Dear Editor:

In reading the current edition of the Cairo Messenger in the recent Grady County BOC meeting, Michael Cook brought up the current contract our BOC has with the Consultant who serves as County Administrator and the recommendation that this contract not be renewed when it expires at the end of this year.

I have long thought that when studying the contents of not only the original contract as an employee of Grady County and following contracts to the conversion to a consultant with payment to an LLC is not in the best interest of the taxpayers of Grady County. I also question the legality of some of its contents.

This is a Consultant serving as the County Administrator. What is the legality of such a consultant over the management of government employees and the ability to sign off on legal matters concerning the County since he is not an employee as such?

In conversion from the original contact as an employee to a consultant, it is specified that the consultant must work a normal 8 hours Monday through Friday and to be expected in a year to work 2080 hours. The new contract which was approved last year and expires at the end of this year basically requires the performance of job duties with no restrictions as far as hours worked, when, or where!

Here is this specified in the actual statement from the contract:

3. During the term of this Agreement, the parties agree that First Party will not define the Second Party’s work hours, nor shall the First Party control the manner or method by which the Second party carries out its duties. However, the Second Party is expected to devote the amount of time necessary to fulfill the duties and responsibilities required herein in a professional manner.

So basically the Consultant has a free hand when it comes to working at his pleasure.

I also question since the County is paying for a service why isn’t this position put out on open bid since this is not an employee hire? This expertise is not that of a sole source vendor.

When discussing this contract renewal, it should be in an open forum and not behind closed doors in an executive session since it is done with an LLC and not any employee of the County.

In the past, I have asked many questions to which I have had no response or reply from the BOC. This a disturbing trend when elected officials are supposed to be transparent and responsive to the taxpayers and tend to ignore us!

Perhaps they would like to enlighten the taxpayers as to why they went from a County administrator employed as an employee to a Consultant in which an LLC is paid with no defined work hours!

I strongly urge the BOC to think long and hard about this renewal and that the taxpayers ask their Commissioners questions concerning this contract.

Respectfully

Mike Bishop

Cairo, GA