County Attorney and BOC--Who does County Attorney Represent?

I have listened at the last 2 meetings and find that Comm. Bernard is busy contacting the county attorney to do this and that and the other.  In the budget meeting on 12/30/09 we heard that Comm. Bernard had asked the county attorney to research a “flat tax” as he called it.  He had been talking to EMS and told them he wants to put a tax on every household in the county to pay for EMS.  I questioned if this was legal, and Comm. Bernard said, “The county attorney said it was.”  Based on Comm. Bernard’s proposal your tax bill will have another “tax/fee” of $40 per year for EMS. 

At the 1/4/10 meeting the county attorney, again at the request of Comm. Bernard, had worked up some meeting procedures to keep the public from commenting on agenda items.  The attorney has said in the past that commissioner meetings are “business meetings.”  He is correct -- the commissioners do the business of the county and the citizens.  The citizens should be able to comment on the issues being voted on before a vote is taken!!  Comm. Bernard agreed with that procedure when he was protesting Bear Creek Reservoir and took full advantage of it, but now he has changed his tune.

I questioned the county attorney about acting on behalf of ONE commissioner and not informing the board of these requests so we all know what is going on.  The county attorney informed me this would violate “attorney-client privilege” when I asked that he let us all know when such a request was being made.  HOG WASH!!  The County Attorney works for the whole Board and the County.   He is NOT attorney for individual commissioners.  There should be NO SECRETS among the board members.   This conduct is causing problems for the Board and Jasper County.

Last week’s Monticello News had an article about a garnishment against the county being granted.  The report implies that the commissioners and the county clerk did something wrong. 

After a strong email from Comm. Cox, our county attorney informed us he had made the decision not to defend the matter and felt paying the garnishment would be cheaper.  Comm. Cox then asked, “Since when did the County Attorney become part of management and allowed to make his own decisions without consulting the Board?”  It is possible one of the commissioner’s was informed; however, the entire board was not informed and that is a bad policy.

Below I am copying the letter to the editor I wrote concerning the garnishment article in the paper.  Since that time, the board has been informed that the check was held by the Magistrate’s office for at least 15 days; however, no one in that office informed the commissioners about it. 

As a Commissioner I expect to be informed about all county matters, but it is obvious all of us are not being kept informed.

Mary Patrick
District 4 Commissioner,
Jasper County, GA
www.MaryPatrick4Jasper.com

marypatrick@wildblue.net

“Let the Sunshine In”

Dear Editor:

I found your recent article “Garnishment against County Granted” enlightening.  As a Commissioner it was all news to me, as I believe it was to the other Commissioners.  We have not been informed about losing the court case or having a garnishment deducted from the county’s bank account.

Here is what the Commissioners have been told and we do know about.  The original summons was signed for by Betty Moon, who gave it to then county manager (and acting county clerk) Greg Williams.  Mr. Williams did not inform anyone, including the county attorney, about this summons.  (It was found later in one of the stacks of paper on his desk.)  Therefore, there was no representation for the county in the original court case. 

 When the September article came out in the paper, I questioned the county attorney in open meeting about this lawsuit.  From my recollection, he assured us that the county had not lost the lawsuit and told us what had “really” taken place.  Not long thereafter, a garnishment was sent to the courthouse, and again Betty Moon did receive it and in fact passed it on to the county attorney. 

Again, I questioned the county attorney about the garnishment before a BOC meeting.  The garnishment was against the Board of Commissioners and indicated it would come out of our wages.  What I understood from the county attorney was that the BOC could not be garnished in that matter and the garnishment was not proper.  That is the last I have ever heard about this lawsuit.

Now I have several questions. 

1. Why wasn’t the BOC kept informed about this lawsuit?
2. How could McIntosh State Bank issue a garnishment check without any commissioner signing the check or knowing about it?
3. How could the check be held 15 days without anyone knowing about it, other than the Clerk of Court and the Magistrate, so the county could have any opportunity to object?
4. Why wasn’t either the Chairman or the County Clerk informed about any of this by the Clerk of Court, Magistrate, or bank so it could have been handled? 
5. How did the Monticello News find out about this when the Commissioners didn’t even know about it?  It appears your source was more interested in a news story rather than doing what was right for the county as a whole.

I appreciate The Monticello News reporting on this so the Commissioners know what happened.  However, it is disturbing that the article makes it appear that county employee Betty Moon did nothing and caused the county to miss court deadlines, and that the Board of Commissioners weren’t on the ball.  It is very hard to do something about problems when you don’t know they exist. 

Communication and cooperation could work wonders in our county.

Mary Patrick

District 4 Commissioner