January 29, 2021 – The Attorney General of Georgia sent a letter (attached below) to Chatham County Commissioners giving them five days to respond if the Commissioners, at their January 15 meeting, violated the Open Meeting laws of Georgia for not discussing and voting in an open session on the appointment of Tabitha Odell to the Chatham Area Transit Board (CAT).
O Savannah Business Journal got the letter.
There was no agenda item indicating that an appointment would be made that day. The Savannah Business Journal reported on the procedure used by President Chester Ellis to nominate Odell. Two members of the County Commissioners, who asked not to be identified, say that the Commissioners “did not open the door” to the public and that the appointment was only discussed in the executive session.
On January 15, Ellis sent a letter to Odell informing her of his appointment.
It was also his third term on the CAT Council that, in the opinion of some, exceeded the two terms allowed as a member of the CAT Council, under the terms of CAT’s statute. However, one of his terms was not a full four-year term.
About a year ago, Chatham County Commissioners established a policy to prevent the previous methodology, which had been used for years by former Commission President Al Scott, from going to the Executive Session and then “opening the door “to the green room after they held executive sessions and voted on issues, declaring that the public had access to and was in compliance with Georgia’s Sunshine Laws.
An additional complication in the January 15 vote was that the intention to nominate the county citizen’s representative to the CAT Council was not on the agenda for that meeting. Therefore, the media and the public had no indication that the Commissioners would return to an “open session” and vote on the matter. All Commission meetings are broadcast on the county’s public access channel. The return to the “public” after the executive session was not recorded or recorded.
The minutes of the meeting will not be available until the next regular meeting of the commissioners on February 12, unless a special meeting called is published.
In comparison, the City Council’s procedure for appointments to councils, commissioners and authorities is very different. A working session is held where everyone who has applied for an appointment is released. All names are discussed, including a review of your professional or community qualifications. In some cases, in recent years, people have even been brought in to be interviewed by the Council during the work session.
The Council then nominates, supports, discusses and votes in public session on any nominations.
If Ms. Odell’s appointment to the CAT Council is invalidated, she will be the second in the motion by CAT Council member Helen Stone to dismiss CAT CEO Bacarra Mauldin, invalidating that action.
At a special meeting called today, the CAT Board appointed Valerie Ragland, a 33-year-old CAT employee as interim CEO. Ms. Ragland is not one of CAT’s six senior managers and has no experience in executive management at CAT, but she is well known in the community.
The meeting ID and password for the public meeting did not work today. However, the Savannah Business Journal is now reviewing a tape of the meeting and will update this story about who made the motion and the second for Ms. Ragland.
Today, CAT employees will be holding a virtual “City Hall” at 5:30 pm. Sources report that 27 drivers were out today – 13 had pre-planned days off and 14 screamed for COVID-related illness.
In CAT, 127 employees are represented by the Local Amalgamated Traffic Union 1324, including drivers, maintenance personnel, paratransito employees and any hourly workers who choose to join the union.
All CAT employees were invited to the “City Hall”, not just union members.
Sources also claim that the board is, once again, extrapolating its role, asking for resumes and qualifications from all managers hired by Mauldin during his seven-month stint as CEO, and are concerned about their jobs. Sources also claim that several officials are seeking “hostile work environment” lawsuits against the Council.
The CAT Council has a long history of overcoming its role, spelled out in the language of the State Authority that allows the legislation that created the transit system.
Mauldin claims that any contracts signed by her were within her authority to sign any contract under $ 20,000 or under her “Emergency Declaration” authority to sign a contract. The latest was his decision to hire Jackson Lewis’s labor law firm, which is widely used in the transportation and transit industries.
According to Mauldin, when she arrived as the new CEO on June 2, few COVID protocols were in place to protect employees or the public. “It had far-reaching personal implications,” she said in an interview on Friday. The COVID pandemic and the procedures to be followed by companies and industry have been defined by the state and federal governments since March.
“And the bus yard was open. Anyone could have entered, ”she added, as one of the problems she encountered.
She also claims that the Board was aware of the misuse of funds under the CARES Act by previous managers and did not seek to be reimbursed. This was added to issues that caused embarrassment to some members of the CAT Council.