Published: July 22, 2008 11:20 pm            

Ralph Morgan challenges Varnell leadership

Mark Gibson named city manager

VARNELL — Former Varnell city manager Ralph Morgan questioned Mayor Pro Tem David Owens’ right to that position Tuesday night. That led a divided council to re-elect Owens as mayor pro tem, but only after Owens cast the deciding vote.

Morgan presented the City Council and audience members at the council’s meeting with a copy of a section of the city charter that he said calls for the council to elect a mayor pro tem each January after an election has been held. Morgan said the council did not elect a mayor pro tem in January, and he asked if the decisions Owens has made as acting mayor since former Mayor Lindsey Metcalf resigned in May have been legal.

“You are serving illegally, David,” Morgan said.

“There has been a whole lot of things that have been done here under leadership and according to the charter it is not legal,” Morgan said. “My question is all of this stuff that has been done since the mayor retired, ‘Is this stuff legal?’”

Owens noted he had been elected mayor pro tem by the council several years ago, and no one had called for another election since.

Owens and council member Mark Fidler said that when Metcalf resigned he handed Owens the gavel.

“Even the mayor addressed him as mayor pro tem. He said, ‘I turn it over to the mayor pro tem,’” said Fidler.

Fidler also questioned whether the charter calls for the mayor pro tem to be re-elected after every election.

Owens said he had known that Morgan planned to raise this question and had asked city attorney Terry Miller about the matter.

“The city attorney is comfortable with everything we have done,” he said.

He said Miller’s opinion was that he was legally serving as mayor pro tem but that Miller had suggested the council allay any concerns by affirming him and the decisions that have been made with him acting as mayor pro tem.

Fidler moved to affirm that Owens is mayor pro tem and to affirm those decisions, which was seconded by council member Susan Hamlin.

Council member Thomas Burnett later moved to hold a special election for mayor in September. That was seconded by council member Carlus Mosier. Council members had previously voted to hold that election along with the November general election to save money after they were unable to get federal approval in time to put it on the July 15 primary ballot.

When Owens called for a vote on the motion to affirm him as mayor pro tem. Fidler and Hamlin voted in favor. Burnett and Mosier voted against.

Owens broke the tie and voted to affirm himself mayor pro tem and to affirm the council’s actions. That led to several members of the audience questioning how he could vote on the issue.

When Owens called for a vote on the motion to hold a special election for mayor in September, Burnett and Mosier voted in favor. Fidler and Hamlin voted against. Owens broke the tie by voting against the proposal.

During the meeting, council members voted 4-0 to:

• Approve Mark Gibson, whom Owens said was a graduate of Northwest Whitfield High School, as the new city manager. Gibson — who currently serves as city manager of Alma, Ga. — will be paid $40,000 annually. Owens said Gibson should start in no later than three weeks. Gibson served six years as a Dalton police officer and four years as assistant administrator of Dalton Municipal Court. He has a bachelor’s in justice administration from Georgia Southern University and a master of public administration from Columbus State University.

• Roll back the city property tax rate to 2.404 mills from 2.5 mills. Officials said that would cancel out any gains from property reassessments. They could not immediately say how much revenue it would raise.

The council also announced that Phillip Hamlin had been selected as part-time volunteer public works supervisor.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.