The city of Augusta must halt its search for a new fire chief until its representatives abide by the open records laws in a ruling issued by Superior Court Judge Jesse Stone Wednesday.
The ruling issues an injunction in the matter of The Augusta Press et.al. v. The City of Augusta.
The Augusta Press, along with The Augusta Chronicle and television stations WJBF and WRDW, petitioned the court for an injunction to prevent commissioners from voting on the current finalist for Augusta’s fire chief, Antonio Burden, until the city provides documents on the other four people who interviewed for the position.
MORE: Local Media Seek Injunction to Obtain Fire Chief Hiring Documents
According to Stone’s order, the city may not move forward to select Antonio Burden as fire chief until the court-ordered conditions are met. The city has three days to deliver all relevant documents to the press and public. Then, they must wait 14 days before voting on a finalist for fire chief position.
According to plaintiff’s attorney David Hudson, the city barred the public from knowing the identities of the four finalists who were offered interviews for the position by ignoring repeated media requests and therefore deprived the citizens of knowing who were vying for the important position of fire chief.
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Judge Stone issued the following statement in his court order:
“Plaintiff’s and the public would suffer irreparable harm if the Defendant is not required to make the requested disclosures. Otherwise, the public will have no meaningful input into selection of the City’s next Fire Chief.”
It continues:
“Without information, the citizenry cannot engage in effective discourse with their representatives about making this important decision.”
Hudson says that the verdict is a major win for the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the Constitution of the state of Georgia.
“I’m pleased for the public because the court has strengthened their ability to exercise oversight over what their elected officials are doing,” Hudson said.
This particular case was admitted by both sides to be a precedent in Georgia open records case law. Stone’s ruling appears to be the first of its kind in Georgia case law.
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“No other local government in Georgia has tried to evade the statute as this city tried, so this case certainly represents a precedent,” Hudson says.
At least one Augusta commissioner is pleased with the verdict. Tenth District Commissioner John Clarke has been outspoken in saying that the process was flawed from the beginning and says he is getting tired of the city attempting to operate in secrecy.
MORE: News Analysis – The Augusta Fire Chief Position
“If nothing else, this situation has brought to light the ways things should not be done,” Clarke says. “The commission now needs to just follow the law and go forward with proper candidate interviews and be open to the public and get rid of this consensus vote business.”
All other Augusta commissioners declined to comment on the matter or speculate the city’s next move in selecting a new Fire Chief.
The full text of the judges order can be found by clicking HERE.
Debbie Reddin van Tuyll is Editor-in-chief of The Augusta Press. Reach her at debbie@theaugustapress.com.
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