Wednesday, August 14, 2002
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Wednesday, August 14, 2002 |
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Attorney says County Commission broke the law
By JOHN
THOMPSON
An attorney for the Georgia Press Association believes the Fayette County Commission has broken the Open Meetings law. Attorney David Hudson said the violations occurred when the County Commission voted on items concerning legal issues in executive sessions in 2001 and 2002. "This vote must be open. There is no exception that allows that type of decision in closed session," Hudson said. The question over the county's executive session dealings started when Tyrone Councilman Ronnie Cannon asked Fayette County Solicitor Steve Harris to investigate the County Commission's actions. Cannon started his quest to try and find out when the County Commission decided to sue Tyrone, and couldn't find the action in any official minutes from the county. Harris ruled that county officials did not violate the state's open meetings law when they voted multiple times in executive session at commission meetings. Commission Chairman Greg Dunn has also said the county didn't break any laws. "Harris's ruling is consistent with how we do business. We are just following our attorney's advice on the matter," he said. The councilman maintains the County Commission violated the open meetings act 21 times in 2001 and 10 times so far this year by voting in executive sessions. County attorney Bill McNally's also maintains the county always operates in a lawful manner and didn't violate the law. Cannon said he was forwarding all his information to the Attorney General, and is not doing his quest because it's an election year. "It's just the right thing to do. The county should not be able to get away with this," he said.
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