Following Tuesday night’s Pendergrass City Council meeting, a quorum of council members left the Depot building and walked across the street to Mayor Monk Tolbert’s private real estate office. The move was an apparent attempt by the mayor and council members to hold a closed door meeting out of the public domain, which under Georgia law is illegal except in very limited circumstances.
After Tolbert adjourned Tuesday’s council meeting at the Depot, he walked across the street to his office, followed by councilwoman Judy Stowe, then by his mother-in-law, councilwoman Hilda Gee.
Councilman John Pethel started to go over, but saw Herald editor Mike Buffington photographing the others. Pethel stayed at the Depot.
When city attorney Walter Harvey came out of the Depot, Buffington questioned him about the illegal meeting. Harvey said the council members could walk anywhere they wanted to.
Harvey went into Tolbert’s office, then he and Gee left after about five minutes, leaving less than a quorum with just Tolbert and Stowe.
“The Pendergrass City Council apparently planned to hold an illegal closed meeting,” Buffington said. “Even after having just listened to the complaints from citizens about how the town’s government operates, the council thumbed its nose at those citizens with its move to meet in secret.”
Pendergrass councilmembers Hilda Gee (L) and Judy Stowe (R) were two members who joined Mayor Monk Tolbert in his real estate office after Tuesday night's council meeting for what appeared to be an attempt by the council to meet in secret.
Pendergrass council attempts closed-door meeting
I think the whole bunch knows their days are numbered and they all know they are fixing to lose their jobs so they don't care no more? The citizens of Pendergrass had better really watch all financial records until this is over because if they thought they were misusing the funds before they ain't seen nothing yet and if they thought they couldn't find the financial records before when this bunch leaves Pendergrass there won't be not even a sheet of paper left in city hall?
Any person knowingly and willfully conducting or participating in a meeting in violation of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanorand upon conviction shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $500.00.
Sure, there are a few that try. If there weren't, the entire government would just completely collapse. But the vast majority either just show up to get their checks, or they are there intentionally to get themselves something at tax payer expense or to be able to run rough shod over everyone else.
For those of you that work for the government who started out with high hopes only to see how corrupt it is, I'm truly sorry for you. But if you just keep showing up to get your checks, you should realize that you are a part of the problem, so don't be offended by this message if you aren't doing something that will try to fix these problems.
The government is made up of people, and people have faults and flaws. But we should try to do what is right, even if it means that its not something that benefits us as an individual, and due to the positions of authority that government official hold, they are INTENDED to be held to a higher standard.
If you are on the inside looking out, and you see what is wrong, then DO something about it. Even if it is only anonymously reporting it to the local paper or the State Board of Ethics!
Things only get worse unless good people stand up and do what is right! So, ask yourself if YOU are a good person...or not.
Everyone wants to put down and talk bad about the whistle blowers but they had the guts to say something about the wrong doings and what they get for it? They got fired. Is this how we reward honest people?
Remember the whistle blowers have evidence of wrongdoing they're not just making this stuff up.
What a country!