Davis interview, part one

(This is the first in a three-part series stemming from a sit-down interview with Oconee County Commission Chairman Melvin Davis on June 26, 2009.)

Oconee County Commission Chairman Melvin Davis is concerned that a proposed ordinance aimed at streamling communication within the local government will dramatically restructure the type of government utilized by Oconee County without the appropriate public input.

He initially made his concerns public at the end of last week's Oconee County Commission meeting.

He said then, and reiterated to me, the potential changes would have the county revert back to a county manager form of government.

Oconee County has utilized the county manager form of government in the recent past. Between 1988 and 1998, the county had five part-time commissioners and hired a full-time manager to oversaw the day-to-day operations of the community. During this timespan, however, Oconee County employed six county managers.

In 1998, Oconee County shifted to its current form of government with an elected, full-time chairman and four, part-time commissioners. Upon assuming office, Davis worked with staff to get citizen feedback regarding their statisfaction with the chairman/CEO style of government, and he said their internal study, conducted in 2000, found that 65 percent of those surveyed or interviewed preferred it over the county manager form of government.

Davis said if the ordinance was enacted, he believed the commission would return to the pre-1998 form of governance ...

The way I saw this going made it feel like that - based on the legislation we operate under - I felt like the board was restructuring the government in such a way that it would be a different form of government that what I thought we were legislatively authorized to do.

The Oconee Enterprise, in its reporting of the meeting, noted that several of the commissioners sat in silence, implying they were taken back by the comments. Davis said, however, he made the commission aware of his concerns the previous day via email. The chairman shared with them a copy of a letter that detailed some of his concerns he had earlier sent to the county attorney.

Davis said his concerns are two-fold. First and foremost would be gauging not only the community's mood toward such dramatic changes, but also making sure there was considerable citizen input if any change were to occur ...

I think one of the things I have to remember is that this position - or any position here - belongs to the citizens of Oconee County. It doesn't just belong to me. If this is a direction the board and the citizens want to go in, then I just think that we need to go through the proper process. I thought we were going through - and I used the term 'backdoor' - a path to get us a county manager form of government, and that's not the type of government we have (now). ...

Again, the citizens need to be involved. The citizens need to knowledgable of what may take place and what they desire in this system. We need to follow their guidance and direction, whether it may be through options we ought to look at and then give to the board and citizens and let them select what is most beneficial for them. And then let's go through the process with the legislature to enact it and get voter approval.

Also troubling to Davis was the potential for confusion with regard to management. The existing proposal would restructure some elements of the government and put various members of staff under the direct supervision of the Oconee County Commission, including its administrative officer and financial officer ...

Just from being a manager for a long period of time, it's pretty difficult for an individual to answer to five people. It's problematic.