Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the County Vehicles topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commission orders sheriff to return truck, says county will adopt vehicle-use policy
Summary
After an executive-session directive, the Cusseta–Chattahoochee County commission said the sheriff must return a county vehicle by noon Friday and signaled it will formalize a county-vehicle policy to govern ownership, assignment and insurance of county vehicles.
Chairman Charles Coffey told the Board of Commissioners that the Sheriff must return a county vehicle to the county manager’s office by noon Friday or provide the vehicle promised in trade, a directive issued after an executive session on Jan. 26 to discuss personnel and legal matters.
The instruction followed a manager’s report that a recently purchased county truck was taken to the sheriff’s residence and had not been inspected, insured, plated or formally assigned. County Manager Thomas Weaver told commissioners the county had not completed the vehicle’s inspection or added it to insurance and that the vehicle remained in the sheriff’s possession despite prior discussions.
The manager and several commissioners said the episode underscored the need for a formal policy on county vehicles. Commissioner Jason Frost, who led several motions at the Jan. 6 meeting, emphasized concern about liability and control, saying the county “has to have some control” over county property and that vehicles must have tags and insurance before being released. Vice-Chairman Timothy Biddle also urged the board to move quickly to adopt rules to avoid future disputes.
The board entered executive session at 10:08 a.m. on Jan. 26 to discuss personnel and legal matters; it reconvened at 11:39 a.m. Chairman Coffey told the public the closed-session topics fell within legal exceptions to the Georgia Open Meetings Act and reported the board’s direction to the sheriff after the session.
The commission agreed to place a county-vehicle policy on a future agenda for discussion and possible action. The minutes record that the vehicle-use item was tabled for further work-session consideration on Jan. 6 and reappeared in manager and work-session discussion on Jan. 26. The minutes do not record a vote to transfer or forfeit any vehicle at the Jan. 26 session.
Next steps: staff will draft a vehicle-policy proposal for a future work session; the commission directed the sheriff to return the truck or provide the promised trade vehicle by the Friday deadline stated by the chairman.
