The Tri-County Journal
& Chattahoochee Chronicle
PO Box 850, 71 Webb Lane
Buena Vista, GA 31803
229-649-6397
tjournal@alltel.net

By RICHARD HARRIS
(From the August 23, 2006 issue)
   Chattahoochee County Sheriff Glynn Cooper will have at least some of the funding cut from his office restored, but exactly how much remains to be seen. One thing for sure, though, Superior Court Judge Robert Johnston agrees with the sheriff’s basic argument – the Commission went too far when it slashed his budget by almost a quarter million dollars.
   Judge Johnston didn’t make a definitive statement about what the court would consider to be an acceptable level of funding, but he ordered the Commission and Sheriff Cooper to work out the issue. If they fail to reach an agreement, they will meet in court again.
   “Y’all have 20 days to sit down at the table and work this out,” the judge said, also stating his opinion that by cutting funding of the Sheriff’s Office from $532,961 to $224,978 the Commission was effectively abolishing the Sheriff’s Office.
   Several local officials have criticized the sheriff over the last year or so, and the Commission recently voted to establish a separate county municipal police department. The judge seemed to believe there could be personal issues involved in the decision to cut the sheriff’s budget so much.
   “I’m not going to let them, in effect, create another sheriff’s office because they don’t like you,” Judge Johnston said to Sheriff Cooper.
   However, county officials disputed that notion, saying they were not attempting to abolish the Chattahoochee County Sheriff’s Office, and noted that the sheriff did not participate very much in the budget process, which includes public hearings on the budget proposals.
   Sheriff Cooper, represented by attorney Richard Hagler, filed suit shortly after the budget cut was voted on. The sheriff points out that he is the elected officer of a constitutionally established office and is thus required to perform certain duties – such as providing general law enforcement, serving warrants, arresting lawbreakers and transporting prisoners. One of his chief arguments was that the inferior budget would hinder him from performing those duties.
   Hagler said he was pleased with the judge’s ruling and that it mirrored their assertion that the Commission’s actions were an “abuse of discretion.”
   Note: For background information, including Commission Chairman Larry Dillard’s failed request to the governor for an investigation of the Sheriff’s Office, a more recent request made by Chattahoochee County Probate Judge for an investigation, the Commission’s vote to cut the sheriff’s budget, and the sheriff’s reaction to the cut, visit this newspaper online at www.tjournal.com and click on “View Previous Top Stories” under the “Latest Top Local News Stories” header.