The current members of the Fayette County Board of Commissioners voted Oct. 27 to restrict their availability to serve on other authorities, boards, commissions and committees.
The measure presented by Commissioner Charles Rousseau passed by a 4-1 vote, with Commissioner Randy Ognio voting against it.
Rousseau stressed that his motivation for presenting the new policy was to prevent the “politicizing” of issues and topics before those other bodies whenever possible. He pointed out that, while it would almost certainly never happen, the commissioners were not prohibited from appointing one of their own to the Planning Commission or the Zoning Board of Appeals, for instance.
“The intent here is to engage the citizenry,” said Rousseau. “Anything they do in most cases would come back before us for final approval anyway.”
Commissioner Steve Brown suggested making a couple of exceptions, namely the Transportation Committee and the Hospital Authority.
The Transportation Committee is mostly driven by elected officials, Brown said, and having commissioners involved at that level would decrease the likelihood of having its work delayed by constant changes at the BOC level. As for the Hospital Authority, Brown has frequently spoken up in prior meetings about his desire to have a commissioner remain on that body because, as he said in this meeting, it is autonomous and does not require BOC approval for anything.
Chairman Charles Oddo reiterated his previous stance that he doesn’t see the need for a commissioner to serve on the Hospital Authority, while adding that their presence on some boards could affect the behavior of others.
“Other members of certain boards can’t help but think about it when a commissioner is sitting right there with them,” said Oddo. “We will get a more unbiased opinion and counsel if we are not there. It will also give citizens more opportunities to serve by us not being there.”
Oddo said he liked Rousseau’s proposal the way it was written without exceptions, and noted that the board can always amend it later if need be.
Brown cited the actions of the Development Authority, which mandates that a county elected official cannot serve even though the cities can appoint their mayors. When that body worked out a deal with Pinewood Atlanta that included a number of tax abatements at a cost of several million dollars to the taxpayers, the Board of Commissioners found out at the same time as the rest of the county, he said, although they specifically asked to be kept in the loop. That action ultimately resulted in some Development Authority members being replaced.
“I at least want the option, in case the selection committee can’t find someone better qualified,” Brown said of allowing commissioners to serve elsewhere.
County Attorney Dennis Davenport said the situation is more complex than most people might realize and he shed some light on a few of the differences among the various boards.
State law determines who can serve on a development authority, Davenport said, and a county is not required to even have such a body. As for bond issuances, the Development Authority and Hospital Authority do things quite differently from one another.
Development Authority bonds are revenue bonds used to attract business and they typically include some kind of tax abatement program that would affect every entity in the county. Hospital Authority bonds, on the other hand, are tax-exempt and used to support Piedmont Fayette Hospital, which in itself is a tax-exempt operation so there is no tax abatement and no negative effect on the tax base, Davenport said. Also, the responsibility for bonds issued by the Hospital Authority is shouldered solely by the hospital and there is no responsibility on the part of the county, he added.
The Hospital Authority has the ability to run the hospital, as many such bodies do in other jurisdictions, but in Fayette it does not. Should it decide to change that, it would not need Board of Commissioners input because it is “state law-driven,” Davenport said.
Fayette County has 19 long-term, established authorities, boards, committees, commissions, and similarly structured bodies, according to a county staff report.
One body is required from the federal government, nine bodies are required from the state, two bodies are established through an intergovernmental agreement, and the remaining seven bodies are established by the Board of Commissioners. Each of the bodies has its own membership requirements.
County commissioners or their elected representatives are able or required to serve on four state-established bodies. Currently, they serve on three of those bodies (Board of Health, McIntosh Trail Community Service Board, and Public Facilities Authority).
County commissioners or their elected representatives are also able or required to serve on four county-established bodies. Currently, two commissioners serve on the Transportation Committee and one commissioner serves on the Water Committee.
