Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010Secret Bibb courthouse vote ruling reaffirmed by appeals court
- mstucka@macon.com
http://www.macon.com/local/story/1022453.html |
||
|
The Georgia Court of Appeals backed Bibb County in a lawsuit, ruling that county commissioners appropriately voted behind closed doors to buy land for a new courthouse. Wednesday’s
decision was the third blow against the case filed by Lee Johnson,
Lindsay “Doc” Holliday and Louis Ryan, who argued Bibb commissioners
incorrectly agreed to buy land in August 2008 and November 2008 during
closed sessions. The residents asked the courts to nullify the
purchase, because the public couldn’t find out about the deals until
January 2009. The Court of Appeals said there’s no requirement for a public vote in open session. “Because the applicable exception to the open meetings requirement did not specifically provide that a vote on the excepted issue must be taken in public, a vote could be taken in closed session,” Judge John J. Ellington wrote. A judge from the Houston County Superior Court, George F. Nunn, earlier ruled against the residents and then against a motion to reconsider his ruling. Holiday said voters will remember the secrecy when they consider a special purpose local option sales tax vote in July. “I think the county won, but the people lost open government, and it’s sad,” Holliday said Friday. “I think this is going to hurt their ability to pass a new SPLOST, because if we can’t trust these leaders with their existing power, it’s unlikely we’re going to give them 183 million bucks.” Records show a real estate agent was authorized
in one of the votes to buy 29 parcels for less than $2.1 million. The
land near Oglethorpe Street, between the county’s jail and its
Department of Family and Children Services Department, is now planned
to be a Juvenile Court facility. The main courthouse would be built at
Mulberry and First streets. |
||
| Readers Comments below: | ||
SASSI
wrote on 02/14/2010 07:31:24 AM:
Typical Bibb county. When will the voters wake up and do
something?? Doc
wrote on 02/14/2010 08:24:48 AM:
Bibb
Government has actually become even more secretive than before. The
Bibb County Commission stopped recording its committee meeting minutes
in January 2009, a decision made shortly after Commission Chairman Sam
Hart took office. “It’s just not required, so we decided not to do
that,” Hart said. (Telegraph archives) tomkat1
wrote on 02/14/2010 08:25:32 AM:
Sounds like business as usual in Macon. fourthestate
wrote on 02/14/2010 08:24:31 AM:
If
the vote had been taken in public, land developers, real estate
speculators, and property owners would have had a field day with YOUR
tax revenue. Once the location of a public project is disclosed , the
cost of that property skyrockets . Eminent domain power sounds good, in
theory, but it does not guarantee success or taxpayer value. That is
why ALL public meetings are closed whenever matters dealing with
property are discussed. Doc
wrote on 02/14/2010 08:31:58 AM:
"fourthestate" is defending that status-quo where his insider-buddies are making all the doe - "with YOUR tax revenue" - as he says himself. Follow the money.
|
||
|
a Citizen's Guide to Filing
Appeals in the Ga Court of Appeals:
http://www.gaappeals.us/cguide/citizens_guide_2007.pdf |
||