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Residents, officials urge commissioners to revisit board appointments and improve transparency
Summary
Multiple public commenters at the Jan. 14 Upson County meeting criticized recent board and committee appointments and asked the commission to rescind selections and increase transparency around applications and postings of minutes and agendas.
Several residents and county officials used the Jan. 14 public-comment period to press the Upson County Board of Commissioners to reconsider recent appointments to county boards and to improve transparency around applications and meeting materials.
Rusty Blackston, a resident of Rock, Georgia, asked the board to rescind appointments made by the prior commission and re-open the selection process so all applicants could be considered. He said some long-serving volunteers learned they had been replaced only after receiving notice and questioned whether the replacements were sufficiently vetted.
Tax Commissioner Andy Chastain also asked the board to consider rescinding the recent appointments and restarting the process so that applicants who said they were not contacted could be interviewed. Chastain framed his remarks around fairness and ethical leadership and read a definition of “cronyism” to explain his concerns; he said transparency about how selections were made was essential to avoid ethical questions.
Jacqueline Lewis, a Thomaston resident, asked that agendas and minutes from planning and zoning meetings be posted to the county website after each meeting. Lewis said she had reviewed past online records and found years without posted agendas or minutes and requested consistent posting going forward.
Reverend Claude Turner urged commissioners to allow newly elected commissioners to appoint representatives to boards and committees that will work with their agendas, saying new leadership should be able to choose people who will implement their priorities.
No formal vote to rescind past appointments occurred during the Jan. 14 meeting. Commissioners acknowledged the concerns; during later agenda items some commissioners asked county staff to provide copies of tax-related and digest-correction forms and to supply quarterly or periodic reports so the board could review administrative actions. The board did not commit to rescinding appointments during the meeting.
