GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — The City of Mulberry doesn’t exist yet, but its newly elected city council is already creating controversy. Its members want to have an emergency meeting on Tuesday to elect a mayor and hire a lawyer.
Voters approved the City of Mulberry last spring and elected most of its city council last week. Now, the not-yet city sets its sights on a court hearing next month.
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Michael Coker won an election last week to become a city councilman in the not-quite-yet City of Mulberry.
"We have to do this," Coker said on Facebook.
Mulberry will be incorporated in January, but the city council is ready to meet now. And Coker posted that it needs to be ready for a court hearing challenging the city’s existence.
"If we do not have an attorney set up that is ready to defend us, Gwinnett County will be able to step into court, say whatever they want, and us as the citizens will have no answer and no ability to respond," Coker said.
Gwinnett County sued to stop the formation of the City of Mulberry. It sued the state, which will have lawyers in court defending against the suit.
The state allowed voters to decide whether they wanted the new city, which they ratified this past spring.
But Michele Sims, a city council candidate in a runoff next month, said the new city council can’t call a meeting yet – even if they think it’s an emergency.
"If they call a meeting as soon as certifications occur tomorrow, it is a violation of the notice requirement of the Georgia Open Meetings Act. It’s also a violation of the charter because there is no clear emergency," said Sims, who opposed the cityhood.
Sims is in a runoff for a seat on the Mulberry City council against Doug Ingram. The council seeks to convene its first meeting before voters decide the runoff next month.
Ingram sent a statement to 11Alive News saying in part: "Despite ongoing legal challenges... the council-elect is acting within the city charter to ensure fair representation for Mulberry. I stand firmly with the City of Mulberry and our citizens' right to exist as an independent city."
Sims thinks a premature city council meeting would violate state law – sending a lousy message to voters.
"Absolutely lousy. Before you’ve even taken office, to take unlawful action? Sends a horrible message to the residents of our community," Sims said.
State Rep. Chuck Efstration (R-Dacula), who sponsored the Mulberry legislation, told 11Alive News that the city charter allows council members to conduct business prior to the city's formal incorporation in January.