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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCalled Commission Meeting January 12, 2021 CALLED MEETING VIRTUAL/TELECONFERENCE January 12, 2021 Augusta Richmond County Commission convened at 11:00 a.m., Tuesday, January 12, 2021, the Honorable Hardie Davis, Jr., Mayor, presiding. PRESENT: Hons. B. Williams, Garrett, Sias, Johnson, Frantom, Scott, McKnight, D. Williams, Hasan and Clarke, members of Augusta Richmond County Commission. Mr. Mayor: Good morning, everybody. We are here for the special called meeting January th 12 11:00 a.m. special called meeting to talk to the issue of the Augusta Judicial Circuit. The th commissioner from the 6 requested a special called meeting for this express purpose. I’m going th to open with the commissioner from the 6, give him an opportunity to speak to this matter and we will hear from Administrator Donald with regards to his memo and then we’ll come back. On last week we established a working group to shepherd this issue and those were the Mayor Pro th Tem, Mayor Pro Tem Bobby Williams, the commissioner from the 6 Chair of Administrative thth Services, the commissioner from the 10 Chair of Public Safety, the commissioner from the 4 Chair of Finance in that order to help shepherd this along and so with that I’m going to recognize th the commissioner from the 6 to make opening statement and then I’m going to recognize the th Administrator to speak to the memo. Commissioner from the 6. Mr. Hasan: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Good morning to my colleagues. Good morning. First I want to thank you very much for you all accepting the invitation to (inaudible) this special called meeting around this very, very important issue of the circuit, the Augusta Judicial Circuit. As we all know, December 1 Columbia County passed a resolution saying that it would become a single circuit and as a result of that, we have not had an opportunity as of yet to sit down and talk among ourselves. I’m sure all of us have talked with some places unofficially and things of that nature so today will be our first official conversation independent of anybody else. Obviously with the delegation last week but today we’re speaking among ourselves and hope that we are moving forward to drafting a resolution and I thought it was important that we do this based on some of the things that were said last week and I want to go back just a moment to the December st the 1 resolution in the closing of what Columbia County said and they said “now therefore be it resolved the Columbia County Board of Commissioners respectfully requests the Georgia State Legislature to take such actions as necessary to approve Columbia County as a single-county Judicial Circuit it being in the best interest of the citizens of Columbia County given its public safety and financial benefit.” And what we learned last week when we were meeting with the Delegation and potentially, directly from Representative Mark Newton to say to us that this was going to be an expedited process and need to hear from us one way or the other. And so as a result of that I thought it was appropriate that we get together and make a decision like the Mayor just said what we learned from that meeting and also as our Administrator once again was going to be meeting with respectfully some of the Columbia County representatives so as a result of that, that’s why we’re here today and thank you, Mr. Mayor, for the opportunity to make some opening comments. Mr. Mayor: Thank you, commissioner. Let me preface the Administrator’s review of the memo with the following. The Legislature convened on yesterday for swearing in ceremonies. They are convening again today. They will convene tomorrow. On Thursday the Governor will present the budget and a state address and the Legislature will likely adjourn as they’re working on an adjournment resolution for their next series of business dates. On the week of MLK holiday, th the 18, the Legislature typically and I likely believe it will happen again adjourns for King week activities and those activities are also followed with the Appropriations Committees both Senate and House working together on a supplemental budget. I say all of that to say the following that while we were told last week by members of our delegation that there is a draft piece of legislation that likely will be filed do understand that again any action taken on that will not happen this week or next week. The filing of draft legislation still has to go through the requisite process of being debated. One of the challenges that we have in front of us right now is that we’re having a conversation and the Chief Judge of the Superior Court nor the state courts are involved in our conversation right now. I want to again yield to Administrator Donald who has had a series of conversations with both Columbia County and was working on meeting with Burke County to get the state of play or our posture. And so with that I’m going to turn it over to Administrator Donald to walk us through the memo and his initial recommendation. Mr. Donald: Yes, sir, thank you, Mayor and honorable Commission for the opportunity to have this discussion with you today. I think, Mayor, you started off on one of the points