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.
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