A plan to resurrect the county manager’s job in Clayton County has been scuttled and the county official behind the controversial plan admitted today to a bit of “saber rattling” over the issue.
Commission Vice Chair Michael Edmondson said in a prepared statement released this morning that the proposed county manager’s job was an administrative position.
“It did not propose to change the form of government,” Edmondson said. “The proposed supervisory chain of command is exactly the same as currently exists. That being said, the chairman and I have agreed that the proposed position is not necessary.” The proposal was pulled from the agenda Monday.
The proposal had created an uproar in the community since it was introduced for a first reading during the Oct. 15 commission meeting. The second reading had been slated for tonight’s commission meeting.
Mayors of the county’s seven cities opposed the idea saying it would dilute chairman Jeff Turner’s authority and disrupt the changes he has instituted since taking office in January. The group recently signed a letter asking the five commissioners to “abandon further consideration in creating a county manager position.”
“I don’t know what Mr. Edmondson was trying to do,” said Lovejoy Mayor Bobby Cartwright. “Maybe he didn’t feel like he was getting the attention or respect he wanted. He’s been threatening this for weeks and finally did it. The outcry in this county in favor of Turner was tremendous.”
Edmondson talked about how communications between he and Turner had broken down in recent months, noting that “the chairman and I intermittently disagree.”
“I asked. I pleaded. I rattled my saber. I made my point. Nothing more,” he said. “Recently, the chairman and I agreed to communicate better and redouble our commitments to move Clayton County forward.”
Edmondson tried to smooth over matters by saying he and Turner “jointly spearheaded the movement away from a county manager at the beginning of the year. We jointly spearheaded the creation of CFO and COO. We jointly supported the forensic audit.”
The commissioners meet at 7 p.m. tonight at the Clayton County Administration Annex 1, 112 Smith Street in Jonesboro.
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