Friday, April 12, 2002
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Friday, April 12, 2002 |
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Fulton boards the bus By JOHN
THOMPSON
Fulton County unanimously voted to get on the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority's bus program Tuesday and beacme the 11th county to sign up for the deal. But South Fulton's commissioner, Bill Edwards, is not happy about the process it took to get to Tuesday's vote. Last week, the County Commission voted down the proposal by a 4-3 vote down party lines, with the Republicans supporting GRTA's proposal. After the vote, Chairman Mike Kenn was stunned by the vote and called it a "no brainer" to support the project. GRTA's proposal calls for Fulton County to receive $31 million in roadwork for a onetime payment of $2.45 million to help support the bus system. Edwards said the system is a win for the county, but objected to the way the vote was handled. "The process was violated. Mike Kenn can't negotiate for all the commissioners," he said. He said the county is run by a county manager form of government, which does not give one commissioner anymore power than another. Edwards said the information was brought to the County Commission Wednesday and Kenn said they had to vote on it that day. "We're talking about using general fund money that every citizen pays into. We didn't have a chance to evaluate the proposal," he said. The commissioner is thrilled that money will now help fund the Oakley Industrial bridge and South Fulton parkway, but wanted to make sure the proposal was in the best interests of the citizens. "Look how we voted Tuesday. It was unanimous. It's not about politics or racial issues. It's just a matter of doing the process right."
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