Standing-Room-Only Crowd Packs Dade County Commission Meeting as Credit Cards and Water Discoloration Top Discussion
A standing-room-only crowd packed Thursday night’s Dade County Commission meeting as questions surrounding county spending, credit cards and accountability continued to dominate discussion, while commissioners also acted on a new travel per diem, the Dade County Community Forest and several other county matters.
Much of the attention centered on the county’s purchasing and credit-card practices and a proposed overhaul of the policy that has been in place since 2016.
County Attorney Robin Rogers told commissioners he had reviewed the proposed new policy but believed additional work was needed, particularly to make its terminology consistent with state law and the county’s existing ordinance. Commissioners agreed the policy needed more work before adoption.
The proposed policy would set a $1,500 per-transaction limit and $3,000 billing-cycle limit for employees, while elected officials would have a $3,000 per-transaction limit and $5,000 billing-cycle limit.
Commissioners discussed whether the county should go even further by significantly reducing the number of cards in circulation.
Commissioners suggested taking a closer look at who actually needs immediate access to a county credit card, including department heads and employees who may need to make time-sensitive purchases.
Commissioner Phillip Hartline suggested pulling most cards back and keeping only a small number in the county office where purchases could be more closely controlled.
The discussion followed months of public scrutiny over county credit-card expenditures, centering around District 3 Commissioner Melissa Bradford’s July trip to New Orleans for the National Association of Counties conference and expenses charged during that trip.
Questions surrounding those expenses have since led to a broader public discussion about the county’s credit-card policies, spending limits, travel expenses, documentation and oversight of taxpayer funds.
Citizens Raise Questions About County Spending
Several residents spoke during the meeting, raising concerns about credit-card limits, travel expenses, documentation, open-records requests and other county expenditures.
It was alleged that some county cards had limits above those provided for in the county’s existing ordinance and questioned whether required user agreements were in place for all cardholders. The presentation also raised questions about previous purchases of furniture and travel expenses.
Those statements were allegations and claims presented by citizens during the public meeting and were disputed on several points by county officials.
County Executive Don Townsend later defended the county’s use of purchasing cards, saying the increase in the county’s overall credit availability was related in part to the number of cards issued to departments and was intended to provide convenience for county operations.
Townsend said purchasing cards themselves were not the problem, but accountability for how they are used is important. He also disputed an allegation that county furniture had been purchased using credit cards.
The public comments also included renewed criticism of travel expenses involving District 3 Commissioner Melissa Bradford and her previous trip to New Orleans. No criminal charges were announced during Thursday night’s meeting.
Commissioners Approve $65 Daily Meal Allowance
While the larger credit-card policy was not adopted, commissioners did approve a new $65-per-day meal reimbursement for employees and elected officials traveling out of town overnight on county business. The current rate was set years ago at $40.00 a day.
Commissioners discussed the change as a way of establishing a clear daily limit rather than allowing individual meal expenses to be placed on county cards.
Under the plan discussed Thursday, if an eligible meal costs more than the allowance, the traveler would be responsible for the difference.
Commissioners also discussed spouses accompanying elected officials on county trips, with the consensus that any meals for a spouse should be paid personally rather than with county funds.
The $65 per diem was ultimately approved unanimously as part of the commission’s consent agenda.
Commissioners Repay County for Omaha Steaks
Another spending issue surfaced during the workshop involving Omaha Steaks given to commissioners as Christmas gifts last year.
Commissioners said they were returning $150 each to the county to reimburse taxpayers for the gifts.
In previous years, Dade County commissioners received a $200 payment similar to one provided to county employees. County Executive Don Townsend said he discontinued the practice last year because he did not believe the additional payment to elected officials was consistent with state guidelines governing compensation for elected officials.
Hartline said that after learning the gifts were purchased with county funds, commissioners should reimburse the county.
Townsend said a decision had been made in the county office to provide the gifts but that he personally did not feel comfortable accepting one.
Community Forest Moves Forward
Away from the credit-card debate, commissioners took another major step toward development of the proposed Dade County Community Forest.
Representatives of the Trust for Public Land discussed a Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program pre-application that could provide as much as $3 million to develop the property.
Potential improvements include parking areas, trails, an outdoor classroom, basic restroom facilities and signage.
The proposed community forest property includes approximately 650 acres adjoining Cloudland Canyon State Park and other county-owned property.
Trust for Public Land representatives said the property is valued at approximately $2.1 million.
Commissioners also moved forward with the purchase and sale agreement. Under the agreement presented Thursday, the purchase price to Dade County would be approximately $1.1 million using funds the county has appropriated or been awarded, with closing targeted for March 2027.
Proposed Timber Harvest
The community forest discussion later crossed over into another issue — a county request for proposals involving the possible harvesting of timber from county-owned property.
Hartline questioned why the county would consider cutting mature timber from approximately 110 acres of property that could eventually be connected to the community forest and recreational trail system.
Townsend said the RFP was issued to determine whether there was interest and what the timber might be worth, and that a final decision to sell timber would have to come back before the commission.
Hartline said he opposed cutting the timber simply to generate additional money for the general fund.
No timber sale was approved Thursday night.
Water Authority Addresses 218 Discoloration Complaints
Dade County Water and Sewer Authority officials also gave commissioners a detailed presentation concerning recent reports of discolored water.
General Manager Melissa Zeller said the authority has approximately 7,828 active connections and has received 218 customer reports of discolored water.
Officials said the complaints have been widespread across the system rather than concentrated in one particular area, making the cause more difficult to isolate.
The authority believes unusually hot weather has contributed to the problem.
Officials said Dade County has hard water containing naturally occurring iron and manganese that can accumulate inside water lines. Water temperatures leaving the treatment plant reached approximately 80 to 82 degrees during the extended hot weather, which officials said can accelerate oxidation of those minerals and contribute to discoloration.
Plant officials told commissioners bacteriological testing has been negative and repeatedly said the water remains safe to drink. When asked a large number of folks in the room have exprenace
Officials also acknowledged the county has an aging water system and said long-term infrastructure improvements will be needed.
Elections Building Nearing Completion
Commissioners received an update on construction of the new Dade County Elections Building.
Officials said work has progressed to flooring, interior glass and parking lot paving.
Townsend said the county was down to approximately the final $400,000 in project costs and emphasized that the project has been paid for without issuing bonds, loans or other debt.
County Financial Report
Chief Financial Officer Rebecca Jones also presented the county’s latest financial report.
As of August 31, year-to-date revenues stood at approximately $1.19 million, compared with a year-to-date budget of approximately $1.4 million, putting revenues about $208,000 below budget.
Year-to-date expenditures were approximately $2.83 million, compared with a budgeted approximately $3.08 million, leaving spending about $247,000 under budget.
The report showed the county had collected 3.35 percent of its anticipated property-tax revenue through the first two months of collections.
Commissioners unanimously approved the financial report.
Other Business
The commission also approved $627.86 for flooring improvements at the Dade County 4-H/Extension Office, proclaimed October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month and recognized October 4 through October 10 as Fire Prevention Week.
Commissioners also discussed communications and the handling of county press releases and social-media posts. Members generally agreed that individual commissioners should be able to release statements through county communications channels as long as those statements are clearly identified as coming from the individual commissioner rather than the commission as a whole.
The discussion also touched on email communications among commissioners and Georgia’s Open Meetings requirements, with County Attorney Rogers advising commissioners to avoid extended group discussions of county business by email and instead direct responses through the county executive or county clerk.
After approx 3 hours of sometimes pointed discussion and public comment before the standing-room-only audience, commissioners unanimously approved the consent agenda
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