Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the County Vehicles topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Chattahoochee County tells sheriff to return truck; commissioners table vehicle-use policy
Summary
After finding a county vehicle in the sheriff’s possession without clear assignment, Chattahoochee County commissioners directed the sheriff to return a truck by Friday noon and agreed to draft a county vehicle use and custody policy at a future work session.
Chairman Charles Coffey told commissioners Jan. 26 that the county had not been informed a recently purchased truck was taken by the sheriff and ordered the sheriff to return the vehicle to the County Manager’s office by noon Friday or to provide the vehicle promised as a trade.
The directive followed an executive session on personnel and legal matters that began at 10:08 a.m. and reconvened at 11:39 a.m., after which Coffey said no votes were taken in closed session. Commissioner Jason Frost made the motion to enter executive session; Commissioner Timothy Biddle seconded.
Why it matters: Commissioners said the incident exposed gaps in procedures for county-owned vehicles — including vehicle inspection, insurance, licensing and custodial assignment — and flagged potential liability if vehicles are operated without tags or coverage.
County Manager Thomas Weaver told the commission the truck had been purchased and outfitted but had not been inspected, titled, insured or plated before ending up in the sheriff’s yard. Commissioner Frost said the county should ‘‘take care of our public safety team’’ but must also ‘‘be careful with costs’’ and control county property. Chairman Coffey said, ‘‘whatever game they are playing we aren't doing it,’’ and recommended establishing a formal policy.
What the commission did: The board unanimously moved to table discussion of county vehicle use and procurement policy until a future work session so staff can draft a policy laying out custody, assignment, inspection, insurance and transfer procedures. Separately, the chairman demanded the sheriff return the truck by the stated deadline.
Context and next steps: Commissioners said they had offered an equipment trade and tried to accommodate the sheriff previously, but expressed frustration with lack of transparency. The vehicle policy will return to the board as a work-session item; no vote on a policy was taken at the Jan. 26 meeting. The board’s instruction to return the truck is a direction from the body rather than a judicial order; the minutes record the deadline but not whether the truck was returned.
