Friday, July 22, 2005

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County vows citizens’ property will be safe

By JOHN THOMPSON
jthompson@TheCitizenNews.com

Coweta County Commissioner Greg Tarbutton is outraged by a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision.

In the case of Kelo vs. City of New London, the court ruled that private property could be taken by government entities for development purposes. Tarbutton said he wanted to make sure that residents in Coweta County didn’t have to worry about aggressive governments.

“I tried to get this passed at the last meeting, but I was told it should be in a legal form,” he added.

In the official resolution passed unanimously Tuesday night, the Commission said taking private property from a private person and transferring it to another owner can “never constitute a valid public purpose.”

The resolution also calls on the state of Georgia to adopt a similar resolution and eliminate the fear residents have of taking their property.

After the meeting, Tarbutton just shook his head at the “judicial activism” of the Supreme Court and hopes that future commissioners will stick to the provision of the resolution passed Tuesday.

“If they don’t, residents should tar and feather them on their way out of town,” he said.