Well, good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

Welcome to Making Bip County Commission special call meeting.

Today is uh Tuesday, March the twenty-fourth, and a time is approximately four thirty.

I'd like to welcome everyone here today and call this meeting to order.

Uh, we do have everyone in attendance uh in person and on the telephone.

Uh we have two board members that are at Pension uh training, uh Mr.

Paul Bronson and our mayor pro Tim Vower Wynne, and they're with us by telephone.

So uh like to fishly call this meeting to order, and then we'll begin with the approval of the minutes.

The approval of the minutes is the minutes from March the eighteenth, two thousand twenty-six pre-commission meeting uh and commission meeting second motion to approve.

Got a motion by Commissioner Stewart, got a second.

Second by Commissioner Bailey.

All those in favor of the motion, please say aye.

Opposed, nay.

That motion carries unanimously.

Gonna move on to new business.

We have two items, new business tonight.

The uh first is a resolution of Making Bibb County Commission authorizing the acceptance of discretionary grant from the Peyton Anderson Foundation in the amount of twenty-five thousand dollars with no local match to be used for the Bibb County Sheriff's Office to implement a community program for emotional wellness and conflict management.

Uh, I think that's the props program.

We appreciate the sheriff others being here tonight.

Uh that is a no match, and that's for uh several seminars, and you've got the items attached to you by the company that will be doing that, and that's for conflict and anger uh management.

Mr.

Stewart, do you have a question, sir?

Sure, we'll add to Coach Monster.

Uh so this time I entertain a motion to approve.

Got a motion by Cato, second by Bailey or vice versa.

Uh all and all those in motion.

Oh that's you, Protestant.

You got the third there, buddy.

So we have a motion and second.

All those in favor of the motion, please say aye.

Opposed, nay.

That motion carries.

Thank you very much.

So we're gonna move on to the next item of business.

This is a resolution of Making Bibb County Commission requesting the Making Bible County Board of Elections issue a call for a special election to be held on May nineteenth, two thousand twenty-six to fill the balance on the unexpired term of office for the vacant district two seat on the Making War Authority Board to set the qualifying fees thereof.

Uh, Commissioner Stewart, you have a question, sir.

I did.

I wanted to find out uh, you know, first and foremost, uh the first thing, the very first thing is I know we have to take care of business, even though we don't have district five at this at the table right now.

Uh, but I would love to this is the second time in a row.

We had code enforcement last time and now uh the situation with a special election.

I would love to have the people of district five to be able to be at the table for that.

But I uh I want to go on to say this also.

I want to find out the legality of this.

I guess I have to ask Michael that, but I want to ask first of all uh from uh Commissioner Wynn and Commissioner Howell since you all serve on that on that board, and you report back to us.

We appreciate you all doing that.

Uh, have you all voted on this?

And in other words, has it been uh put out there as a motion?

Has it been second and passed as a board before it comes to us?

But I don't think commissioners gonna answer that question as a legal question.

I asked you directly to the attorney.

So uh I don't think there's a relevant of that, but I don't you have to excuse, excuse me.

Yeah, we'll let the charge reasonably and you can have a follow-up if you want.

I'd like to have the legal advice, please.

Uh thank you, uh Commissioner Stewart.

So this came to us um by a request from Chairman uh Gary Bechtel of the Water Authority.

Um we had a conversation last week when he sent this request with uh myself, the law, the lawyer for the water authority, Jay Strickland, as well as the lawyer for the board of elections, William Nolan.

Um the charter for the water authority, the governing document that was passed in 1992 by the state law says um, and it's it's in the resolution, but I'll go ahead, I'll read the language.

It says, um, should a vacancy occur among the elected members of the authority with respect to a term having more than 120 days to run, which this term has two years left in it, so that that covers this.

The remaining members of the authority shall forthwith notify the judge of the probate court who shall appoint a qualified person to serve until the next general election, which the next general election is the May 19th, uh general nonpartisan election, at which time a successor shall be elected for the unexpired term.

And so that language in the water authority charter is um self-executing, it's automatic.

It doesn't require any vote by the water authority, and it doesn't uh leave any discretion for the water authority to um to decline to have the election if they so choose, you know, if for whatever reason they didn't want to.

Um this commission's role is to set the qualifying fees, much like we did when uh Commissioner Clark uh resigned earlier this year, and we called the special election for his successor.

Um so this commissioner's role is to set the qualifying fees, which is what this uh resolution does.

And then the board of elections um has announced a meeting um for this evening following this meeting, um, where if this commission votes to pass this resolution, then um they will issue the call for the election um to start the qualifying process.

So my question is still to you, Michael.

So they don't have to, even though he shook his head to the affirmative, they didn't have to vote on this.

There's no there's no vote required, and there's no um the the vote is not necessary at all to the process, and and they're not allowed to vote under the law to stop it.

Okay, so no vote required to get it to come to us.

Right.

Okay, I just want to make sure that and and the last thing I want to say is this you know, Macon is a precious place, and uh I have eyes and ears everywhere.

And uh I was told alleged, and I'll use that for the sake of of my own sake, uh, that there was a meeting yesterday between two high officials.

I won't say who they are, two high officials and a potential candidate for this seat a day before this election, day before this vote comes about.

Uh we gotta stop playing political games in the city.

All right, I'm gonna leave it right there.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Uh, Commissioner K, do you have a question?

More like a statement.

