He has never recused himself from voting on Road Projects in Bibb County for which he has Financial Interests as a professional engineer and as VP of Stantec.
Elmo Richardson
page link
is an elected official representing Bibb County Commission Post
#3.
He has never recused himself
from voting on Road Projects in Bibb County for which he has Financial Interests as a
professional engineer and as VP of Stantec.
| Bibb County political Ethics? |
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on Sat, Apr. 28, 2007 http://www.macon.com/198/story/29431.html Bibb commissioners clash over motion By Keich Whicker - kwhicker@macontel.com Politics, partisanship and personal animosity trumped civility when the Bibb County commissioners turned on each other Friday morning after a discussion of limiting some of Chairman Charlie Bishop's powers descended into a verbal free-for-all. "This board is becoming dysfunctional," said Commissioner Bert Bivins, who requested Friday's special meeting in the hope of dealing with several controversial proposals he had been unable to steer out of committee, thanks in part, to votes from Bishop. "Things have become slanted in such a way that the board can't function." At issue were the process by which the chairman makes appointments to boards and agencies - something that has been a sticking point for commissioners for months - and whether the chairman should be allowed to use his ex-officio status to cast votes in all of the commission's various committees. More specifically, Bivins charged that Bishop has excluded other commissioners from the appointment process and was "thwarting the democratic process" whenever he cast a vote in a three-man committee to ensure that a 2-2 deadlock kills a particular item from making it to the full board. Bivins proposed changing the county's ordinances so commissioners have more power in making board appointments. He also wanted to insert a clause in the code that would prevent the chairman from voting on committees, unless a member was absent. Currently, the county's official guide for procedure is based on "Roberts Rules of Order," which describes the chairman as having all the rights of a committee member and none of the duties or requirements. Essentially, the chairman can vote on whatever committee item he wants. The county code also says that the commission chairman - and the chairman alone - is authorized to nominate people to serve on another body or agency. However, all of the chairman's nominations must be approved by the entire board of commissioners before they become official appointments. After listening to the proposed alterations of these rules, Bishop said Bivins wanted to change Roberts Rules of Order to "Bert's rules." Pointing to a history of unanimous board appointments, Bishop denied he has kept commissioners from participating in the appointment process. He also said he doesn't think he is disrupting the county's process of committee government. He characterized Friday's attempt to reduce his powers as a personal political attack against him. "I'm elected countywide," he said. "I'm the chief elected officer and I have certain responsibilities and privileges, and (some of the commissioners) don't like it." FIGHTING FOR CONTROL Bivins said Friday's disagreements among the board members run deeper than anyone's personal dislike of one man. "One of the problems we have here is that we have a chairman who doesn't have any respect for this board and for the democratic process," he said. Bishop countered that Bivins - along with Commissioners Joe Allen and Sam Hart, who supported Bivins during the meeting - was trying to circumvent the county's committee system by orchestrating a special meeting to try to pass items they knew would not emerge from committee sessions during the board's regular meetings. And behind everything, Bishop claimed, are the numerous illegal conflicts of interests that plague the community service boards of local authorities, agencies and nonprofits doing business with the county. "This is all about board appointments," he said, "and all about the (board of commissioners) trying to get the chairman to make illegal appointments to local boards," he said. Bivins denied that, arguing his primary concern was how the board of commissioners functions and how it is perceived by the public. Commissioners publicly have been arguing for months about the chairman's powers, board procedure and various board appointments. Trouble initially erupted when River Edge Behavioral Center approached the board for about $100,000 of additional funding, which commissioners grumbled about but ultimately approved. Then, toward the end of last year, the entire appointment process was called into question after Bishop refused to bow to the wishes of a few commissioners and nominate Hart to the River Edge board. Eventually, after several deadlocked votes and months of dispute, Bishop appointed Allen to the board. Allen later resigned from the River Edge board due to an illegal conflict of interest. Soon after, Mary Modena, wife of Sheriff Jerry Modena, left the board for similar reasons. At the heart of the discord is a belief by some commissioners that the community service boards, which control millions of tax dollars and have a direct impact on people's lives, lack proper oversight from the county and need additional scrutiny. After Friday's meeting, Hart said he thinks commissioners need to "practice the art of listening more" and need to behave better toward each other, regardless of the power of the politics at stake. Commissioner Elmo Richardson, who largely avoided the verbal back-and-forth, said the meeting was obviously all about one thing. "Control," he said. "It's all about who wants to be in control." To contact writer Keich Whicker, call 744-4494 |
