There is a measure of controversy in Watkinsville, where former Oconee County state Representative Bob Smith (pictured above, center) arranged his own inauguration ceremony on New Year’s Day: the Watkinsville City Council is saying Smith is not officially Mayor until an official swearing-in ceremony, which traditionally takes place at the first Council meeting of a new year. That meeting has been arranged for Wednesday at City Hall in Watkinsville. Smith is already acting as Mayor, announcing vetoes of several ordinances passed by the Council in December.

From Bob Smith…

In his first official act as Watkinsville Mayor, Bob Smith today vetoed several ordinances passed by the City Council last month that compromise government transparency, fiscal responsibility, and the rights of voters to elect the people responsible for making critical decisions about their city.

Smith vetoed an Agenda Setting amendment that would prohibit public comment at City Council meetings until after the mayor and council voted on new and old business. “The citizens who elected us – the people we are accountable to – have a right to be heard before decisions are made,” Smith said. “Public comment should be taken earlier in the meeting, so citizens do not have to sit for hours to exercise that right.”

A variance granted to a property on 36 North Main Street was also vetoed on the grounds of a lack of transparency. The address does not exist in current city records, and the legal ad regarding the ordinance did not identify the property owner. The legal ad also failed to notify the public that a city street would be closed if the variance was granted, Smith said. “There are specific requirements in Georgia to close a public street,” Smith said. “Those requirements have not been met. Closing a public street without first determining the street no longer serves a public service is impermissible under the Constitution of the State of Georgia.”

An amendment to the City Charter that gives sweeping powers to an unelected City Manager was also vetoed. “This amendment takes power from the citizens of Watkinsville,” Smith said. “Citizens must have the power to elect the people responsible for making critical decisions about their city. That was the intent when the Georgia General Assembly enacted the Watkinsville City Charter in 1983.”

The amendment to create the City Manager position was introduced by then mayor David Shearon and the City Council shortly after Shearon lost his bid for re-election in November. It gives the City Manager powers reserved for the Mayor of Watkinsville in the City Charter. In addition, the amendment strips oversight and control of all city departments, offices, agencies and finances from Watkinsville’s elected Mayor and City Council members, transferring it instead to the unelected City Manager. Under the amendment, current City Administrator Sharyn Dickerson (an Athens resident and former Athens-Clarke County Commissioner) would be given the new title of City Manager.

“The good citizens of Watkinsville elect a mayor and city council members to represent their interests and be accountable to them,” Smith said. “They do not elect us to cede authority and responsibility to someone who does not answer to them.”

The Watkinsville City Council created the position of City Administrator in November 2018 to oversee implementation of policies and procedures voted on by the City Council and ensure all documents are transmitted correctly between the Mayor and City Clerk. At that time, then Mayor Dave Shearon told the Athens Banner-Herald the council had considered creating a City Manager position, a position of greater authority, but he said such an action would require the approval of the State Legislature.

Prior to Smith’s vetoes, City Administrator Sharyn Dickerson declined to accept Smith’s Oath of Office, signed by a Superior Court Judge, saying it was not valid because the swearing in did not occur during a council meeting. Smith took the oath of office January 1, 2020, during a ceremony in front of the historic Eagle Tavern in downtown Watkinsville. A legal opinion Smith obtained prior to the ceremony concluded it satisfied the requirements of the City Charter.

Officials at Watkinsville City Hall had previously sent communications to then Mayor-elect Smith, stating municipal officeholders must be sworn in at the first organizational meeting of the new year, scheduled for January 15 this year. That has not been the case for previous mayors. According to city documents, former Mayor David Shearon was sworn in on January 2, 2018, at the office of the Oconee County Probate Judge (the first City Council meeting was held on January 24, 2018). The two mayors prior to Shearon took the oath of office in December.

“I sincerely hope this can be settled without litigation,” Smith said of Dickerson’s legal challenge. “But until it is ruled otherwise, I will continue to carry out my responsibilities as mayor and fight for the issues I campaigned on – transparency, fiscal responsibility and putting the citizens of Watkinsville first.”

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