Residents press council to revisit transparency ordinance; council says matter not formally before it

At the sign-in portion of the meeting, two residents urged the City Council to take up a proposed Milledgeville Transparency and Accountability Act.

Liam Landry asked who would enforce the ordinance, what penalties would attach to false reporting, and why the measure has not been brought back for a vote. “The people of this city deserve ... to know what their money is being spent on,” Landry said, urging the council to reconsider the proposal.

Dr. Stephanie Jett, who identified herself as the presiding officer of the University Senate at GCSU (not speaking for the university), backed the ordinance and urged the council to strengthen it by including voting records and notable member actions in the annual report. She described the ordinance’s provisions for annual public reporting of attendance, travel and training budgets, and compliance with mandatory training.

The presiding officer replied that council had previously discussed the ordinance and concluded it was redundant with the city’s “City of Ethics” pledge and publicly available records; he said the council voted that it would not bring the ordinance back during the current term. A council member later corrected the record, saying there had been no formal vote to remove the ordinance and that the proposal had not been presented to council for consideration. The City Manager sets the agenda and any council member may request an item be placed on it.

Council did not take formal legislative action on the ordinance at the meeting. Commenters asked for clearer enforcement language and publication of voting records; those specifics were not resolved during the session.