Public comment discussion headlines meeting

Despite no public comment being made by any Hart County citizens during the public comment period, Tuesday night’s board of commissioners meeting was dominated by discussion on how members of the public are allowed to address the board in meetings.

Discussion started when Hart County Attorney Kim Higginbotham asked to address the public comments portion of the meeting near the beginning of the meeting.

“I wanted to address the board on public comments, with your permission, to remind the board and the public that we are governed under our ordinance, Section 2-63 Public Participation,” Higginbotham said.

She then read portions of the county’s ordinance pertaining to public comment, specifically noting a section on decorum.

“There’s a section on decorum,” she said before reading from various portions of the ordinance.

“‘Members of the public shall not make inappropriate or offensive comments at a board meeting and are expected to comply with the rules of decorum established for the commissioners.’ Those are to ‘conduct yourself in a professional and respectful manner. All comments made by a commissioner should address the motion being discussed and should normally be directed to the chairman and not to other commissioners, staff or citizens in attendance. Personal remarks are inappropriate. Individuals who violate any rules of the board may be ruled out of order by the chairman or on a point of order made by any commissioner. A majority vote of the board will rule on the point of order. Any individual who violates the rules of decorum may be removed from the meeting at the direction of the chair.’”

Higginbotham also referenced Section 2-63(b) which suggests “all members of the public who wish to address the board should, when possible, submit their name and the topic of their comments to the county administrator at least three business days before the board meeting in order for the commissioners to prepare an appropriate response if such is required.”

Following the meeting, Chairman Marshall Sayer told The Sun that the rules regarding public comment were brought up in reference to a public comment made at the last Board of Commissioners Meeting.

“When the gentleman got up and asked Commissioner [Joey] Dorsey to resign, that to me is a personal attack,” Sayer said. “If you have an issue with any of the commissioners, you need to work that out with that commissioner, not in a public setting where we’re there for the county. That’s why Kim went over all the rules.”

The gentleman Sayer referenced is Jim Gaines, who utilized the public comment portion of the April 11 meeting.

“I’m here to ask Mr. Dorsey to resign, today,” Gaines said during the April 11 meeting. “If not, then we’ll take more legal action, and we’ll get it done. But you got some information, and you need to resign.”

After a sudden silence fell over the meeting room, Gaines announced, “That’s all I got,” before returning to his seat.

There were no comments or discussion regarding the statement from Gaines.

After the remainder of public comments at the April 11 meeting, the board went into an executive session to discuss litigation and personnel. When the board members returned to close out the regular meeting and eventually begin the scheduled work session meant to discuss the moratorium, Dorsey was absent.

Sayer said that Dorsey left for “a prior engagement.”

Despite not being deemed disruptive or out of order immediately following Gaines’ statement, two weeks later Sayer called his behavior ‘wrong.’

“When you address the board, you address the chairman,” Sayer said. “Yeah, he does work for the county, but we’re there to do work collectively as a board. So when you’re asking one person to resign, that’s personal. To me, that does not have anything to do with county business. Now if you come up there wanting to talk about roads or an issue you’re having with taxes or EMS or some kind of service we provide, that’s a different story, but to come up there and just talk personally to a commissioner is wrong.”

Following Higginbotham’s remarks at Tuesday’s meeting, the meeting continued as scheduled. However once the meeting came to the public comment portion on the agenda, the commissioners reiterated the rules that were read earlier.

“So we come to Item 14, which is Public Comment, and I will remind you that you will address the chairman, and we will not be taking any kind of remarks or shots at any commissioners or you will be called out of order at that point and asked to sit down,” Sayer said.

Commissioner Jeff Brown touted the importance of having public comment at meetings to be as accessible as possible. “They made the point very clear when I went to my first elected commissioners training,” Brown said.

“Out of 159 counties, Hart County is the only county in the state of Georgia that allows public opinion in the way that we do. I’m very proud of that.”

Following the meeting, Brown clarified his statement when asked by The Sun, saying that of the 100 plus county commissioners from all over Georgia that were at the training, he deemed that Hart County was in the minority when it came to the amount of limitations on public comment at meetings, with Hart County not limiting citizens to a certain time limit to speak or requiring topic submission in advance of the meeting.

During the meeting, Brown said he hopes that can continue. “I would like for it to continue to be that way,” he said, “but we have to be mindful to stay in those parameters, as Mrs. Higginbotham pointed out, with respect, and when you address us here, it’s county business. That’s what we’re here about, county business alone.”

Following the conclusion of Brown’s statement, Sayer opened the floor for public comment. After approximately three seconds of silence, Dorsey made a motion that the board enter executive session.

Sayer told The Sun that he agreed that the public comment procedure should continue as it has as far as not requiring advance notice to speak before the board.

“Sure, that rule’s in there to give three days notice, but we’re not that way,” Sayer said. “We haven’t been doing that for years. It doesn’t say they have to, it just says they can when possible.”

The Sun attempted to reach Dorsey Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning via phone for comment. Messages left were not returned by press time.