that I planned to touch on and you’re tracking 100% in the right direction. I think that the memorandum and my recommendations should be considered preliminary. Have had some conversations actually about three formal meetings with Columbia County now. I have also had the pleasure of speaking with the Burke County Administrator and I’ve also had the opportunity to speak with DA-Elect Williams but have not had the opportunity to speak with Judge Brown and the Superior Court camp on this topic as well as other players and so the update that I provided I think during our meeting with the Legislative Delegation it was requested that I provide an update and recommendation based off of those meetings. Nothing has changed much. I do believe that it’s important for us to potentially expand our conversation to include some of those other parties and I think at the end of the memorandum, my recommendation beyond looking at supporting the split is more so around taking that group that the Mayor empowered in the last meeting and use that group as a tool to address this topic with those parties as you deem necessary and you deem appropriate and of course I always defer to the wisdom of the Commission and so very quickly I had those meetings that we discussed and also an opportunity to look at the budget based on how we expend funds and how we provide our pro-rated share to the Judicial Circuit and looking at the projected cost and impact depending on how the split were to go the costs were initially projected at around a million dollars. I think some of that has to do with how we manage the circuit, how many staff members we have as well as the number of judges. I think the caseloads and talking to some of the folks in the process would allude to the fact that the Augusta Circuit or Augusta Richmond County could potentially handle up to five judges right now based on our caseload so that’s one consideration that the Commission, the legislators and others would have to look at depending on whether you support the split or not. I think another piece that’s important to look at is if Columbia County is proposing the split, there has to be a stronger set of conversations with Burke County. From my seat as the Administrator I believe that there is great value in partnering with Burke County if there was a split and including them in the Judicial Circuit but it’s not guaranteed that it would go that way. And so I think that there are some very strong benefits to that. I’ve had those conversations with the Burke County Administrator who you know believes that there is a solid appetite to partner with Augusta Richmond County if there was a split as proposed by Columbia County but there are some things that they would like in the way of our operations and coordination kind of being adjusted in that split so I think that’s my general summary there. I would also say as a newcomer I think my initial thoughts were that if a split could be postponed or what not then there are some benefits to that as well but through those conversations with Columbia County I would say their position is that you know they are pushing to move forward with the split, you know, regardless of those conversations and as the Administrator I think you know protecting the best interest of the Commission so that we’re not reactive but we’re proactive is important which is why I made the recommendation to support it and adjust accordingly. Mayor, I’ll yield. Those are my initial comments and I hope that served as the review of the memorandum and recommendation you were looking for. Mr. Mayor: Absolutely and thank you so much for that, Administrator Donald. All right, nd the Chair recognizes the commissioner from the 2. Mr. D. Williams: Mr. Mayor, has this action or should this action be reviewed by our Justice Department prior to going to effect? Mr. Mayor: If I understand your question you’re asking should we have some sort of review from Judge Brown and the team there, is that what you’re asking? Mr. D. Williams: Not necessarily Judge Brown but the U. S. Justice Department. Mr. Mayor: Pursuant to recent efforts the Justice Department does not have to do pre- clearance of matters in the State of Georgia. Mr. D. Williams: Okay, I understand that but would it be to our benefit to have them do a (inaudible)? Mr. Mayor: Again I don’t think that this warrants that. This really is a strategic decision from the standpoint of how we align the Judiciary. There are those who support keeping the Judicial Circuit as it is, namely your Chief Judge of Superior Court has advocated for the circuit to remain as it is and so I think when we talk about the branches of government you have to always give consideration to what the Judiciary wants as well and that’s a conversation as you heard my opening statement and Administrator Donald’s, those conversations have to happen. Clearly Columbia County has made a decision. They’ve adopted a resolution in support of them having their own judicial circuit breaking apart from the three county circuit and so to that end I think it’s reasonable for one to acknowledge that that likely could happen given the state of the legislature that we have and the majority party who controls the legislation so the effort here in Augusta is how do we best position