The Georgia Attorney General’s Office is reviewing an Open Meetings Act complaint from Milton residents over a private City Council meeting in which the public was excluded.
The state wants an explanation from the city about the meeting held on Sept. 18. The meeting was initiated by City Manager Steve Krokoff to discuss preparations for the November election and to dissuade council from pursuing further investigation of an email believed to be accidentally sent from Councilman Rick Mohrig to city officials.
The email was arranging a private meeting between Mohrig, who was up for reelection, and two poll workers.
The September City Council meeting took place offsite at Avalon in Alpharetta following a workshop that was open to the public. It was not an executive session which is traditionally closed to the public, nor was it recorded or streamed.
Page 1 of the Attorney General’s Office letter to Milton
Credit: Adrianne Murchison
Credit: Adrianne Murchison
Last week, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Settlemire sent a letter to Milton city attorney, Ken Jarrard, regarding the residents’ complaint and wants a response within 10 days of receipt.
A copy of her letter obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution states:
“The Attorney General has chosen to exercise (the right to enforce the Open Records Act and Open Meetings Act) by establishing a mediation program where citizens may raise issues and concerns with us regarding the Acts, and we will attempt to resolve disputes between citizens and local government.”
Settlemire added that while she is not assuming that Milton violated the law: “This office also reserves the right to pursue litigation in these matters where it deems doing so is appropriate.”
Page 2 of Attorney General’s Office letter to Milton
Credit: Adrianne Murchison
Credit: Adrianne Murchison
The assistant attorney general did not return a call or email from the AJC requesting additional information.
Jarrard told the AJC that he plans to respond to the letter by Nov. 15.
Mayor Peyton Jamison apologized publicly for the private meeting in October and acknowledged that it was a violation of sunshine laws.
During a regular City Council meeting on Monday, Councilman Jan Jacobus added that all of the officials including himself should’ve known the meeting was a violation.
“That’s a lesson learned for me,” he said. “I think somebody should’ve said: ‘There’s four or more of us, no go.’”
Minutes briefly summarizing what took place in September were provided on the consent agenda of Monday’s meeting. Councilmembers Paul Moore, Jacobus, Mohrig and Andrea Verhoff each provided a narrative on their recollection of the meeting, which can be obtained through an Open Records Request.
“I was unclear and confused regarding the purpose of asking us to get together in the adjacent room,” Moore wrote in his narrative. “Mr. Krokoff did most of the talking. There was never a declaration of the meeting’s purpose. Mr. Krokoff initially discussed general election integrity issues, and the need to maintain the City’s reputation.”
Mohrig wrote that when Krokoff called for the meeting in a separate room, “(The city manager) stated he wanted to take this opportunity for us to meet as we rarely get a chance to all be together at the same time and this was an Open Meeting.”
