What’s In a Name?

My View by Jim Yacavone

(June 19, 2016)

We have a problem in Fannin County—we don’t have a good, catchy nickname to call ourselves. Instead, we’re stuck with referring to ourselves by cumbersome phrases such as “Fannin County residents” or “citizens of Fannin County.” These phrases lack pizzazz. They make us sound like a census statistic rather than the wonderful people that we are. 

Welcome to Fannin County

My View by Jim Yacavone

(June 4, 2016)

If you are a newcomer to Fannin County you may have heard that the county is run by good old boys who are suspicious of new ideas and resistant to change. You also may have been warned that it’s not a good idea to rock the boat by criticizing the establishment. 

Bill Simonds and the EEOC

My View by Jim Yacavone

Bill Simonds may be the best argument for Fannin County changing to a county manager form of government. Having a county manager would help ensure there is a least one trained, professional government administrator involved in county decision-making. The latest revelations of the county’s recent age discrimination settlement is but one example that illustrates my point.

Bill Simonds's Unforced Errors

My View by Jim Yacavone

In sports they are called unforced errors. They are mistakes that are not caused by the other team or game conditions but rather by a player’s carelessness or inattentiveness. Coaches hate unforced errors, and if a player consistently makes them, the odds are that he or she is not going to be in the game too long.

Fannin County Commission Chairman Bill Simonds has made his share of unforced errors, and some of them have cost the taxpayers money. On occasion his administration of the county more closely resembles amateur hour at a local talent show than it does an efficiently administered local government. You get the impression that there are times when Simonds acts without thinking or consulting anyone.

A Letter to the Editor

(This is a letter to the editors of the three weekly newspapers in Fannin County addressing the county's failure to codify and publish its ordinances. It was emailed to the papers on April 3, 2016.)

Dear Editor,

In 2001 the Georgia legislature passed a law requiring all Georgia counties to prepare and publish a codification of their “ordinances and resolutions” by January 1, 2002 and thereafter to update their codes of ordinances every year. Fannin County has complied with this statute only once in 14 years. In 2007 the county published a code of ordinances but has neglected to update the code since then.  

The Coming Storm of Development

My View by Jim Yacavone

There’s a storm com­ing to Fannin County. It will be over progress and development. It will cross the boundary between newcomers and old-timers and divide the county into two camps, and it has the potential to get mean, vicious and ugly.  

Take Your Snooty Nose Elsewhere

My View by Jim Yacavone

Fannin County is a rural area according to the U.S. Census, and that makes the residents of Fannin County a dwindling minority in this country. According to the 2010 Census, only 19.3 percent of the population in this country lives in rural areas.  

Simonds' Big Legal Bill

My View by Jim Yacavone

Published Nov. 12, 2105

Fannin County Commission Chairman Bill Simonds wants the county—meaning you, the taxpayers—to pay his $58,000 legal bill from his failed lawsuit against the post commissioners. So far the county has refused to pay it. 

County to Publish Code of Ordinances—At Long Last

My View by Jim Yacavone

Big news: Fannin County residents will soon be able to view an up-to-date version of the county’s code of ordinances online. Bill Simonds, the chairman of the county commission, and Lynn Doss, the county attorney, recently met with a representative of Municipal Code Corporation to have the county’s ordinances codified and published online as a true code of ordinances.

Who Does The County Attorney Work For?

My View by Jim Yacavone

If you follow the county commission you get the distinct impression that the two post commissioners, Larry Sosebee and Earl John­son, do not entirely trust the county attorney, Lynn Doss, because they are not sure who she works for. Is her cli­ent Commission Chairman Bill Simonds, the Board of Commission­ers as a whole or the three commissioners individually? 

SIMONDS THREATENS TO SUE POST COMMISSIONERS OVER CHARTER CHANGE

COURTS HAVE ALREADY RULED ON ISSUE

Chairman Bill Simonds of the Fannin County Board of Commissioners has threatened to sue the two Post Commissioners, Earl Johnson and Larry Joe Sosebee, over their proposed change to the local legislation (sometimes referred to as the county charter) which would give the entire board rather than Simonds the right to hire and fire department heads.

Simonds will likely lose the lawsuit.

COUNTY ORDINANCES DRAFTED IMPROPERLY SINCE 2007

In 2002 Georgia enacted a law requiring counties to compile and publish a code of ordinances no later than January 1, 2002. O.C.G.A. § 36-80-19 (2014). The law also requires that subsequently enacted ordinances be drafted in the same format as the code of ordinances. Fannin county has routinely violated the law since 2007.

FANNIN COUNTY FAILS TO PUBLISH CODE OF ORDINANCES

COUNTY VIOLATES STATE LAW, INCONVENIENCES CITIZENS

Fannin County has not complied with a 2001 state law that requires it to codify and publish a code of ordinances.

The Coming Storm of Development

COUNTY NEEDS TO PREPARE FOR GROWTH

There’s a tempest coming to Fannin County … or at least a lively squall. And it will cross the boundary between newcomers and old-timers and divide the county into two camps. The dispute will be over progress, commerce and development. If you spent the last 35 years living in Pinellas County on the west coast of Florida across the bay from Tampa as I did you would recognize that the first signs are already here. 

A Coup at the County

POST COMMISSIONERS WANT SAY IN HIRING AND FIRING

There is a minor coup d’état happening at the county commission. The two post commissioners, Earl Johnson and Larry Joe Sosebee, want to horn in on Chairman Bill Simonds’ authority to hire and fire department heads. 

Muzzling Public Comment at Commission Meetings

PROHIBITION AGAINST POLITICAL COMMENTS UNCONSTITUTIONAL

SIMONDS EXPOSES COUNTY TO POSSIBLE LAWSUIT

Fannin County Commission Chairman Bill Simonds has severely limited a citizen’s right to speak at Fannin County Commission meetings by prohibiting “political comments.” While Simonds may have the right to adopt reasonable rules to regulate public comments at Commission meetings, First Amendment attorneys say that it is unconstitutional for him to prohibit political comments but allow other comments.