Wednesday, February 6, 2002
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Wednesday, February 6, 2002 |
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Attorney general takes judge's side in Citizen's suit By DAVE
HAMRICK
Attorneys from the office of Thurbert Baker, Georgia's attorney general, will defend Judge Stephen Boswell in The Citizen's lawsuit seeking an end to secret tax mediation talks in Fayette County. Documents filed last week in the case show Baker's office as Boswell's attorney. Judges who are sued in the line of duty can ask for and receive defense from the attorney general's office. Fayette Superior Court still has not appointed a judge to hear the case. Meanwhile, Boswell recently signed an order extending the mediation talks until Feb. 15. All of Fayette's judges disqualified themselves in The Citizen's suit citing conflict of interest, because Fayette County and its three largest cities also are named as defendants. The Citizen is seeking to halt mediation talks between the county and the cities of Fayetteville, Peachtree City and Tyrone pending a hearing to determine whether the mediation can legally be conducted in secret. The action came after visiting Judge Stephen Boswell, who is overseeing the mediation, refused to respond to The Citizen's earlier written request that he explain his reasons for closing the talks. Lawyers for the newspaper also have issued requests for any and all documents produced as a result of the mediation, citing the state open records statutes. The governments involved have refused to give up the documents, citing the judge's secrecy order and arguing that the documents are exempted from open records laws because pending litigation is involved. The court-ordered mediation is aimed at resolving a long-standing dispute over tax equity. City officials have maintained that their residents are taxed for more services than they receive from the county about $2 million a year. County leaders say there is no tax inequity, that city residents receive more than their fair share of services. Boswell ordered mediation after the cities filed a formal request that he do so. As part of those proceedings, Boswell issued an order Dec. 14 requiring that the mediation be conducted in private, and that the parties not talk about the discussions. Though the order cites no statutory authority allowing the secret meetings, it holds that the decision is "consistent with the general guidelines for all mediations." "In order to provide an environment conducive to resolution, mediations are conducted in private and information provided is confidential as between the parties and the mediator," said Boswell in his mediation order. Citizen Publisher Cal Beverly said he decided to question the legal grounds for the secrecy order because the parties involved are not private citizens, as in most court-ordered mediations, but governing bodies, and the matters they are discussing involve taxpayers' interests. "We need to remember that these are our local elected officials talking about our tax dollars. If anything should be open and above board, it is tax talk," he said. The Citizen's objections could soon be moot, with the Feb. 15 deadline for the talks looming. After the deadline, court action may follow.
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