A Referendum Could Settle the Project SAIL Debate

Last week, I commented on an interview with Coweta County Commissioner Jeff Fisher Why Jeff Fisher Voted for the Project Sail Data Center | The Citizen where he gushed about the financial prospects for Coweta County due to Project SAIL. While my understanding of the prospective windfall made me more cautious than the Commissioner, however, reasonable people can disagree, agreeably. The Data Center Lottery Ticket | The Citizen

Residents served the commission with a petition opposing data centers in Coweta County supported with approximately 8,000 signatures, and many more spoke before the commission. However, in that same interview, Commissioner Fisher revealed his reasoning for voting in favor of Project SAIL while so many Coweta citizens have voiced opposition. 

“Whether readers agree with that philosophy or not, it explains why Fisher never viewed public opposition by itself as a sufficient reason to reject Project Sail. His job, he said, was not to “conduct a referendum. It was to exercise judgment.”

Given the recent two-day court hearing where the City of Senoia has filed a civil lawsuit against former City Manager Harold Simmons, former Mayor Dub Pearman and former Mayor, former Assistant City Manager and current Coweta County Commissioner Jeff Fisher, alleging unauthorized salary increases and violations of the city charter. While all three deny wrongdoing, we should consider this when evaluating Mr. Fisher’s “judgement”.  Senoia vs. Senoia | Part One: After Two Days in Court, One Question Overshadowed Everything Else | The Citizen    Senoia vs. Senoia | Part Two: “That’s How We Always Did It” | The Citizen

In the second part of the story, Mr. Fisher argues that a process where the mayor signed a memo setting the City Manager’s salary after the budget was approved was “the way we always did it”. However, the Senoia Town Charter from 2014 instructs a different process.

“The answer matters because Senoia’s 2014 city charter outlines a different process. The charter provides that the mayor and council are responsible for conducting annual performance evaluations of the city manager and negotiating the city manager’s compensation.”

Someone who has spent his career in government like Mr. Fisher (US Army & FBI) should be aware of the difference between appropriation (budget) and encumbrance (approval to spend). If not, the City Manager should be aware of the proper procedure to set salaries and who has the authority to authorize actual salaries.

Given the situation in Senoia, Mr. Fisher’s judgement should be reasonably questioned. At the very least, short cuts were made and controls forsaken. While the accused have not yet had their day in court, this situation is troubling and cautionary.

At the time of the interview, petitions seeking to place the question of data centers before the Coweta voters had more than 8,000 signatures. While Mr. Fisher disagrees with the opinions of these neighbors, the petition now has over 11,000. You can get more information at Protect Coweta County | Stop the Data Centers or Stop Project Sail.

The ability of the citizens to place the question on the ballot is provided for in the State of Georgia Constitution under the “home rule provision.”

In the early days of this initiative, nearly 4,000 neighbors stood in line for hours in parks to make their voices heard. Later local businesses offered their spaces. I signed at the Harley Davidson dealership. As I got there, all four tables had a customer, after I signed, more people were coming to the tables. Coweta residents want to be heard about this issue.

When I asked one of the organizers if they had partnered with the county commission, they replied, “one commissioner has said he would “vote according to the wishes of his constituents”. That commissioner stood with us at the courthouse collecting signatures and then voted in favor of SAIL. Another said that only a “small group” of citizens opposed to data centers, thus dismissing any opposition.”

Even if the organizers of the current home rule petition get the approximately 14,000 signatures necessary to force the question onto the ballot, the result is still not guaranteed as other neighbors may be swayed by the revenue potential or other reasons, again reasonable people can disagree, agreeably. Coweta County has high voter participation rates, nearly 86% in 2024 and just over 60% in 2022. 

Whatever the result, a ballot referendum can settle the issue and give the commission a clear direction forward. While I appreciate those who serve as Commissioner as it is a no-win task, I am saddened that those who voted to support Project SAIL seem uninformed, uninterested, and unconcerned about the opinions of those they are supposed to represent.