Government agencies must vote in public before they sign a contract to purchase or sell property. That is the opinion from Georgia’s attorney general’s office which issued the view last week following a September request from the Barrow Journal.
“By strict legal formalities you must have the public vote before you sign the contract,” said Stefan Ritter, senior assistant attorney general. “If you sign the contact before the public vote, then the signatures are not authorized.”
The Journal filed a complaint against the City of Winder with the AG’s office following two recent land purchases by the City of Winder that were completed before a public vote had been held.
Winder city attorney John Stell had previously told the Winder council it could buy the land and sign contracts in secret and that a public vote could be held at any later time. He said there was no timeline for when a public vote to “ratify” the transaction had to be held.
The Journal disagreed with Stell’s view and asked for an AG’s opinion. The opinion was issued Friday.
“An agency can take an initial non-binding vote in closed session but they must have a public vote or it’s not valid,” said Ritter. “They generally have no authority to close on the contract until that public vote.”
Journal co-publisher Mike Buffington said the law was very clear on the issue.
“The law isn’t vague on this point and it was very clear to us that Winder was in violation of the law in its recent real estate purchases,” he said. “We’re glad it’s now clarified and we trust that Winder and other local government agencies will do the right thing and vote in public before they sign any real estate contracts.”
In May, Winder agreed in a closed meeting to purchase .45 acres on Punkin Junction Road. The city closed on the property on Aug. 27, but did not make it known to the public that deal had been done until Sept. 11.
The council also voted in a July 2 closed meeting to purchase a small parking lot in town and closed on that deal on July 13. No public vote or mention of that deal was made until after the Journal made an open records request after hearing about the deal.
"This is Barrow County. We don't allow an outsider like The Barrow Journal Newspaper tell us what to do. If we want to meet in secret we will. If you aren't on the inside of
the Good Old Boy System here then you can pack up and leave!"
Don't you know if John Stell says so, you best not question his divine providence.
More GOB(Not GOP)party types doing for themselves at the cost of the county.
Winder and the County are the definition of cronyism...
They use the xenophobic fears of the connected to run the county and run off anyone that differs with their petty views...
See if the following does sound familiar:
Crony capitalism is generally associated with more virulent government intervention, however. Intentionally ambiguous laws and regulations are common in such systems. Taken strictly, such laws would greatly impede practically all business; in practice, they are only erratically enforced. The specter of having such laws suddenly brought down upon a business provides incentive to stay in the good graces of political officials. Troublesome rivals who have overstepped their bounds can have the laws suddenly enforced against them, leading to fines or even jail time.
Just how is that cronyism working for you Barrow?
C'mon, inquiring minds want to know. You DO know, right?
Example: State Licensed Home Health Care homes
The entrepreneur running the operation was being run out by the connected until the courts stepped in and told the county they can not play games with other lives and livelihood just because it offends the sensibility of the GOB(Not GOP) party types.
References:
BOC halts personal care home applications after approving two new permits in court settlements
Posted by
Mike Buffington
Wednesday, November 23. 2011
The resolution passed in a unanimous vote just after the BOC approved special use permits for two personal care homes that it had denied in July. The approvals were the outcomes of two lawsuits filed in August by the applicants. ... Yearwood appeared visibly uncomfortable but said to the audience that included most of other Chateau Forest homeowners: “Ladies and gentlemen, we have the (Unified Development Code) for a reason, and the purpose of this board is to make sure everybody is treated the same and equally. He said he hoped the code would be amended in the near future but in the meantime he felt he could “not go against the personal rights of somebody if our laws and codes support it. His comments mirrored those of the other commissioners voting in favor of the permits – Larry Joe Wilburn, Eva Elder and Steve Worley – who acknowledged they would not want such a business in their neighborhoods but felt it was in the interest of the county and its taxpayers to settle the suits. "
New regulations set for Barrow's personal care homes
By Lona Panter
POSTED: October 10, 2012 12:00 p.m.
Almost a year after the county’s regulations on personal care homes came under scrutiny, the Barrow County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday night made some changes to its Unified Development Code.... Tuesday night, commissioners made several changes to the UDC. Adding a formal definition of personal care homes was among one of the changes.
If my claims of coney capitalism are so outlandish, Why is the GOB(Not GOP) party type so upset?
Past Connected Empty Store fronts, Dollar (EBT) stores popping up on every corner, Bottom feeding retail operations everywhere within the rotting core of Barrow...
How's that working for you Barrow?
First of all, under crony capitalism, the affected "personal care" homes in question would have been "..run out by the connected". As such, there don't seem to be many "connected" personal care homes around here. If it's politicians to which you refer, only if there was a political hack in the neighborhood who could "control" the county commission, would cronyism, as defined, come into play. What you point to is the commission working to defend the property rights of residents of the neighborhood. And per the Barrow Journal 10/24/11 edition, "In response to the ongoing criminal investigation of an illegal network of personal care homes for the mentally ill inside and outside Barrow County, the Barrow County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday night adopted a six-month moratorium on applications for new personal care homes."
Your eyes deceive, or you know not the "core" of Barrow. It's looking up these days, with new leaders on the horizon, development continuing, retail growing, unemployment dropping. So what's your problem?
Why would you tell the man signing your pay check that he is an idiot?
Why would they represent a position that was in the interest of the County but opposed the elected arrogance?
The Journal disagreed with Stell’s view and asked for an AG’s opinion. The opinion was issued Friday.
“An agency can take an initial non-binding vote in closed session but they must have a public vote or it’s not valid,” said Ritter. “They generally have no authority to close on the contract until that public vote.”
The county WAS TOLD BY THE COURT "CHANGE YOUR MIND OR IT WILL COST AND COST BIG"
Even the County's biggest bully (BOC) will back down when their actions are shown in the light of day outside of the County Annex.
I find it interesting that the credo of the BARROW COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY is
We are THE FREEDOM PARTY.
We believe in lower taxes (not raising taxes).
(The BOC has Raised your TAXES and has spent every dime except for last year)
We believe in less governmental intrusion into our lives.
(The BOC never misses a chance to use its poorly written UDC to protect the connected and run off anyone else they please... Unless the court tells them they can't under threat of sever financial penalty)
We believe in equal opportunity for all of our citizens (not equal results of misery).
(All the while, Their socialistic mantra on the "State Of The County... a place where taxes are a shared cost of living and the burden of funding ...)
The County Government never misses a chance to sit on the back of any one that dares to make it on their own...
Really is this a REPUBLICAN COUNTY or just GOB(Not GOP)party that hasn't finished the keg.