The East Point City Council heads to Unicoi State Park Friday for its annual retreat but will have to do so without Mayor Earnestine Pittman.
The purpose of the retreat at the Unicoi Lodge near Helen is to discuss pressing issues facing the council this year, but also to help foster a better working relationship on the council.
Pittman sees the issue differently.
“This is a complete waste of taxpayers’ money, and I’m having no part of it. These issues could have been discussed in East Point,” she said.
City officials said an exact cost couldn't be determined yet for the retreat, which also will allow council members to bring a guest at no additional charge to the city.
Pittman’s decision not to attend is just the latest incident in an escalating war of words between the mayor and what she calls the "Gang of Five” on the City Council. Since the beginning of the year, Pittman has accused the majority of the council of hijacking meetings, violating the open meetings law and only allowing their pet items to move forward on the agenda.
Councilman Lance Rhodes, who has been the target of much of Pittman’s criticism, disputed the mayor’s reason for not attending.
“She was asking for the retreat, and now she’s not coming. This is just more of her political maneuvering. This is a critical time for the city and we all need to be working together,” he said.
Rhodes also could not provide a cost for the retreat, but said it will provide the council a good blueprint for moving toward the future. Some of the issues to be discussed include boosting downtown economic development, reviewing a city newsletter and discussing the city’s budget process.
The biggest block of time on Saturday is focused on council and staff relations, but it’s debatable how successful that discussion will be without the presence of the mayor, who has openly criticized some of the staff’s decisions.
Pittman attended last year’s retreat in East Point and questioned the wisdom of the council going to the mountains.
“These are not the economic times to head out of town,” she said.
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