Ga. Town Reinstates Police Department Days After Mayor Dissolves It

By Ignacio Perez

Source Chattanooga Times Free Press, Tenn.

COHUTTA, GA—Town Council members voted to reinstate the Police Department and all officers at an emergency meeting Friday afternoon.

The rest of the meeting agenda was tabled, including any steps toward possible removal of the mayor. The town attorney said the council did not want to broach that issue Friday.

The meeting unfolded after Mayor Ron Shinnick dissolved and fired the entire department Wednesday morning. The council Friday also passed an emergency ordinance that prohibits the mayor from disbanding the Police Department for the next 30 days. The mayor left the meeting during the executive session prior to the council passing the new ordinance.

"Glad the City Council did the right thing tonight," said Ken David, a lawyer representing a number of police officers.

David would not say whether the officers were considering legal action against the town.

All four council members — Randy Stanton, Sandy Clayborne, Shane Kornberg and Andy Lopez — were in attendance with the mayor at the start of the meeting. The city attorney, Bryan Rayburn, gave an opening statement, citing pertinent portions of the town charter.

Rayburn said that only the council can abolish a department in the town, and any actions to do so outside of the council are void. Rayburn added that the mayor has the final say in the hiring or firing of a town employee, but when firing an employee, the mayor must provide a written intention to the employee with the grounds for removal, a requirement that was not met with the police officers.

"It appears that the policies and procedures of this town have not been followed," Rayburn said.

In an interview after the meeting, Rayburn said that the mayor had not asked for advice from him or the Town Council prior to dissolving the Police Department. Rayburn was not notified until after Shinnick met with the police chief to fire him and disband the department.

The Town Council moved into an executive session following Rayburn's remarks. After more than an hour of deliberations, the mayor was escorted out the back of the building by a police officer, and Town Council members returned to the chamber.

Kornberg, the town's vice mayor, announced that he was assuming the role of mayor for the rest of the meeting. Kornberg said that the mayor voluntarily stepped out.

"Tensions have run high on this issue since January," Kornberg said.

The council introduced a new ordinance to reinstate the Police Department and all officers. The ordinance was approved 3-0. Kornberg did not vote because the mayor only votes in the case of a tie.

Kornberg said that the town charter was not correctly followed, which opened the town to litigation. Kornberg said he did not believe the Police Department was legally disbanded. He added that the officers would receive back pay for the past several days.

Kornberg then introduced an emergency ordinance prohibiting the mayor from disabling the department for the next 30 days. It also passed with a 3-0 vote.

"What we know is we had to make the best decision for the town," Kornberg said. "We needed to reinstate the Police Department because our charter was not followed."

Blake Bowen owns an overalls store in town. He said he hopes for a smooth and transparent resolution to the situation. Cohutta is a peaceful place, Bowen said. He said he wants it to stay that way.

"I don't so much mind the whos or the whats as long as it's getting done right," Bowen said about having a police presence in Cohutta.

Under the original announcement for Friday's meeting, the four-point agenda stated that the council members would request the immediate resignation of the mayor, discuss using Georgia's Public Officers Recall Act and potentially begin a third-party investigation into the Mayor's Office, in addition to reinstating the Cohutta Police Department.

The Police Department was dissolved by Shinnick a week after the Mayor's Office and police came to an agreement regarding the former town clerk's dismissal. The former clerk, Pam Shinnick, is the mayor's wife.

Shinnick was originally fired in a Jan. 13 Town Council meeting in a 3-0 vote on allegations of creating a hostile work environment, according to the minutes of the meeting. Due to her absence, town employees, including police officers, were paid nearly a week late.

According to Rayburn, the town struggled to continue operations and payroll without its former clerk, so she was brought back in a temporary fashion until a replacement could be trained, Rayburn said during a press conference April 30.

During the press conference, Rayburn said that Shinnick had been relieved of her duties as of April 30. Her access to town computers was also revoked. Payroll was to be handled by a third-party administrator, and the assistant town clerk, Melissa Warner, would take on the other responsibilities of the town clerk.

In an open letter published in April, six now-former police officers protested the conduct of both Shinnicks, Pam Shinnick's reinstatement and her access to sensitive documents despite being previously fired.

After mediation, the letter was rescinded by the officers. Ron Shinnick celebrated the town's ability to work together to resolve internal issues during the April 30 press conference. Rayburn also said that no officers were at risk of losing their jobs.

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