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on Fri, Apr. 27, 2007 http://www.macon.com/198/story/28648.html Bibb service board controversy widens River Edge board suffers 2nd resignation this month because of conflict of interest By Keich Whicker - kwhicker@macontel.com For the second time this month, a River Edge Behavioral Center board member has stepped down because of a state law governingconflicts of interest. Mary Modena, the wife of Bibb County Sheriff Jerry Modena, resigned from the center's board recently because of the same set of circumstances that forced Bibb County Commissioner Joe Allen to step down earlier this month. Specifically, Mary Modena has a daughter who works at the Bibb County Department of Family and Children Services. State law says a person cannot serve on a community service board if that person's spouse, parent, child or sibling is an employee of that service provider or works for any organization that has contracts or agreements with that provider. MaryModena did not return phone calls seeking comment. However, Frank Fields, River Edge's executive director, said Modena called him not long after Allen resigned to inform him that she would no longer be serving on the board because "the commission removed her." County commissioners have not taken any vote to remove Modena, but Chairman Charlie Bishop said he sent Fields a letter informing him of Allen's resignation and asking him to make sure there were no other conflicts of interest on the board. Bishop said that letter never mentioned Modena by name. He also said he didn't know that Modena's daughter worked for DFACS. Fields said he is sorry to see Modena leave. "It's not like folks are standing in line to get on this board," he said. Asked how Modena was allowed to serve for more than three years and how Allen was appointed in the first place, Fields said he didn't personally pick the board members and that it was his policy to work with whomever county commissioners appointed. "The County Commission appointed them," Fields said. "I never knew they had a kid who worked for DFACS. Although it's the law, I still have a hard time seeing a problem. ... My contract with DFACS? Mary Modena and Joe Allen never would have even known. I negotiate those contracts." It is not uncommon for local boards to send letters of recommendation to commissioners suggesting who should be appointed to a vacancy - a practice commissioners recently singled out for criticism. This morning, during a called meeting of the Bibb County Commission, commissioners are expected to take up the issue of nominating people to various boards and agencies. Fields said he has made suggestions on appointments to the River Edge board in the past. "What I try to do is recommend to them a name of somebody who truly has an interest and cares," he said. "And when you find somebody who has got a real interest and a commitment to it, that's what you want." Mary Modena was in that mold, he said. "She was a good board member," he said. "She cared." Allen and Modena aren't the only public officials with family members working at DFACS, either. Commissioners Bert Bivins and Sam Hart both have children who work in various capacities there, as does former commission Chairman Tommy Olmstead, who now sits on the DFACS board. Unlike the River Edge board situation, none of those relationships violates state law because DFACS is a state agency and not a local community service agency. Even so, some county officials have questioned whether it's ethical for politicians to have family members working for agencies that receive some of their funding from local governments where their relatives serve in elected capacities. Marjorie Almand, the Bibb DFACS director, said she doesn't hire people for political reasons. "Do (the children of elected officials) not have the same opportunity to work as other people just because their daddies are in the political arena?" she asked. "Quite frankly, often children that have been raised (by politicians) are wonderful case managers because their families serve." Almand said all of the 300 or so DFACS employees are subject to the same set of criteria when they are hired, adding that employees with relatives in politics are some of the best workers she has on staff. "I'm very proud of employing those people," she said. Asked whether she thinks there's a problem with Allen, Hart and Bivins - a majority of the board -voting on budget appropriations that impact the place of employment for their children, Almand said the county has always supported the county's welfare programs, regardless of who sat on the commission. "I increased (my budget) more with prior commissioners who didn't have anyone working here," she said, noting that the majority of her funding comes from state and federal budgets, not from the county. But at least one commissioner with a family connection to DFACS fought for additional DFACS funding. During last summer's budget hearings, Allen - a former River Edge board member whose daughter works for DFACS - threatened to vote against the county's entire $78.2 million budget unless a previous 10 percent cut was restored to DFACS. Ultimately, that money was included in the budget. Allen said this week that he wasn't specifically looking out for DFACS last summer. Rather, he wanted funding for all the agencies and departments that had recently sustained the 10 percent trims. "I treated everybody the same," he said. Whether from personal animosity or political ideology, almost everything concerning River Edge that has come before the County Commission in the past few months has led to bitter disagreements and politicking