THOMASVILLE — Meigs City Council met briefly New Year’s Eve to vote — again — on the 2008 city budget.

During a 10-minute meeting that began at 6:30 p.m., the council approved the $514,751 ‘08 figure in a 2-1 vote.

The vote was the second in December on the budget.

Council Member Levon Gassett made a motion Monday to approve the budget. Frank Richards Jr. provided the second. Lanny Nicholson voted nay. Council members June Layton and Dorothy Wimes abstained.

In December, Richards, Layton and Wimes voted in favor of the budget. Nicholson voted against it. Gassett was not present.

Layton’s husband is police chief and Meigs public works superintendent. Wimes’ husband also is a city employee.

The 2008 budget contains an allocation for 5 percent raises for city employees this year.

According to Georgia law, it is improper and illegal for a member of a municipal council to vote upon any question brought before the council in which the council member is personally interested.

No criminal sanctions are in place for violation of the law, but the situation causes concern when yea votes cast by council members with a personal interest caused the motion to be approved, Russell Willard, spokesman for Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker, told the Times-Enterprise in December.

Meigs resident Andrew Wurst filed a complaint at Meigs City Hall challenging the vote.

“The budget did not change. They were just amending the vote,” city clerk Debrah Smith said Thursday about Monday action.

The new vote had to be taken before the end of 2007 for the 2008 budget to be in effect Jan. 1, Smith explained.

Money for ‘08 city employee raises is set aside in this year’s budget. Smith said pay hikes will not go into effect until the city council OKs increases.

The council has not decided who will receive raises. Neither has the Meigs governing body decided pay hike amounts.

“We amended the vote. It was Dec. 31. It was the last day,” Gassett said Thursday.

Gassett said Meigs city attorney Bruce Warren did not see anything wrong with the December budget vote — and Layton’s and Wimes’ yea votes —since raises were not specified.

Warren said, however, “it would not hurt to vote again,” according to Gassett.

Gassett said the council is not trying to “pull the wool” over anyone’s eyes.

Warren does not return Times-Enterprise phone calls.

Council Member Ralph Nixon died not attend the New Year’s Eve meeting. He arrived after the meeting had adjourned as council members were leaving.



Senior reporter Patti Dozier can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 220.