our county to meet the needs of a growing society, growing community and provide for the health, welfare and safety of all of our citizens from a judicial standpoint not only prosecutorial but making sure that people have the right to a speedy trial and we’re meeting those needs up to and including Juvenile Court, State Court, Magistrate/Civil Court and Superior Court and so that is the question that if before us right now to simply, one, adopt a resolution of support as the Administrator’s initial recommendation is while continuing to work with Burke County in hopes that they would remain a part of the Augusta Richmond County Judicial Circuit. st That’s the matter that’s before us right now. I’m going to go to the commissioner from the 1. Mr. Johnson: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I have a couple of questions for our Administrator. Administrator Donald, you mention there were a few benefits to postponing this split. Are you at liberty to discuss what those benefits may be? Mr. Donald: Yeah and I would do so from the Augusta Richmond County perspective per se. Really from my perspective and for the whole system, I think delaying it allows us to really get it right. I think it allows us to have a transition period where we can ensure that our budgets are in order. Remember all three counties have very different budget cycles. One is on the federal cycle, one is on the state cycle and we are on the calendar year cycle and some of those inefficiencies that would occur either with a quick break or that have been challenges prior to my tenure but I can just look and see that some of the challenges around budget and decision making. I think the other piece is you know fleshing out what the caseload really looks like so we can appropriately plan on what the new, if there was a break, what it would look like so is there a need for Augusta to have a fifth judge? I believe so by looking at the caseload but I’m looking at data that’s a little bit dated and you know with a fairly untrained eye in a short period of time but looking at the data it seems pretty clear. I think Columbia County in my conversations with them actually agreed that I was looking at it right and Augusta could use a fifth judge but you want to look at that and flesh that out. I think also you want to look at you know if there was a split how do you go about you know appointing you know and electing those representatives as a part of that new system. You know we have a very new DA-elect. It would make sense to actually wait until the end of that first term to implement this but I’m not so sure there is an appetite for that in Columbia County but those type of nuances and benefits you know make sense when you look at the timing of the split. Mr. Johnson: And you also mentioned that Burke County has some specific asks. Are you at liberty to discuss those? Mr. Donald: Well, I think some of those should probably be discussed (inaudible). There are some operational things that have occurred whether it be post-election in appointing Magistrate judges and things of that nature they believe could be streamlined. I think that there are a couple of nuances that we should be able to handle but it makes sense in a transition period to kind of codify those things. I think you know they had an interest in that. Mr. Johnson: Thank you, sir. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. th Mr. Mayor: Thank you, commissioner. Going to the commissioner from the 4. Mr. Sias: Thank you, sir. I think we’ve gotten to the point where we have to make decisions now. And Columbia County is not concerned about anything that we may be concerned about right now. So I think we need to go ahead and look at a resolution that supports what they do and also include in that resolution our requirement to have five judges. In doing that that doesn’t mean we have to have that five judges on August 1 or March 2. What it means is we have now been approved to get that fifth judge and then we can control that narrative as to when that judge comes on and any assistant DAs or folks in relationship to that. So I am for proposing that we go ahead and adopt a resolution of support for what they’re doing and included in that resolution our requirement, not our request, not our demand, our requirement for five judges and that will be based on whatever we see as the necessary criteria. So that’s my proposal, that’s my motion that we adopt a proposal requiring five judges for the Richmond County circuit/Augusta Judicial Circuit including Burke County and that we support the move that Columbia Court is trying to do. Consider that a motion. Mr. Hasan: Second. Mr. Mayor: So I appreciate that. All right, the Chair recognizes the commissioner from th the 10. Mr. Clarke: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I’d just like to ask that any meetings going forward that representatives from Augusta has with Columbia County or Burke County, I would ask that all of the committee members attend those meetings so every finger on the hand will know what’s going on instead of some people meeting at one time and others meeting at another time and then the information is you know all jumbled up and Commissioner Sias has brought up several excellent points that you know we can support