Does Coweta County’s governmental structure need to undergo a change in the future? An attempt to begin to find an answer to that question came April 17 with the first meeting of a committee proposed in February by County Commission Chairman Tim Higgins to determine whether the county’s current governmental structure is sufficient to meet future needs. Much of the April 17 conversation included the idea of having a countywide commission chairman.

“This is a move at re-engineering county government for the future,” Higgins said Feb. 5. “Over the next 20 years our structure may need to change. We have two senior managers set to retire in two to six years and we need succession planning.”

Attending the April 17 meeting were Higgins, former Commissioner Robert Wood, County Administrator Theron Gay, Georgia Power representative Jan Alligood and County Attorney Nathan Lee. Commissioner Leigh Schlumper was unable to attend.

First up at the meeting was a discussion on the idea of having a countywide commission chairman. Lee said any proposal would have to go before U.S. Dept. of Justice to determine if doing so would dilute the minority vote.

Wood noted that a contingency on moving to a countywide chairman would involve how the day-to-day business of the county was structured. He said someone in that position should be able to be chosen by the commission, adding a personal concern over a potential lack of experience that might injure the county.

“A countywide chairman might not have business experience, etc., or know how to run a government day to day,” Wood said. “That would hurt my heart. I don’t mind a countywide chairman, but I don’t want to see a Boss Hog in this county.”

Alligood said the commission should look at every approach relating to government operations without dismissing anything out of hand.

Higgins surfaced the issue pertaining to the increasing need for the chairman to be more involved with the regional issues facing the county.

“The chairman needs to be able to commit more time to the job,” he said. “That includes for things outside the county like regional issues.”

Wood agreed, saying that the role of county government and those things that impact it have become more involved over the years, adding that many deals pertaining to county government are now made at meetings outside the county.

During the discussion, Wood said that if a countywide chairman was what occurred, the commission could elect that person for a two-year period. He also offered a word of caution on actions by commission members regarding county personnel.

“The commission has no power outside the commission table,” said Wood. “You have no codified power to do anything on your own.”

Toward the end of the meeting, the discussion transitioned to the future supervisory and organizational structure of county government. Alligood suggested following a business model with an organizational structure where employees take issues to their supervisor and where the supervisor, within an established management system, handles those issues. All agreed that commissioners should have limited power, with the assigned role of hearing appeals generated through that system.

Also discussed was the distinction between the position of county manager and county administrator, with Lee noting that the solution lies in the way the county government is structured. Gay added that the lines between the terms is more blurred today than in past years. Also commenting on the issue, Wood said the county in the future would need a written format to address a system for county administration and staff.

The committee will continue its work May 6 at 3:30 p.m. in the commission chambers. That meeting will include a discussion on the division of duties within county government.

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