of some kind. The trouble started when River Edge asked the county for about $112,000 in additional funding, which commissioners grumbled about but ultimately approved. "Nobody even cared about my board until that," Fields said. Then, toward the end of last year, the entire process by which Bishop appoints people to local service boards was called into question after he refused to bow to the wishes of a few commissioners and nominate Hart to the River Edge board. Eventually, after several deadlocked votes and months of dispute, Bishop appointed Allen to the board. Fields said he doesn't think any of his remaining board members have conflicts of interest that prevent them from serving. That includes River Edge board member Andy Galloway, senior vice president of The Medical Center of Central Georgia. River Edge has some financial arrangements with the Medical Center. Fields said the River Edge board's attorney has assured him that Galloway's service isn't a conflict, and that it's somewhat ridiculous to expect all the appointments to boards dealing with health-care issues to be individuals with no ties to the health-care field. To some degree, a person needs to be involved in health care in some fashion to understand the issues at stake, he said. "Andy (Galloway) brings more experience to this board than anybody else," he said. To contact writer Keich Whicker, call 744-4494. Recent Comments * Let me take a moment to dispute some of Bro. Jon's "indisputable... * Just FYI - Mrs. Modena served on the board for several years before... * In this article,it stated that Charlie Bishop "appointed" Mr. Allen... * After reading the story on Mrs Modena, One has to wonder why... * To the unnamed entry of 9:54a.m., "bro." refers to my status as a... »Read More Post Your Comment Bibb County now pays River Edge Behavioral Health Center more than $400,000 per year for various social services and upwards of $300,000 per year for services related to prisoners in the custody of the sheriff. Those funds, along with a recent appropriation of more than $100,000, add up to more than $800,000 that the county will pay to River Edge this year. With that amount climbing every year, some Bibb County commissioners say it's time to allow other companies or organizations a chance to compete for those contracts. Others aren't so sure. Commissioners Joe Allen and Bert Bivins have said River Edge is doing a good job, and they have argued that the county can't afford to allow its mental health issues to be handled by the "lowest bidder." Despite those objections, the commission agreed to assess the county's mental health care needs, with an eye on considering whether it wants to solicit bids for a new contract with another provider. A new agreement with a new provider would impact what kinds of services the county and the community receive, and how much they cost. |
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| Posted on Sat, Apr. 28, 2007 http://www.macon.com/198/story/29430.html HONORING DEFORE ON HOLD A proposal made by a Bibb County commissioner to rename a local sports complex after Macon City Councilman Ed DeFore is on hold until after this year's citywide elections. Commissioner Joe Allen, who tried to get the commission to name the Bibb County Sports Complex after the longtime councilman earlier this month, initially ran into resistance from Chairman Charlie Bishop and Commissioner Elmo Richardson, who didn't like the idea. Friday, the commission agreed to table Allen's request, which failed to make it out of a previous committee meeting after Bishop and Richardson pointed out a pair of obvious facts: DeFore is a not a county official and is still very much alive. For the record, the city of Macon has a policy against naming buildings or streets in honor of elected officials during their lifetime. Bishop has argued that the county ought to follow suit. Richardson softened his position Friday, stating he has no problem with naming the complex after DeFore, but only after the November elections. "That's the only issue I have with it," he said. "The timing of this issue is just not right." Allen said politics have nothing to do with his request for the name-changing and has denied it's part of any sort of quid pro quo. Commissioner Bert Bivins, who joined Allen in championing DeFore on Friday and then backed down when the pending election was pointed out to him, said the move is all about honoring one of the community's best public servants. "When it comes to doing things for kids and the people of Bibb County, I don't think anybody else comes close to Ed DeFore," Bivins said. Telegraph staff writers Matt Barnwell, Keich Whicker and Wayne Crenshaw contributed to this report. |
| Power and Prestige |
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| http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/news/local/16823691.htm Posted on Sat, Mar. 03, 2007 pB1 Political Notebook RICHARDSON LANDS AWARD Bibb County Commissioner Elmo Richardson was recently honored with a lifetime achievement award from the Georgia Engineering Alliance for his outstanding contribution to the profession and his work with cities and counties. "I was overwhelmed," he said. "To be recognized by your peers is a humbling experience." Richardson, 70, graduated from Georgia Tech and served for three years with the U.S. Army Combat Engineers. He has since been in private practice as an engineer. In 2002, Richardson was elected to fill an unexpired term on the board of commissioners for the 3rd District. He was re-elected in 2004. More recently, he was appointed by the governor to serve on the State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors. |
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