Just 17 people, one shy of the required number for a good game of baseball, attended the eight-hour multi-person commission forum held this past Monday.
But Citizens Advisory Committee members said those few who did choose to participate were informed, very interactive, and genuinely interested in the final three alternatives being considered by the CAC.
CAC members and Dave Wills of the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia manned, in shifts, four stations with visuals at Chattahoochee Technical College’s Appalachian Campus, answering questions from the public and educating them about the final three forms.
On their way out, attendees were asked to fill out a short survey, which solicited their preferences among the three options.
“Only 17 members of the public came out to take advantage of the public meeting,” said CAC Chair Phil Anderson, who was hoping for 30 or 40 attendees, “but I hope they will go out and talk about their experience and what they learned about the three alternatives.”
Jean and Thomas Ficht, who moved to Pickens County 12 years ago from DeKalb County and who support a multi-person commission, were very pleased with the information disseminated by the CAC.
“We came to see firsthand what options we have as we go forward to have a multi-person commission form of government,” Mr. Ficht said. “We are in favor of a multi-person form because the county is so large and because it is past time to have better representation.”
According to CAC members, the public was most interested in the additional costs of a multi-person commission, whether or not commissioners would be elected by-district or at-large, and details about the possible addition of a county manager.
CAC Chair Anderson said the most interesting comment of the day came from a person who felt they had their mind made up when they arrived but who, after speaking with the CAC, changed their preference.
Barring one citizen who indicated a preference for the current sole-commissioner format on the comment form, all participants preferred a government that operates with a mandatory county manger. Not one person selected the format that utilizes a full-time chairperson, the remaining option that is the most similar to the sole-commissioner format.
Thursday afternoon, October 8, the CAC makes its final selection of which multi-man commission alternative to offer county voters for approval by ballot. The CAC’s final selection will be made by vote, each committee member’s vote counting equally.
When asked, considering the low turnout, how much weight suggestions received during the public hearing will have in influencing the final vote, Anderson said, “That is up to individual CAC members… some may be influenced, and some may have already made their mind up…but I think the CAC has done everything it can to solicit and receive information from the public.”
Anderson said at this point he isn’t certain about the leanings of CAC members, but he looks forward to casting his own vote and to tabulating totals.
“We came from a place where we had an infinite number of options, and we necked them down to three viable options. The CAC members have worked very hard and have had a lot of time, over the months, to consider these choices.”
After the CAC selects the final multi-person commission option, that option will be drafted into a legislative document that will put the multi-man option on the ballot in Pickens County, once that ballot placement is approved by the General Assembly. The CAC will hold three hearings in late October and early November to educate the public on the multi-man option chosen by the CAC and to solicit final comments about the legislative language.
In November 2010, voters will get the opportunity to vote for either the multi-person commission alternative as outlined in the legislation soon to be drafted, or voters will choose to retain the sole-commissioner form of government they have now.
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