Five East Point city council members walked out of this week’s work session in their latest dust-up with Mayor Earnestine Pittman.
Councilman Lance Rhodes said he, along with council members Steve Bennett, Sharonda Hubbard, Clyde Mitchell and Jackie Slaughter-Gibbons, left in the middle of the meeting because Pittman refused to follow a council directive.
“Mayor Pittman just went crazy and decided to allow public comment,” Rhodes said.
The issue of when public comment should take place has simmered since late last year. In October, the council passed Rhodes’ motion to move the public comment portion to work sessions and remove it from regular meetings. Pittman vetoed the motion, but the veto was deemed invalid because it had an incorrect date.
In November, public comments were restored to the regular meeting agenda after Rhodes said the switch was a one-month experiment. Public comments were not taken at work session meetings until Pittman approved them Monday night.
Pittman sees it differently.
“This has nothing to do with public comment,” she said. “The city manager wasn’t there so they didn’t have his lead on discussing the issues.”
She contends most of the council follows the lead of city manager Crandall Jones, whom she blames for many fiscal problems.
Pittman said the five members left the meeting and held their own private meeting, then came back before leaving for good.
“That’s a clear violation of the Sunshine Law,” she said.
Rhodes sent an email to city attorney Nina Hickson seeking an opinion on public comment at a work session. Hickson responded that moving public comment to work sessions requires council approval.
The walkout is the latest in a series of events pitting Pittman against what she calls “The Gang of Five.” The mayor and council have argued over purchasing an old Wachovia building for city purposes and spending money on a Christmas celebration.
Pittman said she expects a full discussion of the comment issue during Monday’s regular council meeting.
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