the split but when we put a fifth judge into place that could be determined later on and that would be the part that you know postponing or taking it slow so that’s what I would like to say and I would also go on record as saying I’m in support of what Commissioner Sias has proposed. Thank you. th Mr. Mayor: Thank you, commissioner from the 10. We may could follow a series of recommendations. In light of what the Administrator Donald has shared, the commissioner from th the 4 made a motion and I certainly think it has merit. I want everybody to understand the broader picture here in terms of what is taking place. While it’s important for us to send a resolution of support, we need to be more thoughtful about what the outcomes are. And in having that discussion any elements of a resolution, Attorney Brown, should include notwithstanding what the th commissioner from the 4 talked about but I think when you look at the broader implications of the study that was conducted in 2018, when you look at additional information from audit and accounts, when you look at the news reports from Judge Danny Craig, former District Attorney Danny Craig, we need to be prudent in our approach especially around the fiscal impact. If you remember in our meeting with the delegation last week, what we asked them for was to provide us with a fiscal note of what the impact of separating the circuit would be. We don’t have that information. There are a series of strategic asks that we provided them with and while we can go and draft a resolution, we want to make sure we’ve got all of the data to be able to make a sound decision. The Administrator is spot on in terms of what the implications will be so to the th commissioner from the 4 I believe that the data will tell us that there is a possibility for six judges based on population growth projections and wanting to make sure so if we’re drafting a resolution it needs to first and foremost begin with a fiscal note that is required, it secondly needs to make sure that this is a phased-in process across the biennial of the legislative session with year one starting yesterday and year two being in 2022 but there is also a financial impact to that because as the Administrator said, we’re all on different budget cycles so the phasing in translates into the delay that the Administrator is referencing. It’s vitally important for us to have that if we’re going to get it right the first time. This is not a situation where you can piecemeal it and then think that we can double down in 2022 and get it right. We want to get it right out of the gate and that will require that you (inaudible) being involved in these conversations. This is not a decision that the Commission should make unilaterally and so to that end while the Commission may be an appropriating entity and its support of the judiciary, they absolutely must and shall be at the table in terms of what the outcomes will be and so I add those things, Attorney Brown, to make sure that we are working on those things as it relates to a draft resolution. All right, the Chair recognizes th the commissioner from the 6. Mr. Hasan: Mr. Mayor, when you just mentioned year ’22, are you talking fiscal year 22 from the state perspective or are you talking about calendar year? Mr. Mayor: For us it’s calendar year. The state is going to be working on the 2022 budget that will go into effect on July 1. That will take place on July 1. The federal calendar begins September 30/October 1 so we’re completely out of alignment with both of those because we’re operating on a calendar year. That’s a conversation that we’ve had since I started here saying we needed to get into alignment and maybe we’ll work on that so yes, that’s what I’m saying, commissioner. Mr. Hasan: Well, yeah, the reason I asked that question, Mr. Mayor, was because in listening to some of the legislators from Columbia County and just talking, I heard, and this may not be factual, but as late as July 1, this will be implemented. As early as May. Now whether that is possible or not, as a former legislator on the state level you would know better how the process works, so I do agree, that’s one part of it. I do agree I think in this resolution the mechanics of it, what the fiscal responsibilities make sure we get all the supplements that comes with it in terms of that, but I do think to your point as well as we go ahead and draft the resolution and we can have a conversation with the judicial branch of it but as of right now (inaudible) in different places but the reality of it is this thing is moving forward and through all of this here, they’ve never reached out to us in any form or fashion. I don’t mean we shouldn’t reach out to them but I do think we need to go ahead and do just what you said much earlier, go ahead and do our resolution and start those conversations. th Mr. Mayor: Commissioner from the 10. Mr. Clarke: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Something that I would like explained to me and I’m sure that the vast majority of the citizens in Richmond County would, Augusta, would like explained I don’t understand why if Columbia County splits that Augusta would need to increase the number of judges, I can see maybe going to five judges but beyond that, if Columbia County is