Snellville residents: Limit mayor’s voting power
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The consensus amongst the folks who attended last night’s town hall meeting on the structure of Snellville city government was apparently that, to end the “gridlock” on the City Council resulting from numerous tie votes, the Mayor’s authority to vote should be rescinded. A charter change in 2001 gave the Mayor a vote on all motions when, before 2001 the Mayor only voted in case of a tie.
I remember the 2001 change. The logic behind it was sound—the Mayor is elected to office just like the other council members. The mayor should have a record by which the voter can assess his/her effectiveness at re-election time. The best way to build that record is for the mayor to vote.
Former Mayor Emmett Clower’s quote was pretty funny, but only if you know the back story. Clower said, “I had the job for 26 years, and I voted twice and got in trouble both times.”
And he should have because he was wrong both times.
Clower and the City Attorney at the time interpreted the city charter incorrectly regarding quorums and votes. While the charter said that any vote taken after a quorum had been established was valid, Clower’s interpretation was that at least three votes were required to pass any motion.
For several months while Leonard Martin was battling a terminal sickness, the Council operated with the minimum number of members. On two occasions when Brett Harrell opposed a Clower initiative, there were not the three votes that Clower believed was needed to pass.
So, even though Mayor Clower only had the authority to vote in case of a tie, he voted anyway to achieve the three-vote minimum.
Both votes were vacated and the motion reconsidered at the next meeting.
Balfour asked, by a show of hands, how many wanted an odd number of people on the council. Most raised their hands. His second question was whether it should be done by adding a council seat, subtracting a seat or limiting the mayor’s vote to cases of a tie.
Debate ensued, but most favored the last option, which is the way it was done before the mayor gained voting power through a city charter change in 2001.
Snellville residents: Limit mayor’s voting power | ajc.com
Darla chastises the AJC for exaggerating the meeting’s attendance
