Talk of Resignation, Agenda Addition Stirs Arguments at City Council Meeting

Aside from the regular agenda items, a number of topics caused tiffs at Snellville's city council meeting Monday (Aug. 26). 

The big one of the evening occurred between former Mayor Pro Tem Barbara Bender and Mayor Kelly Kautz. At the beginning of the session, Bender gave a report on the Snellville Entrepreneur Council since she is the group's president.   

When she finished, the mayor asked her if she plans to resign from the Entrepreneur Council since she is running for city council in the November general election. Kautz explained that one can't do both since the city of Snellville's Charter states that members of boards have to resign if they run for office.

Bender said she believes she doesn't fall under those requirements because the Entrepreneur Council is not a city organization, so she doesn't plan on quitting. Even though Kautz said Bender couldn't speak after her report, Bender further explained that the Entrepreneur Council is a volunteer-based nonprofit organization that is supporting the office of economic development and are independent from the city.

City Attorney Tony Powell was asked to detail the specific rule, and he explained that the Entrepreneur Council is different because of the nonprofit status and that it's not the same as, say, the city's planning commission. 

During the council's report toward the end of the meeting, Councilman Dave Emanuel recited that section of the charter, pointing out that the rule applies to an "appointive officer" or "employee."

Mayor Pro Tem Tom Witts also addressed the issue in his report, explaining that, despite her running for mayor in 2011 and losing to Kautz, Bender remained heavily involved in the Snellville community.

"She comes up tonight [and] gives a very positive report about the good things that this organization has done for the city over the past two years," he said. "Instead of a 'thank you,' she got, 'are you going to resign?'"

Witts also had a slight argument with Kautz about adding an item to the agenda. During the work session, Witts proposed carrying over the Oak Road Park item to the regular session. Kautz said it was too late, but they could discuss it further at the regular session.

When the mayor pro tem mentioned it again on the dais, the mayor said he was out of order and explained that the city ordinance states all agendas need to be published at least one business day before the council meeting. She also said the order of the agenda can be changed, but nothing in the city's charter says anything about adding an item.

City Attorney Tony Powell was brought to the podium to explain that a report from the Georgia Municipal Association states that if a particular issue is not included on the posted agenda, it still may be considered by council if it is necessary to address it. The agenda could be easily changed, he continued. 

The mayor finally agreed that if Witts wanted to move forward with the item, she would allow it, but he ended up retracting his request. 

Kautz later said during the mayor's report that the reason why she didn't want the Oak Road Park on that night's agenda because she didn't want it to go to vote without the public knowing about it beforehand.

Lastly, Councilman Bobby Howard brought up an issue about anonymous mailings that had occurred last election cycle. He explained that a campaign was investigated two years ago because he and others received anonymous mailings of tax leins, a divorce decree, arrest information and more. He brought copies of the summary and incident reports to allow audience members to read it.

"I got ... things that I could not believe," he said. "What happened two years ago in September, the anonymous mailings, all the things that were very hurtful... I'm saying tonight, that it's time for this type of activity to stop in the city of Snellville. And with the 2013 election coming up, I can almost guarantee that it happened tonight prior to me sitting in this chair. We will see more of this type of activity, it will continue, be more vicious, and be directed at myself and other candidates and innocent people that are fighting for the city that we love."