Newly Appointed Snellville City Attorneys Resign
Submitted yesterday, the resignation is effective immediately.
The newly appointed Snellville city attorneys, Nola Jackson and Karen Woodward, resigned on Jan. 17, effective immediately.
Jackson and Woodward, lawyers with the Cruser and Mitchell law firm, were appointed on Dec. 13 by Mayor Kelly Kautz, after she said that her relationship with the former attorney, Tony Powell, was "irretrievably broken."
While Jackson and Woodward only said in an email that they felt it was "not in the best interest of Cruser and Mitchell to continue in this position," their decision does end, for now, the debate on whether they are the city's official legal representation or not.
For further reading on Powell's dismissal:
- Mayor Fires City Attorney Tony Powell ... Again
- Special Meeting Called Regarding Removal of City Attorney Tony Powell, Others
- Tempers Flare, Gavels Bang During Special Called Meeting
- Video: Jan. 14 Council Meeting
As it stands now, Powell is still acting as city attorney, despite the fact that Kautz dismissed him. Whether he will be paid is another story, since the mayor holds the purse strings when it comes to city attorneys. This is based off an interpretation of the charter that reads, in part, "the mayor shall appoint the city attorney together with such assistant attorney as may be authorized and shall provide for the payment for such attorneys for services rendered to the city."
A total of five attorneys have now either resigned or been fired in a little over a year - Jackson and Woodward, Tony Powell, Stuart Oberman and Kevin Tallant.
Powell was originally selected by former Mayor Jerry Oberholtzer in 2010, at which time Oberholtzer appointed him, then requested the council's vote. Prior to the vote, each council member was given the opportunity to personally meet with him.
Kautz, who was at that time a council member, was the only one to vote "no" on Powell's appointment.
Powell was then replaced by Stuart Oberman, who served as interim city attorney. Oberman resigned in February of 2012 after the city failed to pay him, citing fees that were deemed excessive. (The city took a few months to look over the expenses, but he was eventually paid.)
Then, in March of 2012, Kevin Tallant was hired. And in April, he was fired, and Powell was rehired.
As to the reason for Powell's most recent firing, Kautz said that, among other things, his work had become "subpar."
"Several factors influenced my decision," she said in an email to Snellville Patch. "The biggest factor is that the City has consistently been over its monthly budget for legal fees after receiving bills for approximately $14,000 for August work, $17,000 for October work and $23,000 for November work. Given the current economic times and my stewardship of the city budget, I feel it is in the best interest of the City and the taxpayers to conduct a search for a new city attorney."
So now, four council members -- Diane Krause, Tom Witts, Bobby Howard and Dave Emanuel -- are contesting the ability of the mayor to personally dismiss city attorneys and appoint new ones. While the process to amend the city charter to prevent this type of chaos from happening again is underway, the question of the mayor's ability to fire Powell is before a judge.
Josh
7:13 am on Friday, January 18, 2013
I think the Judge will probably rule to some level, but given the current circumstances, I doubt the Mayor will accept the ruling if it is against her sole discretion to fire/hire.
As for Tony Powell, unless he needs the money, I'd run for the hills. That in no way is a commentary on his skills or abilities, but after someone is fire/hired that many times, with the very public knowledge that the Mayor of the city your represent, does not like you, it seems that doing the very best job for the city is not possible.
The principal side says stick it out and don't let the Mayor bully someone out of their position. However, what is best for the city is priority.
The interesting part would be if they city did hire a new attorney, how long before the Mayor runs them off.
Brenda Lee
8:21 am on Friday, January 18, 2013
It may be time to fire the "Little Tyrant". A difference of opinion is one thing, creating chaos and obstructing the authority of the council is another. GRRR!!!
TJD
8:22 am on Friday, January 18, 2013
I never followed Snellville "politics" until I subscribed to The Patch and I've got to say I'm surprised (but know I shouldn't be) at the dysfunctional soap operish drama, immaturity, and what appears to be general incompetence of these "elected" officials. Are we sure this isn't part of a scripted reality tv show?
Crystal Huskey
8:27 am on Friday, January 18, 2013
Haha, pretty sure! Although this is ongoing, when it comes down to actually standing behind the community, they do all work together. The upcoming MLK parade is one example, and there have been plenty of others in the past. So there are good things going on with the mayor and council, this is just kind of the height of all the drama. It's also, really, all part of one thing - the mayor's level of authority, and whether she has that or not. Once a judge determines that, hopefully things will flow smoothly from then on.
Michelle Couch
8:32 am on Friday, January 18, 2013
Perhaps the resignation will convince Mayor Kautz to let "this one" go, allowing Mr. Powell to maintain his position, and this issue can finally be laid to rest.
Grant
8:39 am on Friday, January 18, 2013
Wait...
Did I just read a quote from Kautz touting her " stewardship of the city budget" ?
That's rather ridiculous considering her attemts to silence a local citizen at a council meeting recently cost the City a $15000 legal settlement .
Reality does not seem to be a matter of concern for Kelly.
Ron Levesque
8:55 am on Friday, January 18, 2013
I am sure that Kautz will say again that it didn't cost the city $15,000....because the insurance company is covering it. Does she not realize that the insurance company will recoup that money from the city by raising premiums at the next renewal?
Sharon Hetherington
12:26 am on Saturday, January 19, 2013
Perhaps the judge will rule or recommend that the Charter be overhauled to remove vague and contradictory language allowing Mr. Powell to continue as city attorney during this process. Mr. Powell, please stick with us.
Lenora Church
1:16 pm on Saturday, January 19, 2013
Golly, I go on a cruise for two weeks and look what happens. The two live blogs provided much better entertainment than the Rhapsody theater did on my ship. I heard many jokes about "Honey Boo Boo" when people heard i was from Georgia. Ha! if they only knew! Honey Boo Boo only bullys her parents, not a whole city.
larry e smith
9:25 am on Sunday, January 20, 2013
larry e smith snellville is quickly rising to the ranks of the dekalb county commision and the clayton county commision as well as the school boards of both,by showing thier inability to work together.if city taxs go up it is due in a large part to the open pockets of the council
Lenora Church
12:00 pm on Sunday, January 20, 2013
Larry, from what I'm reading you are right but I think you are wrong about the whole consel being at fault. It would seem that the chairwoman is the one causing the chaos by not allowing the others to do business without condeming them as being out of order. I'm not seeing excess spending unless you mean the lawsuits that once agin point to the chairwoman.
Pat Binger
12:17 pm on Sunday, January 20, 2013
Larry Smith...If you take the Mayor out of the center chair, all will be right with the world in Snellville. There are many on Council that do work well together. Unfortunately, the one with the gavel and propensity to yell "out of order" at every turn is not one of them.
Brenda Lee
2:17 pm on Monday, January 21, 2013
Pay attention to Kautz body language. It matches the "screaming banshee" personna. Meanwhile, off camera, City Attorney Tony Powell is calmly and respectfully trying to make his point.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyUNsHO8wIM