JONESBORO — Duties of the Clayton County Board of Commissioners chairman have been reduced following the passage of two ordinances during the June 21 board meeting.
The board voted 3-2 in favor of the measures. Commissioners Felicia Franklin, Alieka Anderson and Gail Hambrick were in agreement while BOC Chair Jeff Turner and Commissioner DeMont Davis were opposed.
The following responsibilities have been removed from Turner and shifted to the county’s Chief Operating Officer Detrick Stanford.
♦ Stanford now reports to the full board rather than to Turner, who would in turn disseminate information to commissioners. County department heads will still report to Stanford as previously done, but now the chairman is removed from the reporting process, according to County Attorney Charles Reed.
♦ The COO approves items for meeting agendas. Previously, the COO would submit items on behalf of department heads and Turner approved them to be placed on agendas.
♦ The COO will now sign contracts for up to $74,999.99.
♦ The COO will also sign contract change orders up to $74,999.99.
“I would love to know how this benefits the citizens of Clayton County, but I know I won’t get an answer so I will move on,” Turner said of the changes. “The citizens elected me as chairman of Clayton County, and I will remain as chairman as long as they have me.”
Davis said the changes were about how to “gain control and power.”
Franklin, who proposed the ordinance, said the shifting of responsibilities was done because information was not flowing to the board.
“In order for us to be able to make good decisions as policy makers we must receive information. This simply aligns for which this information comes to the entire board. Simple as that,” she said.
In another ordinance, also proposed by Franklin, the authority to sign film location agreements with television or movies less than $50,000 is now in the hands of the COO rather than the BOC chairman.
“Again, I don’t see the relevance of this,” Turner said. “Talking about authorizing film crews to be able to operate on county property, why the chair should be taken out of this loop, is beyond me.”
August is American Adventures month. For those looking to take the path less traveled, here are the least-visited national parks in the United States. Click for more.
(1) comment
Clayton County is headed for a BIG fall. These women commissioners need to be investigated quickly before any more damage is done. And now they want to stop the people they serve from speaking. They must forget who put them there. If they are going to pull crazy stunts like they have been pulling then they need to be woman enough to take the comments about what they have done. I hope the investigation starts as soon as possible.
Welcome to the discussion.
Please log in, or sign up for a new, free account to read or post comments.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.