and employees could easily and quickly assemble, however.
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