taking away a multitude of the caseload that is in the circuit that would alleviate Augusta Richmond County’s duties so that would be taking away a lot of cases so a lot of people including myself doesn’t understand if you’re taking away those cases why do we need more judges to handle the caseload in Augusta Richmond County and Burke County. I think that’s an answer that everybody would like to hear. th Mr. Mayor: Well, commissioner from the 10, I would remiss if I tried to spend the next 20 minutes explaining how the judicial circuit works and how when you look at the fact that there are seven judges currently in the circuit, three who sit in Columbia County and four who sit in Richmond County, that’s a residency issue which is how you arrived at that. But understand this. They are able to travel from courthouse in Columbia to Richmond to Burke. The vast majority of these judicial resources sit in Richmond County. I think that’s something that everyone needs to fundamentally understand. The vast majority of the resources sit in Richmond County and so while each county has an apportionment that is paid, it’s a much longer answer in terms of caseload, how that’s handled, etc. and it’s not necessary for us to deal with that right now. Rather let’s adopt a resolution and say here’s what our posture is and then go from there. All right, I’ve got a motion and a second for the drafting of a resolution. Mr. Sias: Mayor. Mr. Mayor: All right, I’m going to come to the attorney. Attorney Brown. Mr. Sias: Mayor, can I break in for a second? Mr. Mayor: Well, let me go to the attorney first then I’ll come back to you to close out. rd Mr. Sias: The reason why I’m saying that you skipped, the commissioner from the 3 has had her hand up trying to get in. That’s all I’m asking you to do is to recognize her before you get to the attorney. Mr. Mayor: Okay, I hadn’t seen her hand up, I’m sorry. Ms. McKnight: I just wanted to, thank you, Mr. Mayor. I just wanted to say as of yesterday it was my understanding and I’m just putting this out to ya’ll that out of the seven judges you’ve got six of those judges from what I know that are not in support as of right now the split but going forward, I was just listening to my colleagues I was just curious as down the road what all is this going to cost Richmond County at the end of the day? rd Mr. Mayor: Commissioner from the 3, thank you for that. I think that again in the Administrator’s memo there were a series of, I think he began with general background and in that background he talked about the initial cost projections don’t exceed a million dollars but the real meat of that will not be known until we get a fiscal note and that’s incumbent upon our Legislative Delegation to provide us with that information so we have a full accounting of what those costs are. So we’re waiting on that information. The resolution that’s being requested is simply a position statement that affirms to the Legislative Delegation Columbia County has taken this position, Richmond County has taken this position, and Burke County is somewhere in the middle. One of the things that is before us is the fact that Burke County does not have a judge of residency and that’s something that’s still on the table right now. They don’t have a judge of residency. The seven judges that we’ve spoken about they travel through the judicial circuit so you’ve got a host of dynamics here. We opened this conversation with the fact that the judiciary and members of the public have taken a position to keep the circuit together and so while the Commission is making the decision saying it is supportive of the split we cannot, we cannot just unilaterally say this is path we want to take without at least allowing those interests to have merit and to be weighed in on this conversation as well. I’m going to the attorney. Attorney Brown. Mr. Brown: Yes, sir. Maybe I’m not hearing it exactly right but at this point this resolution that’s being proposed seems to be very skeletal. The Commission has not worked through many details of this split so what I’m trying to get clear before the vote is the Commission simply trying to publicly resolve that it is supportive of a split and that it is requesting five judges? th Mr. Mayor: When you look at what the commissioner from the 4’s motion is, he spoke th specifically to the issue of five judges. The commissioner from the 6 seconded his motion and we came back and added some additional elements to that. Again in all candor that was why and the Administrator has echoed these sentiments to allow the working group to come together and flesh this out which is what I suggested we do. This meeting, while it’s important today, I think it’s a bit early because you don’t have the details of what you are looking for, Attorney Brown, and so to that end you can take this document that the Administrator sent out on 8 January and you can pull out the elements of again, needing a fiscal note, phasing this process in. If Columbia County splits and says they want to do their own thing, that’s likely going to happen. You’ve got to understand the politics of this conversation as well. That is likely going to happen. What we should be focusing on in Richmond County is what do we want that to look like and at what point in