Um, and correct me if I'm wrong, because it seems like well, I didn't talk to Stanley about it, but I was at the last Board of Elections meeting, and I know we're only sending the qualifying fee, but it's important that we let the public know how the votes are going, because when they see us, they see us as the commission, not five to three or not two to one or whatever.

But I was at the board of elections meeting last week, and at the Board of Elections meeting we were there to um certify the election, but they had this was not on the agenda for them to have making a water authority on there, but um Commissioner Elaine Lucas was there, and the first thing they said was that it needed to be voted on as a commission.

They received a letter from Gary Bechtel that say we the commission would like a special um election on May the 19th.

And Commissioner Lucas was like, we've never had this meeting yet.

So to me, it's kind of like they're going from C to A to B.

If rules are in place, we need to make sure that we follow the rules, and I hear you saying that they don't have to, but in the past, it's always been somebody appointed.

So why do you change them when certain people leave?

So we gotta be the same across the board for everything, and I know it's not our fault, it's a making water authority fault.

But to me, if they got to vote on it first, then it goes to the board of elections, and then it comes to us for the qualifying fee.

Why do we let them go to the board of elections, set the qualifying fee, then they have the meeting?

It's kind of to me, it's like I get the death certificate first, I plan a funeral second, and then the person dies.

So either either planned it or either had a pre-notion that something was gonna happen.

So uh that's my whole thing about that.

Um we've got to do things right.

We've got to do it by ordinance, we've got to do it by bylaws, we've got to do it by policy and procedures, and we have to do things by charter.

I appreciate those comments.

Just let me address a couple of things just briefly.

The uh this is exactly what the laws prescribe.

There's no discretion.

Uh, I'm not sure what you just said just a moment ago, but the the process is Mr.

Brown resigned from his seat, uh, and an election must be called at the next available election, which is May the 19th.

Uh, and we're responsible for presenting those qualifying fees.

The board of elections is responsible for doing their portion on that.

My understanding, based on speaking with the lawyers, is it's not required for a vote, so nothing would have happened at the water authority on that issue.

They still can appoint somebody to that position in the interim.

That's what's uh what's generally done.

And that point meant we either last till May or last in November, depending on when the election would be.

In the past, it really depends on when the paperwork got in.

What we're trying to do is to avoid a situation that happened when Commissioner Wynne uh took her seat, uh what some six or seven years ago when she took her seat.

Uh, and it still can be done this situation, but it makes things complicated, and that is to try to avoid what we call a double election, which means if you don't hit the deadlines like you're supposed to, you would actually go in there, vote one time for say the governor or lieutenant governor, all those positions, check out, go to the next place, reinsert your your your card there and have to vote separately on this water authority, which will make it uh entirely confusing uh for the person that's voting.

That's what would happen if you don't go through this process.

But we're following this process uh to the letter of the law.

We've had three lawyers advisors.

This is just our part of it.

Everybody else has to do their part, and that's their business.

Uh, and that's what we're doing tonight.

So we are doing things like the ordinance prescribed.

We're doing things legally, and our lawyers have walked us through all this process.

This is not Lester Miller doing this, this is the lawyers doing this.

Um, so this is what's prescribed by law, and we're following it.

So, how many days do they have to have?

Because qualifying stop March the 6th.

Two and a half is qualifying, and qualifying will start this Thursday, Friday, and a half a day on Monday.

So, do they have 30 days?

It would be 30 days.

It'd be over 30 days before the election starts.

And the reason it's done so early is because the men and women that are in the military, additional time is required to print those ballots and send those things out.

All that's prescribed by law.

We also have been talking to the Secretary of State's office to make sure we do everything exactly like it's what's required.

Thank you.

Commissioner Howell.

Yeah, a couple things.

Uh, point of order.

Shouldn't we have a motion and second before we discuss or just ask?

We could do either way.

Okay.

Says Commissioner Stewart has light on it when he had took his question first.

Okay.

If you want to make a motion, we can do that.

If not, and I know we don't yeah, I'll make a motion that we uh do this.

Motion to approve, we have a second.

Second by Commissioner Wilder.

Uh, and you have any further discussion.

Uh I know we don't talk back and forth in the horseshoe, but to address a question that I was asked, and I nodded my head that this is legal.

I didn't nod my head that we had voted.

There was double question.

No, you said it you said we're not gonna discuss back and forth.

Let him have the microphone and you'll talk.

It does, it doesn't matter.

I did.

I'm not arguing with you.

Oh, we have proper decorum.

We have a motion and second.

Uh all those in favor of the motion, please say aye.

Aye.

Opposed nay.

Yeah, one nay.

Uh motion carries uh 701.

Thank you very much.

We do have one item on old business.

This is a item 4A, a resolution of the Making Bible County Commission considering a request for refund of 2023-24 advert warm taxes before May Ivy pursuant to OCGA 48-5-3A.

Uh just our meeting the other day.

Commissioner's um how was trying to catch it before we went out, but we voted on this in pre-commissioned it passed unanimously.

Uh, and what we failed to do is add it to the consent agenda.

So at this time, we'll have a separate vote on that.

So all those in favor of following that recommendation of denial of that refund, please say aye.

Oppose nay.

That motion carries.

Thank you very much.

Uh, ladies and gentlemen, that concludes the business for us tonight.

And this meeting is here by adjourning to our next meeting.

Thank you.

Thank y'all for being on there.

Thanks.