Dear Editor,
At the July 31, 2024 called meeting, (Putnam County) Commissioners (Daniel) Brown and (Jeff) Wooten, together with Chairman (Bill) Sharp, voted 3-0 to adopt a resolution calling for a referendum on the November 5 ballot asking the voters to approve SPLOST #10. I did not participate in that vote but rather left the meeting room during the vote. The approved resolution was then signed by Chairman Sharp.
The signed resolution, in part, would allow the county to borrow up to $32 million but only have to pay back $10.7 million. Nice work, if you can get it.
The July 31stcalled meeting was first noticed in an email from County Manager Paul VanHaute, at 4:41 p.m. on Monday, July 29th– just two business days prior to the meeting. The short notice is allegedly a violation of Sections 2-37 and 1-2 of the Putnam County Code of Ordinances. Accordingly, any action taken, e.g. a vote, would be a violation of the Code. On advice of counsel, I did not participate in the vote.
To make matters worse, an unnamed county official instructed the Board of Elections and Registration (BER) to submit, for publication in The Eatonton Messenger, a version of the resolution that would allow the county to issue $43 million worth of General Obligation bonds, only pay back $11 million, and obligate the City of Eatonton to pay back over $32 million. This unapproved, and obviously erroneous version was submitted to The Messenger before noon on Monday, July 29th- over four hours before a notice of the called meeting was even sent out – and published in the Aug. 2ndedition of The Messenger. Clearly, the BER must publish a corrected version of the resolution.
Will the new version be the one signed by Chairman Sharp? Will the BER have to publish a second correction and a version of the resolution yet to be approved by the county commission? Will the county commission hold another meeting to correct the signed version? Who is in charge of this circus?
Stephen Hersey District Three Commissioner