Wednesday, May 21, 2003

I have recently been asked by members of the media and even some citizens about the "contentious" and "difficult" working relationship between members of the Peachtree City City Council. In order to substantiate my answer to this question, I asked city staff to give me a list of how council has voted over the past 17 months, since three new members were sworn into office.

City Council has voted on 197 items over this time period with a total of 910 votes cast.

It has been my experience that the City Council members have a very good working relationship and this belief is supported by analyzing the council's voting record.

During the past one-and-a-half-plus years, City Council has voted 88 percent of the time in unanimous agreement. In fact, taking into consideration votes with only one dissenting vote, council has been 95 percent in agreement and 96 percent in agreement based on a majority vote.

Another way to state this is to say that when a council member made a motion that received a second, the majority of council members present approved that motion 96 percent of the time. That number bears repeating: 96 percent of the motions brought forward by a council member were approved.

Dissenting votes (votes against a motion that was approved by a majority of council) accounted for only 2.5 percent of the total votes made.

Of that already small number of 2.5 percent:

35 percent of those dissenting votes were cast by Steve Brown and/or Dan Tennant on issues related to variances and rezoning issues;

13 percent were the three dissenting votes I cast regarding the rezoning of the Leach tract on three separate occasions;

13 percent related to the golf cart ordinance with Annie McMenamin and Steve Brown dissenting;

9 percent were related to the dog park, with Annie McMenamin dissenting; and

another 9 percent were related to the MOST resolution with Annie McMenamin and Dan Tennant dissenting.

The remaining 21 percent were related to Annie McMenamin's dissenting votes against tabling the sports and entertainment authority and creating teen study circles, and Dan Tennant's dissenting votes against the moratorium, plan review fee and nonprofit funding.

Which council members are most likely not to agree with the majority and by what percent of the time? Dan Tennant 39 percent, Annie McMenamin 26 percent, Steve Brown 22 percent and Steve Rapson 13 percent. Murray Weed voted on the majority side of each approved item.

Interestingly, there were a total of only three split votes, or 1.3 percent, that resulted in a 2-2 split vote: Feb. 7, 2002, failed to approve dropping the discussion of a sports and entertainment authority; Jun. 6, 2002, failed to approve funding for a dog park; May 1, 2000, failed to approve refund of alcohol license fee.

The reverse statistic is worth noting. Council members only disagreed with each other 3.8 percent of the time, with either council members voting against a motion, the majority defeating a motion or a split vote.

That doesn't sound like a "contentious" or "difficult" situation to me. I wish my wife only disagreed with me 3.8 percent of the time.

The City Council members in general have a very cooperative working relationship with each other. Certainly there are a handful of issues on which council members do not agree and those issues have been well publicized. However, Peachtree City citizens should be reassured that their elected representatives are working with each other and supporting each other to the benefit of the community.

Steve Rapson

Peachtree City Councilman