In extraordinary action to curtail public access to information about the county government, Barrow County commission chairman Danny Yearwood summoned all department managers and elected officials to the government’s headquarters on Wednesday and ordered them not to allow their employees to speak to the press.
He said any managers who grant newspaper interviews also must charge for any time exceeding 15 minutes, sources said.
Yearwood reportedly cited the Georgia Open Records Act as his legal authority for this unprecedented policy of charging for the interviews of public employees.
However, he did not consult with county attorney Angela Davis about the provisions of the state law prior to the meeting.
And a spokesman for Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker said Friday that the open records act includes no provision for charging money for interviews.
Danny Yearwood
Yearwood curtails media access
“There is absolutely no basis under the open records act for them to charge you for interview time,” said spokesman Russell Willard. “The open records act refers solely to the provisions dealing with the review and possible copying of government records.”
Said Davis: “I have no idea what was discussed and had no advance notice of the meeting. I have not spoken with the Chairman regarding these issues.”
The Barrow Journal reported June 2 that Yearwood was planning to make it more difficult for the press to access public information.
And it was at 10:58 a.m. the same day that county clerk Michelle Sims distributed by e-mail Yearwood's notice of the called meeting scheduled for 2:30 p.m. in the Barrow County Board of Commissioners meeting room.
The Journal did not receive a meeting notice, and after learning of the meeting, sent an e-mail to the county's management team questioning its legality due to the lack of public notice. The newspaper also requested an audio record of the meeting.
Sims, the county clerk, responded after the meeting with the following e-mail: "There is no audio because it wasn't taped. No notice to the news media was sent out. It was only sent to Department Heads and/or elected officials so one of them had to send it to you for you to know about it. There was no quorum of the members of the governing body of the Board of Commissioners or Any other elected officials, in fact there was only a handful of employees there & there was no action taken on anything."
Although the county's entire governing body was sent notices, most commissioners did not see them. So they knew nothing about the meeting until receiving word through unofficial means minutes before it began.
Isaiah Berry was the only commissioner in attendance. He said he happened to go by the county building to meet with a manager and was told he was in the meeting downstairs. Berry walked into the meeting that was under way and sat at the back of the room, sources said.
According to sources, the following elected officials also attended: District Attorney Brad Smith, Magistrate Court Judge June Davis, Probate Court Judge Tammy Brown, Sheriff Jud Smith, and Coroner David Crosby.
Because Yearwood’s one-sentence meeting notice did not disclose the purpose of the meeting, some reportedly thought it was being called on such short notice to discuss the status of the county’s FY2011 budget.
A source said Yearwood did talk briefly about the county’s finances, saying the county "is broke.”
But the main purpose of the meeting was to talk about the media and the curtailment of access to county staff.
For the complete story, read the June 9 edition of the Barrow Journal.
Said Davis: “I have no idea what was discussed and had no advance notice of the meeting. I have not spoken with the Chairman regarding these issues.”
The Barrow Journal reported June 2 that Yearwood was planning to make it more difficult for the press to access public information.
And it was at 10:58 a.m. the same day that county clerk Michelle Sims distributed by e-mail Yearwood's notice of the called meeting scheduled for 2:30 p.m. in the Barrow County Board of Commissioners meeting room.
The Journal did not receive a meeting notice, and after learning of the meeting, sent an e-mail to the county's management team questioning its legality due to the lack of public notice. The newspaper also requested an audio record of the meeting.
Sims, the county clerk, responded after the meeting with the following e-mail: "There is no audio because it wasn't taped. No notice to the news media was sent out. It was only sent to Department Heads and/or elected officials so one of them had to send it to you for you to know about it. There was no quorum of the members of the governing body of the Board of Commissioners or Any other elected officials, in fact there was only a handful of employees there & there was no action taken on anything."
Although the county's entire governing body was sent notices, most commissioners did not see them. So they knew nothing about the meeting until receiving word through unofficial means minutes before it began.
Isaiah Berry was the only commissioner in attendance. He said he happened to go by the county building to meet with a manager and was told he was in the meeting downstairs. Berry walked into the meeting that was under way and sat at the back of the room, sources said.
According to sources, the following elected officials also attended: District Attorney Brad Smith, Magistrate Court Judge June Davis, Probate Court Judge Tammy Brown, Sheriff Jud Smith, and Coroner David Crosby.
Because Yearwood’s one-sentence meeting notice did not disclose the purpose of the meeting, some reportedly thought it was being called on such short notice to discuss the status of the county’s FY2011 budget.
A source said Yearwood did talk briefly about the county’s finances, saying the county "is broke.”
But the main purpose of the meeting was to talk about the media and the curtailment of access to county staff.
For the complete story, read the June 9 edition of the Barrow Journal.
...most commissioners did not see them... until receiving word through unofficial means minutes before it began...
Wanted to insure the the Force Four Barrow (Worley, Berry, Park, Hendix) didn't show up
... he did not consult with county attorney Angela Davis about the provisions ...
Had he talked to the county atty, she would have informed him his interpretation of the law has no validity.
...saying the county "is broke.”...
You think? How much money is being wasted on his arrogance and disregard for those he supposedly represents? I can't help but wondering how much more this is going to cost us.
With that said, the manner in which he called and held the meeting are too shady and he should be accountable for explaining that action.
are you serious!!!!!
Let me clarify by saying this is if media is contacting the government, NOT denying the media access to those meetings or railroading the media to keep them in the dark. The media should continue to have the same access to information, but channeling through a single point of contact can help prevent incorrect information from being released.
Thanks Barrow Journal for bringing us this story. We need you!
The Commission should take action on such arrogant behavior and have a formal policy. While I know Yearwood and the other drones will over-ride a formal policy with a veto block the four good commissioners.
Sec. 2-713. Of the Ethics Ordinances encourages employees to "expose corruption wherever discovered." Is this Mr. Yearwood's attempt to circumvent the Ethics Ordinance?
Freedom of Speech, Press, Religion and Petition
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Everybody: We are talking about our government and not a private company. Yearwood now thinks he has more knowledge than the Founding Fathers. He is an embarrassment!
My point about setting up a point of contact for media and public relations is simple. Not everyone in the government (or any organization) will have all the correct answers. To provide those answers, a specified contact person for media inquiries is a legitimate concern. Frankly, the press has become a bit lazy in the research department to verify information from a source, and I am not limiting that statement to local media, this is a nationwide problem. How many corrections do you hear about on the news or in the paper? How many conflicting stories do you see on TV or the internet? How many media outlets spin a little more opinion than fact into their report?
The picture is bigger than Yearwood and I can't wait to see him voted out!