The Tri-County Journal
& Chattahoochee Chronicle
PO Box 850, 71 Webb Lane
Buena Vista, GA 31803
229-649-6397
tjournal@alltel.net
may go all the way to Supreme Court
Community Calendars |
By RICHARD HARRIS (From the Oct. 4, 2006 issue)
The court’s ruling last Friday in the legal battle between Chattahoochee County Sheriff Glynn Cooper and the Commission of the Unified Government of Cusseta-Chattahoochee County seemed to end with a question mark instead of a period. Commissioners were told to “at least give Sheriff Cooper the power to keep his store open” – but the judge didn’t order them to keep the store shelves fully stocked.
While Superior Court Judge Robert G. Johnston III issued a mandamus ordering the Commission to provide Sheriff Cooper with the funding necessary to carry out his constitutional duties, he didn’t order them to provide any specific amount of money.
The ruling was vague enough to prompt the Commission’s attorney to ask, “What are you ordering the county to do?”
The judge then repeated his instruction to “keep the store open,” but still did not provide a specific dollar amount. He left that up to the Commission, saying that he was not ordering them to give the sheriff $300,000 if he asks for it, but that if he asks for a smaller amount, they should consider it.
A definitive ruling probably won’t come in the near future either, as Judge Johnston said he’d like for the Georgia Supreme Court to look at the issue.
In June, the Commission approved a drastic cut in the budget for the Sheriff’s Office, while allocating $578,000 for the establishment of a new police department. In his lawsuit, Sheriff Cooper asked the court to grant an injunction stop the Commission from going forward with the new budget figures. He also asked the court to restore the funding to an amount that would make it possible for him to adequately operate the Sheriff’s Office.
Judge Johnston first heard arguments in the case in August. At that time he expressed his concerns over the budget cuts, describing the funding reduction as something that could effectively “abolish” the Sheriff’s Office. However, rather than making a ruling, he ordered the two sides to get together and try to work out an agreement on their own.
In the most recent hearing, Judge Johnston said his choice of the word “abolish” might have been a little too strong, but that he still has concerns about the amount of the cut in funding.
Sheriff Cooper’s attorney, Richard Hagler, also began to outline the arguments of a related but separate case during last Friday’s hearing. Judge Johnston said he wasn’t planning on ruling on that case, but since it was brought up, he allowed both sides to make initial statements.
In this case, Hagler’s clients (local residents Sam Breland, Steve K. Nelson, Ezeal Thornton and Michael Sizemore) are asking the court to issue an injunction to halt the formation of the county’s new police department, claiming that Georgia law requires such a move to be specifically passed by local voters.
Hagler read Georgia Code 36-8-1, emphasizing the word “shall” and saying that the Commission “deliberately violated” state law when it didn’t conduct a referendum before voting to establish a police department.
However, the Commission’s attorney, Joseph Waldrep, strongly disagreed, saying that in 35 years of practicing law he’s never heard a legal argument more inappropriate or more untrue. Waldrep said the state law quoted by Hagler is for counties with several municipalities and doesn’t apply to the local situation – a consolidated city/county government that doesn’t have a police department. It was also pointed out that the Unified Government’s charter, which was passed by local voters, specifically gives the Commission the authority to create a police department.
During the morning in court, both sides made some strong statements. Hagler accused the Commission of “thumbing their noses” at the court and state law, as well as “illegally using taxpayers money” to fund an “illegal police department.”
Meanwhile, Waldrep said, “They (commissioners) want a police department so they can have law enforcement which they have not had. That’s what is going on here. They want a police department so they will have law enforcement that has not been given to this county by Sheriff Cooper.”
At any rate, the question of how much funding must be provided for Sheriff Cooper to have the resources to carry out his constitutional duties is still up in the air.
It was also noted during court proceedings that the Commission is well on its way to having a fully operational police department. Since the judge ordered the Commission and the sheriff to work together to reach an agreement on funding of the Sheriff’s Office in August, the Commission has hired a police chief, who has hired five officers. Five cars have also been purchased, along with the ordering of pistols, uniforms, radios and electronic fingerprinting equipment.
Community Forum Rules: The newspaper's online community forums
offer residents an opportunity to engage in polite discussions of various
local topics. Forum participants are asked to conduct themselves with civility
and respect for other opinions. No profanity is allowed. If these rules are
abused, the newspaper will stop offering this opportunity.