YOUR SAY: Macon-Bibb Commission misguided in an unnecessary and expensive attempt to change charter

Under the current Macon-Bibb County charter, the mayor can fire department heads at will and Bibb commissioners have no say in the matter. The reason for giving the mayor exclusivity to fire department heads was to establish a strong mayoral form of government.

HOW IT STARTED

On Dec. 15, 2015, the Macon-Bibb Commission, in a 7-2 vote, approved a resolution to ask state legislators to change the county charter to give commissioners the option of blocking department head firings that have been appealed.

Subsequently, in a much anticipated response to the commission's resolution, the mayor vetoed the resolution on Dec. 23. In a letter to commissioners the mayor said that changing the charter would be detrimental to the progress made by the consolidated government in its first two years.

The mayor further stated that "if the administration is going to be held responsible for the performance of all departments and department heads, then the administration needs to discipline and ultimately discharge department heads who are not doing the job the administration feels is necessary."

Additionally, the mayor went on to say that the charter provides for accountability and prevents "blurring the lines" on whom a department heads report to and that there was no need to change a system that was working.

On the other hand, the Dec. 15 resolution was sponsored by Commissioners Larry Schlesinger and Elaine Lucas. The necessity for the resolution's proposal was given by Schlesinger when he said "members of the commission are trying to ensure that all employees of the county have access to redress when necessary, where I think the mayor is primarily focused on maintaining his power and authority. There must be some place in the middle where we can meet."

Lucas said in December that department heads are "sitting ducks" under the rules of the charter and that there needs to be a fair process where they have some ability to address what they believe is unfair treatment.

She went on to say that "there lives are in the political hands of one person" and "that is not a democracy and will not work in the long run."

COUNTY ATTORNEY'S OPINION

A new wrinkle emerged in the disagreement over the power to fire department heads when in December, County Attorney Judd Drake sent a letter to the Macon-Bibb County commissioners regarding whether they have the ability to overturn the mayor's firing of department heads. The letter came just days before commissioners were expected to decide whether to overturn the mayor's veto of the resolution.

Previously, Drake informed commissioners that altering the charter required approval from state legislators since the move would be a significant change from a "strong mayor" form of government that was set up when Macon and Bibb County consolidated. However, after more research, Drake said he found evidence that also supports a local government being able to make a charter change without the approval of state legislators.

Drake went on to say that "the issue would be whether or not the change proposed removing the mayor's power affects the form of government. The mayor argues that it does, and the other side argues that it doesn't. It's an esoteric kind of issue," he said. Esoteric? Indeed.

In the interest of clarity, an "esoteric kind of issue" is one that is understood by a select few; intended for an inner circle as of disciples or scholars. To be esoteric is to also be abstruse which is another way of saying that the issue is hard or difficult to understand.

But I would venture to wager that there are many in this community who understand that this is a grab for power by the commissioners outside the guidelines set forth in the voter approved charter.

COMMISSION OVERRIDES VETO

On January 5, the Macon-Bibb County commissioners, in a 7-2 vote, overrode the mayor's veto. Commissioners Mallory Jones and Gary Bechtel voted against the resolution in December and against overriding the mayor's veto. Jones said before the vote "in my mind, we're trying to solve a problem that doesn't exist. We need a team spirit. We need accountability, which we have. It's working well." Bechtel agreed.

Bechtel went on to say that, "when a department head accepts the job, they understand they've moved into a management position. That's the way the business world works, that's the way this government works, and that's the way this Legislature put this (charter) together."

On the other hand, Commissioner Bert Bivins, who voted for the resolution and to override the mayor's veto, stated that, "if I was a well-qualified person looking for a job ... I wouldn't come to a place where one person could decide my fate."

DELEGATION GETS INVOLVED

On Jan. 7, both sides clashed over control over Macon-Bibb County. Department heads made their pitches to the local legislative delegation as part of the Macon-Bibb County Legislative Listening Day.

At that time, State Rep. Nikki Randall said that the topic may be worthy of legislators re-examining it. She went on to say that "it speaks volumes to me that the (commission) overwhelmingly overrode the veto."

Rep. Bubber Epps, who is chairman of the local delegation, said that there wasn't time this year to look at the issue. Rep. Allen Peak, wants to hear from the folks at home before making a decision. Consequently, there doesn't seem to be a big appetite from Rep. Randall's colleagues who made promises to reopen the discussion about amending the charter.

HOME RULE?

Therefore, the only recourse for the commissioners who want to amend the charter to give themselves the option of blocking department head firings that have been appealed is to change the charter by exercising "home rule." This would allow the County Commission to amend the charter itself.

If the charter is changed through that method, County Attorney Drake said that he would recommend the mayor and commission get separate legal counsel and let a court rule on the matter. Drake further stated that "I think it's going to require a court to decide the issue, and there's a process for that to happened."

UNNECESSARY EXPENSE

I believe that the commissioners should not utilize the process of "home rule" to change a charter that has been approved by the voters for a number of reasons. First, utilizing the "home rule" process creates an unnecessarily expensive legal expenditure and therefore is a waste of tax dollars. I say that the legal expenditure is unnecessary because it seeks to solve a problem that does not yet exist and who is to say there will be a problem in the future.

Secondly, if commissioners were allowed to request the mayor to provide a reason for termination, as well as allow commissioners to vote on upholding or reversing a firing, how would that work? To answer this question, we need look no further than 2011 when the mayor and the former Macon City Council butted heads when the council upended the mayor's decision to fire the Public Works director for what the mayor called incompetence. And last I checked, taxpayers are still paying EPA fines associated with landfill mismanagement.

Thirdly, when did it become necessary for department heads to be given job security above and beyond what any taxpayer would ever expect to be given. And, by the way, the argument that any well-qualified person looking for a job would not come to a place where one person could decide their fate is without merit.

In conclusion, the commissioners attempt to change the charter through "home rule" is unnecessary, expensive and attempts to alter the charter in a way that weakens the office of mayor. That in of itself is not esoteric or difficult to comprehend. Any such alteration of the consolidation charter should be vetted with voters prior to any alteration and I urge the commissioners to do so.

Leroy Mack is a resident of Macon.

This story was originally published February 20, 2016 at 4:50 PM with the headline "YOUR SAY: Macon-Bibb Commission misguided in an unnecessary and expensive attempt to change charter ."