Snellville Citizens Divided on City Controversy

The Snellville City Council meeting Monday (Jan. 13) brought an overcrowded audience to the council chambers to witness and speak on the recent city controversy. 

The controversy comes from the mayor's actions over the last 10 days. Mayor Kelly Kautz had told City Manager Butch Sanders that he should stop working because she did not recognize his newly approved contract as valid, and she removed City Clerk Melisa Arnold from her position to be instead the city's purchasing agent. Kautz had authorized newcomer Phyllis Richardson to take Arnold's place. 

During Monday's meeting, a resolution was passed 5-1 confirming Arnold as the city clerk and Sanders as the city manager. Kautz voted against it. 

See also: Snellville Council Passes Resolution Confirming Sanders as City Manager, Arnold as City Clerk

This division of council and mayor made the crowded room a divided one, almost literally down the middle. One side applauded and agreed with the mayor, while the other sided with the council.

And more than a dozen locals spoke for an hour about the rift between the officials. 

"Mayor Kautz, your actions are hurting the city in numerous ways," said resident Sharon Hetherington. 

"I can bring 250 high schoolers together and get them to work together," said Kelly Buck, a religious instructor downtown. "How many of you are there? Sit down in a room and work it out." 

"In the future years, when people are talking about the mayor, Kelly Kautz, in Snellville all they're going to remember is turmoil and strife," said Marilyn Swinney. "They're not going to remember the good. That's the way people are. And you don't want that as a legacy, do you?"

"I'm appalled at what goes on here," said Barbara Ralston, a 29-year resident of the city. "I think there's a great deal that needs to happen here and I think that every single of one of you standing up here really needs to think about if it's possible to get along," Ralston continued. "I would think that, for the good of this community, that it would be very important for you to find a way to do this." 

Former Councilman Tod Warner actually applauded the council's decorum because of the lack of name-calling. But he still urged the council to do better. "Please, communicate to one another, and communicate with us," he said. 

Some of the evening's discussion was about diversity, too. Pastor Elijah Collins Jr. of New Jerusalem Baptist Church said his congregation has seen many African-American candidates, such as Richardson, shot down for city positions "without any explanation at all."  

"If we're going to move forward, and if we're going to talk about unity in the community, you cannot continue to look like what's behind me where everybody's on one side and everybody's on the other side," said Collins. "We've got to come together."

Melvin Everson, who was the first black Snellville councilman and also represented Snellville in the state House of Representatives, spoke of the need for respect for the mayor and council. 

"It pains me. I worked hard to bring unity to this city," he said. "Let's leave out of here tonight resolved that Snellville is better than this. Snellville is larger than this. ... Let's make Snellville a city where everyone is welcome and proud to be called somebody."