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Richmond Hill leaders review charter, ethics and chain of command at Jan. 15 retreat
Summary
City Attorney Ray Smith reviewed the City Charter and Sunshine Laws and Mayor Kristi Cox led sessions clarifying chain of command and conduct expectations during a Jan. 15 Richmond Hill mayor-and-council retreat.
Richmond Hill, Ga. — On Jan. 15, 2026, Richmond Hill Mayor Kristi Cox convened a mayor-and-council retreat at the Richmond Hill City Center where City Attorney Ray Smith delivered a legal and ethical overview of the City Charter and Georgia open‑meetings and ethics requirements.
The session, attended by Mayor Cox and councilmembers Cindy Hatala, Kevin Bowes, Van Hunter and Steve Scholar, opened at 9:00 AM. City Attorney Ray Smith summarized the charter’s governance provisions and reviewed compliance obligations under Sunshine Law and local ethics rules, stressing transparency and meeting-record requirements for elected officials.
Mayor Cox led a second session focused on leadership and governance. She outlined the chain of command between the mayor, the council and city staff, and reviewed expectations for professional conduct and internal communications to guide how elected officials and staff coordinate city operations.
The retreat’s governance modules were designed to reinforce statutory and procedural obligations and to standardize communications among elected officials and department heads. City leaders framed the sessions as part of annual training to reduce ambiguity about roles and to improve compliance with state open‑meeting statutes.
The retreat continued with departmental status updates and a scheduled site visit to the city’s Fire Training Facility. The meeting adjourned at 4:00 PM.
