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County may change rules governing agenda content By JON WILCOX jon@appenmedia.com FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Forsyth County commissioners are targeting an operating loophole that allowed a former county manager to send lobbyists to Washington D.C. to seek guidance on how federal COVID-19 funding could be spent. The current policy allows the county manager to add items to a commission meetings’ consent agenda, which is normally approved as a block of measures with no discussion. Usually, items on the consent agenda have already been discussed and unanimously agreed upon in commission work sessions. The Board of Commissioners discussed the potential rule change at a Feb. 25 work session during a presentation about the County Administration Campus. Under construction since March 2024, the $114-million campus is about 2 miles northeast of Cumming on Freedom Parkway. Commissioners said former County Manager Kevin Tanner added an item to the Sept. 2, 2021, regular meeting agenda to send lobbying firm McGuireWoods to Washington. The firm, which was paid through the county manager’s discretionary fund, was to determine how the county could spend $30 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds. In total, the county paid $38,000 to McGuireWoods. County Commissioner Laura Semanson said the McGuireWoods item was placed on the agenda “without our knowledge.” Fellow Commissioner Todd Levent said new items should be identified at the start of meetings.
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The $114-million County Administration Campus now under construction is expected to be completed in 2026. The campus on Freedom Parkway lies outside the Cumming city limits. County officials said the building will provide offices for 17 departments and serve as a one-stop location for services. “We need to change that rule,” Levent said. Tanner resigned as county manager in 2022 to head the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities. Responding to the accusations March 3, Tanner said that he had followed the
Board of Commissioners’ policy. At the beginning of every meeting, commissioners review and vote to approve the agenda. They also may decide to add or remove any items. “Every item on the agenda was properly presented, voted upon and approved in accordance with Forsyth County’s
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policies and procedures,” he said. A whole health building, which would have housed a mental health center to provide a host of services, was to be located at the County Administration Campus on Freedom Parkway.
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