The four Forsyth County commissioners — Brian Tam and Patrick Bell already in office, and Pete Amos and Todd Levent about to be elected — started meeting with one another right after the primary elections in July 2010.
And from the day the new five-member commission came into power this past January, Tam, Bell, Amos and Levent seemed to vote as a bloc. Unless it was unanimous, the bloc always seemed to vote 4-1, on small issues and bigger ones, against the only commissioner who didn’t attend those summer sessions: Jim Boff — the odd man out.
The feeling the foursome had commandeered the commission gained more credence when they met, two at a time to avoid breaking state quorum laws, with city of Cumming officials for private “infrastructure” talks that included discussions about the county’s renewal of its water contract with the city, and a future special local option sales tax.
Boff, the District 5 commissioner, didn’t know about the meetings until afterward. Chairman and District 2 Commissioner Tam said last week that was just a matter of timing, the meeting wasn’t secret. He said he and Boff and county officials had a similar infrastructure meeting with city officials a few days later.
Others aren’t so sure a new political dynamic isn’t taking shape in Forsyth County, where political alliances are strongly defined by geography — the rural districts in the north, the suburban districts in the center and south — and between the city, which has the keys to the water supply, and the county, which collects and distributes the taxes.
For the first time last year, commissioners were elected by district, instead of elected countywide, making them more vulnerable if they don’t deliver for their districts.
That is where Boff, in his third year as District 5 commissioner, having won the 2008 race, in a runoff, by 30 votes, now finds himself. Boff’s district is in the south central part of the county, and includes Lake Lanier and parts of Cumming.
On the previous commission, he often voted with then-District 3 Commissioner Jim Harrell and then-District 1 Commissioner and Chairman Charles Laughinghouse.
In December, the three prevailed in a vote to get the county to build an animal shelter. As a sign of things to come, in its first meeting in January, the new commission rescinded that vote, with Boff dissenting.
Boff supporter Charles Smith, who ran against Tam and lost the year Boff was elected, said last week he is reluctant to say Boff “is the odd man out.” In politics, things can change quickly, especially given the new district voting, said Smith.
“But it will be interesting to watch who gets what for his district over the next couple of years. If your district is the one getting landfills and radioactive waste, and the others are getting parks and free pony rides, you’re going to have a hard time getting re-elected. Occasionally, you need to form alliances.”
Boff declined to comment whether he believes he’s the odd man out because he is not sure how things will evolve, he said, and doesn’t want to give possible ammo to opponents.
All four commissioners said in interviews they don’t vote as a group and they’re not trying to essentially silence Boff. Tam took sharp exception to the question.
“I have a responsibility to keep all the commissioners in the loop, and I keep Boff in the loop,” Tam said. “But, if somebody is in a minority on the board, then that’s their choice. There’s not a 4-1 pattern there all the time.”
Chester Kramarski, who lives in Boff’s district and regularly attends commission meetings, said it’s hard to assess the commission’s performance, “because I don’t know all the details, what goes on behind the scenes, the handshakes and scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.” But he said this commission’s performance in public so far is different than the last commission’s.
“The last commission used to talk about, discuss, and make intelligent comments and arguments before they voted,” Kramarski said. “These guys seem to have already made up their minds and just get up and vote.”
District 3 Commissioner Levent said recent commission votes show Boff is not always the one on the losing end. Two meetings ago, with Boff and Amos absent, Levent lost a 2-1 vote over the appointment of Cumming attorney Dana Miles as Civil Service Board hearing officer.
At last week’s work session, District 4 Commissioner Bell lost three votes 4-1, one of which he has fought for hard: keeping the county planning director job protected by giving the director the right, if fired, to appeal to the County Commission.
Others, such as former Commissioner Dave Richard, worry not so much about the way the votes are going — “there hasn’t been a big vote yet,” said Richard — but rather about the way commissioners appear to be conducting business in private that should be conducted in public.
Richard, who lost his re-election bid to Bell in 2008, is a frequent, and sometimes blistering, speaker at commission meetings. He said commissioners meeting two by two with Cumming officials “was too cute by two.”
“Was it illegal?” Richard said. “No. Was it the right thing to do? No. These meetings should be in public. But they don’t want them in public because that makes it harder for them to do what they’re trying to do. They want to get the deal agreed to, then go public.”
Commission watchers said the next few months could be telling as the commission seeks to negotiate with hard-bargaining Cumming Mayor Henry Ford Gravitt over water and the city’s share of tax revenue.
In 2008, after city-county talks broke down over Cumming’s share of SPLOST revenue, the city sued, and the county settled, agreeing to give Cumming $10 million for the construction of its Aquatic Center.
Boff said a signal vote might be what the county decides to do with about $4 million it had earmarked to spend on Bethel Park in Bell’s district. A federal court decision a month ago effectively killed that.
“Now we’ll have to decide whose district that money goes to since the park can’t be built in Patrick’s,” said Boff.
Former chairman Laughinghouse said he remembers his early days during his two terms on the commission, when he was habitually in the 3-2 minority. “But I’ve never been in a 4-1 minority,” he said. “I don’t envy Jim.”
Still, said Laughinghouse, the dynamics could change and Boff could become the swing vote and get the “goodies” — such as that Bethel Park money — delivered to his district.
“It’s only been two months,” Laughinghouse said. “I don’t know that all of the alliances have been formed — yet.”
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