time are we going to be prepared to stand it up with a full complement of resources. We won’t know what that is without that fiscal note, Attorney Brown, and I think you certainly are tracking that. But in terms of just the basics we can’t be having this conversation without the judiciary and we’re trying to do that. Mr. Hasan: Mr. Mayor. Mr. Mayor. th Mr. Mayor: All right, commissioner from the 5, I’ll recognize you. I’ll come back to you for three times, okay? And you will be at the sixth minute mark. All right, so you might just want to hold that one. Mr. Hasan: Five minutes. I ain’t going to take a minute from you. Mr. Mayor: All right, okay. You might want to hold that one just so you can get the last th word. Commissioner from the 4. Mr. Sias: Thank you. First off, just for clarity’s sake, you mentioned some things. Now if you want me to add that to my motion, I can but I didn’t quite understand you saying that we added that, not at this point. Now if you would specifically state some of your points then I will add it to the motion I made or we’ll consider that. Secondly, I don’t necessarily agree with some of the statements you’re making, sir, but I will say this. We can dibble dabble around and talk about getting the judiciary in here and all that and in my view we simply need to take a strong position because Columbia County’s moving forward with what they want to do. It’s not an if. It’s simply a matter of when and we will be standing out looking on the sidewalk saying well, why th didn’t we get something done and by the way to my colleague from the 10, let’s say it as plain as this. We have more of the cases so there’s not a whole lot of take away with Columbia County leaving, removing themselves that will give us this greater amount of leftover resources. So we are paying the bulk of that right now and so it’s simply that. That doesn’t change for us in that regard in my view. So, Mayor, if you would state those things again and I’ll consider that added to the motion and we’ll get the second from my other colleague. So if you would restate that please. th Mr. Mayor: I’m going to recognize the commissioner from the 7. Mr. Frantom: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. So I was going to kind of ask, Mayor, are you of the opinion that we need to kind of hold off on this resolution until the committee comes together? Is that what you’re asking, Mayor? Mr. Mayor: No, I’m not asking us to hold off. What I’m saying is that we can draft a resolution that says we support the split and it includes these elements right here but it’s a half- baked cake from the standpoint of you don’t have all of the data that is necessary to say here’s what we want that ultimately will go in the legislation. That’s what we should be working towards. Right now a resolution says here’s what our general position is. We want legislation and we want to make sure that if our colleagues in Columbia County, the floor leader, the Governor’s floor leader, is going to drop a bill in the House that affirms Columbia County’s position and then we want to make sure that what that general legislation looks like includes what Richmond County’s judicial circuit looks like and hopefully that will include Burke County as well. All of those pieces have not been resolved or answered and they need to be in motion which is why again on the other side of the resolution that we’ll send off to the Delegation it just simply affirms our position which is again counter to what the judiciary said they want. th Commissioner from the 6. Mr. Hasan: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Mr. Mayor, in fairness I think Commissioner Sias’ motion, the motion I seconded, is simple. It’s no more different in a real sense than what Columbia County’s got here. All those details are not in here but all those things are important like you said we can get together and get all that. I think there are one or two things that are important. Number one, the five judges, we want all the supplement that comes with it to help stand up a district. I think those are the things that are pretty much in here. We look at it. There’s not a whole lot of details about what it’s going to cost them other than what they pay and those kind of things and the rationale for doing it and that’s about it. Those other details like you say those things become a part of another conversation that all of us are qualified to have but right now I do agree if you would go ahead and move forward with the resolution and these other things could be hammered out in the meantime. Mr. Mayor: Madam Clerk, voting. Mr. B. Williams: I never thought we’d get to this. Motion carries 10-0. Mr. Mayor: Thank you. I don’t believe there’s any additional business before us. Administrator Donald, Attorney Brown and the members of the working group, let’s work on getting that draft resolution and let’s move it forward. Mr. B. Williams: Okay. Mr. Mayor: This meeting is adjourned. \[MEETING ADJOURNED\] Lena J. Bonner Clerk of Commission CERTIFICATION: I, Lena J. Bonner, Clerk of Commission, hereby certify that the above is a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Called Meeting of the Augusta Richmond County Commission held on January 12, 2021. ______________________________ Clerk of Commission