Opinion/Editorial

If those responsible for the governing of Flowery Branch don't come to their senses soon, they aren't going to have a city left to govern.

Unable to manage something as basic as holding a City Council meeting, city leaders find themselves in the unenviable position of starting the new fiscal year without a budget while total chaos reins within the city government.

The end result is a form of paralysis that has left the city in a precarious legal position, a questionable financial position, and seemingly unable to solve any of a number of major problems.

The City Council seems hopelessly divided. City manager Chris Rainwater and Mayor Bryan Puckette have escalated their feud to the point of legal intervention. No one seems clear on who has the authority to do what. Hard-working city employees, meanwhile, are caught dead in the middle of two warring factions, uncertain from whom they should take direction and at a loss as to the future of their positions.

There is more than enough blame to go around.

That the elected leadership of the city has failed to confront the situation and resolve the pending issues, and chooses instead to defer official action while allowing problems to spiral out of control, is inexcusable.

Among the issues that demand resolution are:

# A clear definition of the role and authority of the city manager. Obviously there is little agreement in this area, as some council members are content to empower the city manager to make sweeping administrative decisions on their behalf rather than taking a stand on their own.

# A concise city purchasing policy. The city manager has been authorized to spend up to $7,500 in any single purchase at his own discretion, without discussion with Council or its approval. There is no soliciting of bids for items under that amount that most cities would expect to be purchased in a competitive bidding process. There seem to be no controls on use of the city credit card issued to the city manager, and apparently no limit on his authority to make purchases on behalf of the city.

# The adoption of the budget for the fiscal year that started July 1. Council members have used the ongoing feud between Rainwater and Puckette as an excuse not to adopt a new spending plan for the city. There is no justification for doing so.

One of the defining characteristics of leadership is the ability to ascend beyond personality conflicts in order to do what needs to be done. That isn't happening in Flowery Branch.

There are basic issues of governance that must be resolved for the city to move forward. The bickering and infighting amongst its leadership threatens to drive away progressive growth and development that Flowery Branch desperately needs to prosper.

The city needs to look for help on issues of basic organization and function of municipal government. The Georgia Municipal Association and the Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia have expertise from which Flowery Branch could benefit.

The mayor and City Council are elected by the people to govern the city. They are not doing so. They have abdicated to the city manager a level of authority that far exceeds that of administrative leadership in cities of similar size.