CAIRO — Whigham Mayor George Trulock told the Grady County Board of Commissioners he believes a planned citizen financial oversight committee in the process of being created would be a major misstep.

“I really believe that any of you that think an oversight committee is a good idea should resign this morning,” Trulock said. “A committee is not responsible for the county, you are. I urge you to think long and hard about this.”

Trulock’s comments came at Tuesday’s meeting of the board of commissioners.

The Collaborative Commissioner-Citizen Budget Oversight Committee is intended to provide transparency to the financial activity of the county.

Trulock said if the committee is formed it will set poor precedent for county leadership and undermine public confidence in the board of commissioners.

“If the management in the county is really bad enough that you need somebody to supervise you or talk to you before you do anything to keep the county out of trouble financially or micromanaging the day-to-day operations of the county, then how does that reflect on you both individually and as a group?” Trulock asked the commissioners.

County Administrator Buddy Johnson said he did not oppose the idea of the committee but agreed it should not interrupt daily business.

“If the committee is put together it’s not thumbs-on,” Johnson said. “The rules will be quite clear. They cannot interrupt my day-to-day business. They cannot come in here and demand things from my staff. They cannot come in here and say ‘you’ve got to get this, you’ve got to get that.’”

Johnson said Tuesday the CCCBOC will be an advisement group that will not hold any authority but will have access to review spending items the county commission considers and provide recommendations.

The administrator said the group would likely only meet once or twice annually to overlook audit reports.

Commissioner Ray Prince said financial decisions would ultimately be the responsibility of the commissioners, not the committee.

“The way I see it, we’re the elected officials and the buck stops with us,” Prince said. “They can tell us what they want to, but it’s not going to influence any decisions that we make up here on this board whatsoever.”

Trulock maintained he believed the committee should not be formed and said the commissioners should instead form consensus when faced with difficult financial decisions based off the counsel of county government employees.

“It’s my hope that all of you will work together for the good of Grady County,” Trulock said. “You’ve got a good administrator. You’ve got a good auditor. You’ve got a new attorney. I suggest you talk to them on a regular basis and take their advice. That’s what you got in power for.”

Commissioner June Knight agreed with Trulock, saying the function of the group made little sense to her.

“If you’re talking about spending, we’ve already voted on it. What do you want to have oversight for?” Knight said. “The oversight would have to come before the spending to say whether it’s needed or not needed. I think the oversight committee is not necessary either.”

The committee, which will consist of five residents and two members of the board of commissioners, will serve at the sole discretion of the commission chair.

Trulock, who said he approached the commissioners after conversations with numerous county residents who echoed his concerns, said this setup made little sense to him.

“If the commission is doing enough things that are so bad for the county that it needs supervision, then the last thing you need on the oversight committee is two commissioners,” Trulock said.

Johnson said part of the reason why the two commissioners will serve on the CCCBOC will be to act as a buffer between the committee and the county’s daily business.

Commission Chair LaFaye Copeland noted similar committees such as the Tired Creek Lake Authority also have two commissioners.

Linda Aycock, the foreman of a September grand jury that was convened to review allegations of misappropriations of taxpayer funds, asked the commissioners to form the committee Jan. 8.

The grand jury ultimately did not find any criminal wrongdoing in their investigations but concluded the county needed an additional body to provide oversight.

“Obviously the grand jury thinks you’re not competent enough to run the county and that you need some supervision,” Trulock told the commissioners. “I don’t believe that.”

Commissioners were receptive to Aycock’s idea and Johnson presented a framework of how to implement the committee Jan. 22.

Johnson recommended the group not be organized until after the March special election to fill the vacant District 5 commission seat.