FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Forsyth County recently broke ground on a new 40-acre, $134,250,000 administration building, where future government meetings will be held. The problem is that under state law, county commissioners aren't legally allowed to vote there.
An old provision of the Georgia Constitution requires all official government business to be conducted in the county seat, and the new administration building isn't within the city limits of Cumming.
"We had one bid, no budget, the voters didn't get to vote on it, and ding ding, ding ding, your board of commissioners can't even vote in it," Commissioner Cindy Mills said.
Mills, who chose not to seek re-election after 2024, opposed the building plan that was proposed at their Jan. 9 meeting. She took issue with the removal of a mental health crisis center that was included in the original proposal and pushed back on added "amenities" like a multi-million dollar fitness facility, rooftop patio, and personal balconies. The board did agree to remove a proposed doggy daycare addition.
“We're not supposed to be a Fortune 500 company where we're sitting there with our six-figure salary , and we're smoking our cigars out on the balcony,” Mills said. "They don't want to stand on their verandas and look at the mental health facility; that's the problem."
At that January meeting, the county manager confirmed Carroll Daniel Construction was the only contractor to submit a bid, but said a market analysis determined the bid's pricing was competitive.
Commissioners Mills and Levant voted against approving the plan then and there but were out-voted 3-2. The county moved forward and purchased the land, emphasizing the need for a larger, consolidated space for multiple facets of county business.
Dusting off an old Georgia law
But at the next commissioners meeting, Mills made public that she'd become aware of one big problem: a section of the Georgia Constitution that requires all county business be conducted in the county seat. The new facility, which would house the commissioners' new meeting spaces, is not in the county seat.
At the meeting, Mills said she'd only just learned about the provision.
"I just find it very irresponsible that y'all knew this was occurring, and you agreed and voted to spend $114 million on a facility on land that we don't even have the right to vote in," she said at the meeting.
Commissioners Laura Semanson, Todd Levent, and Kerry Hill objected, saying it was the first they were hearing of it, too. Chairman Alfred John indicated he thought it was already common knowledge.
"We were advised by the previous county manager that there was an issue with the county seat being outside the city limits, and I remember this being probably late 21 or early 22," John said at the meeting. "I remember asking, 'Have all the commissioners been apprized?' and I was told, yes. I have now become keenly aware that there was some misrepresentation to our board."
The board members insisted they were never made aware.
"The fact that we pulled a vote on this building, knowing this law exists, I can’t even describe that," Levent said. "Embarrassing is what it is.”
County spokesperson Russel Brown confirmed the county is still moving forward with the building, which is projected to open in the spring of 2026, saying the building will house critical business operations beyond county commissioner meetings.
When the current administration building was built in 1996, the population of Forsyth County was around 68,000. Now, the county is home to more than 260,000 residents. Foreseeing the need for a larger administrative facility, the county started saving for the new building in 2019.
Finding a workaround
Brown said the county is working to come up with a solution to the county seat issue, which may include attempting to change the state law.
“It's a pretty archaic ruling that the state of Georgia has which goes back to the days of horse and buggy," he said. “That could be changed by the time that building opens."
Crisis management attorney Jessico Cino, who is not involved in the project, says that's no small feat.
"This isn't making a small tweak to an existing law," she said. "This is a constitutional provision, so that is a massive undertaking. It requires a lot of lobbying, a groundswell of voter support. That's a statewide referendum, we're talking pure legislative action to change this."
Brown said they're also exploring the possibility that commissioners could drive from the new administration back to the old one to take official votes.
"The board does still have the availability, since this building will be utilized by the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office, to come back and make those votes here," Brown said.
The buildings are about four miles apart, a drive that takes just under 10 minutes without traffic.
Cino said even that option comes with its own concerns.
"Setting aside the logistics of having everybody travel back in for a vote and let's say there's a car accident and now you're on county time, et cetera, there's also the issue of open records," she said.
"These proceedings are supposed to be open for the public. If you're moving to a new location for votes, making sure all of that remains could be a logistical nightmare. If something is lost in the shuffle, that then becomes a legal problem in terms of open records laws."
A local referendum or amending the county's bylaws could be an option, but city council would need to vote to approve that. Mills worries that could result in needing to annex the property.
"In Forsyth County, annexations are a big, big deal, and people get very angry about annexations," she said. "But they would have to annex from Freedom Parkway all the way back to the City of Cumming."
Forsyth County isn't the only one
Brown said that whatever the solution, the county will not operate outside the law, pointing out they’re not the first to encounter this issue.
“To be frank, there are some other municipalities in Georgia that are working outside of those regulations currently," he said.
Georgia's County Association (ACCG) confirmed to 11Alive Investigates it is aware of three other counties that meet outside their county seat: Houston, Habersham, and Bryan. A spokesperson for ACCG noted it is "not knowledgeable of what kind of business is conducted during those meetings e.g., voting, workshops, etc."
A spokesperson for the Houston County attorney's office said in a statement, "local legislation enacted in 1993 permits Houston County to meet in the City of Perry the first Tuesday of the month and then in the City of Warner Robins the third Tuesday of the month."
Aaron Kappler, the county attorney for Bryan County, said a state law (HB1210) was passed in 2010 that authorized the Bryan County Board of Commissioners to “prescribe by resolution, from time to time, the time, place, and dates of regular meetings.”
The Bryan County Board of Commissioners adopted that resolution in July 2010.
"Pursuant to that authority, the Board of Commissioners meets, on a rotating basis, in Pembroke, Georgia and Richmond Hill, Georgia," Kappler said.
Habersham County leaders did not return repeated request for official comment. However, Habersham Commissioner Jimmy Tench confirmed that the board has been meeting and voting outside of the county seat. He said he's attempted to voice the concern numerous times to the board and county leaders, but said so far no action has been taken.
Cino said if any counties are operating outside the law, they may be opening themselves up to adverse legal action.
"You could foresee a scenario where a concerned citizen brings this up as a problem and tries to potentially, whether or not they actually can is another story, but potentially nullify certain votes," she said. "So something needs to be done."
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