Representative Edward Lindsey

STATE REPRESENTATIVE EDWARD LINDSEY OUTLINES RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE JOINT STUDY COMMITTEE ON FULTON COUNTY GOVERNANCE

ATLANTA – Georgia State Representative Edward Lindsey (R-Atlanta) said today that the Joint Study Committee on Fulton Governance has completed its work and will be recommending significant changes which will make Fulton County Government more efficient and responsive to its citizens.

“This study committee spent four months reviewing the operation of the county commission, the sheriff’s office and the courthouse. Its recommendations, if followed, will allow the County to better serve the needs of over 900,000 residents of Fulton County,” said Lindsey who co-chaired the study committee along with State Senator Dan Moody (R-Alpharetta).

In addition to Chairman Lindsey and Moody, the committee was comprised of the following State Representatives, State Senators, and private citizens: Representatives Kathy Ashe (D-Atlanta), Harry Geisinger (R-Roswell), Bob Holmes (D-Atlanta), Jan Jones (R-Alpharetta), Joe Wilkinson (R-Sandy Springs), Wendell Willard (R-Sandy Springs); Senators Judson Hill (R-Marietta), Kasim Reed (D-Atlanta), Horacena Tate (D-Atlanta); Fulton County Commissioner Lynne Riley, Mr. Brad Carver, Mr. Al Nash, and Mr. Mark Hennessy. Three subcommittees were formed investigating the operation of the Fulton County Courthouse, Sheriff’s office, and the County Commission. The committee and subcommittees met on 11 separate occasions and heard over 30 hours of public testimony.

The full committee met Monday, December 17, to finalize its recommendations to the legislature. Regarding the Fulton County Commission, the committee made the following recommendations:

Recognizing that Fulton County is now over 95% municipalized and that many of the previous functions of county government are now handled by municipal governments, the committee voted to recommend reducing the size of the commission to five members, with three districts and two members elected countywide. This recommendation allows each citizen to vote for a majority of the board members and saves Fulton County an estimated $1million annually.
The committee recognized that in comparison to other large metro area counties, the position of Fulton Commission Chairman is significantly lacking in authority. The committee unanimously recommended that the position of chairman be strengthen by making the chairman a full-time position and allowing the chairman to hire and terminate the County Manager and department heads (with majority consent of the commission), and to control the commission’s agenda.
The committee also made several other recommendations including: recommending the legislature not pursue any annexations in the unincorporated areas of South Fulton for at least one year, to direct disbursement of the former Special Service District Funds to the North Fulton County cities, and directing the commission to review the various boards and commissions in Fulton for relevance and to create a sunset provision for boards and commissions.

With regards to the Office of the Sheriff, the committee:

Recognized that the Fulton County Commission already has the authority to take control of the Fulton County jail pursuant to a local constitutional amendment passed in the 1970’s and recommended that if the county were to hire a professional jailer to run the county jail, that this jailer be given the same sovereign immunity protections afforded the Sheriff.
Unanimously voted to recommend to the legislature that the state fully reimburse the county for the actual and verifiable cost of housing state prisoners in the Fulton County jail.
Unanimously voted to recommend legislation giving authority to the Fulton County Commission to hire a qualified person other than the county sheriff to provide security at the county courthouse.
Recommended further study on whether to consolidate process servicing within a single county department such as the County Marshall’s office.

With regards to the Fulton County Courts system, the committee unanimously voted to:

Recommend legislation that would create a single jury pool for the Fulton County State and Superior Courts. Currently, two separate jury pools report to the same assembly area.
Recommend legislation that provides a speedy trial request be granted within six months. In testimony to the subcommittee, the Fulton County District Attorney addressed a disparity which exists between court circuits in Georgia with defendants filing of demands for a speedy criminal trial. Some court circuits have much longer court terms and this difference of length of terms results in a risk of having a defendant being set free of the charge for which he or she may be guilty.
Recommend legislation that requires all trial courts in the state to provide a monthly accounting of case load with uniform standards. Currently, information is not readily available to gauge case load of civil and criminal cases filed, disposed of, and pending. This information is vital to determine court needs and work distribution for budgeting and personnel. The information is also lacking uniformity throughout the state.
Recommend legislation to give greater authority to the Chief Judge of the Superior Court.
Recommend better utilization of magistrate judges
Recommend the county build a detention center near the current courthouse location of approximately 400 beds, to relieve issues associated with prisoner transportation and security.

“I want to thank the committee members for their extraordinary efforts,” said Representative Lindsey. “The near unanimity of the committee members speaks volumes as to the needed changes. The status quo is clearly unacceptable.”