AG Rules Commissioners Violated Open Meetings Act

The state Attorney General's office has ruled that a meeting between county commissioners and city officials last February violated the Georgia Open Meetings Act because no public notice was posted.

In a letter to County Attorney Ken Jarrard, Assistant Attorney General Stefan Ritter wrote, "As you may know, this Office has recently addressed similar concerns in the City of Savannah to the situation that occurred in Forsyth County. The Attorney General has made it clear that to conduct public business in such a way as to avoid meeting the quorum requirements of the Open Meetings Act is a violation of the Act itself."

Ritter then added, "I would like to hear from the county on corrective measures outlining how they plan to conduct meetings in the future."

The action comes in response to a complaint from Forsyth County resident and former county commission candidate Terence Sweeney, who says he witnessed Commission Chairman Brian Tam and Commissioners Patrick Bell and Pete Amos together inside Cumming City Hall.

Sweeney alleged that their presence on the same day and time in the same place constituted a quorum and therefore commissioners were required to provide public notice of the meeting.

In an investigative hearing last month the Forsyth County Board of Ethics took just 35 minutes to decide that evidence presented by Sweeney failed to rise to the level of probable cause.

Tam, Bell and Amos have said there was no violation because the meeting was a chance meeting and therefore no public notice was required.

Asked about the Attorney General's ruling on Monday, Bell said, "I think the ruling is completely off base and I plan to challenge it."

He added, "Saying that two county commissioners meeting is a violation of the rules is wrong. It's complying with the law. That's like saying a tax deduction is the same as tax evasion. I believe the ruling is contrary to law."