The City of Mulberry held its first regular city council meeting, where council members voted to elect an Interim Mayor and Interim Mayor Pro Tempore Tuesday night.
Council members from four of the five districts within the city gathered to vote. District 5 representative Doug Ingram had not yet been confirmed as the winner of the runoff election between himself and Michele Sims, which was also held Tuesday. However, both he and Sims attended the meeting as spectators, according to District 2 representative Michael Coker.
During the meeting, Coker was appointed as Interim Mayor while District Four representative Michael Rudnick was named Interim Mayor Pro Tempore. Coker explained the council’s proposal to appoint the temporary positions prior to having certified results for the District 5 runoff race.
“We will appoint an interim mayor and an interim Mayor Pro Tempore until the district five position is certified,” Coker said during the meeting. “And what that will allow us to do is that will allow the interim mayor to begin the negotiations with the service delivery providers, which are set to begin on January 1 [2025]. And then, once the District 5 seat is certified, we will all five sit, and we will vote on the mayor.”
The council was initially supposed to appoint the permanent positions during a tentatively scheduled meeting on Nov. 12, however, that meeting was canceled due to questions of the council’s ability to make the appointments without a fifth representative.
During the public comment portion, some residents expressed criticism over the first meeting taking place despite the vacant seat. One resident, Angelina Pazaino, highlighted that because the runoff was the same night as the first meeting, the council should have considered waiting another week until all representatives were certified.
“I'm really frustrated about how this council has handled the election for the interim Mayor and Mayor Pro Tempore because it feels like District 5 has just been shut out,” Pazaino said. “We don't have a representative yet, and the polls close in 20 minutes, and yet, here we have this election. I know [it was] said in the past that this is because we need an interim mayor for the lawsuits, but this just feels like a deliberate move to leave us out, and it's unacceptable.”
Another resident also expressed concern that the council is set to vote on the city ordinances at midnight on Jan.1, 2025, however, it was clarified that officials will hold an initial read of the proposed ordinances on December 17 during the council’s next regular meeting.
“The reason for that vote will be that the city will be in effect at midnight on January 1, 2025,” Coker said during the meeting. “There is a chance that the city will be in effect, and there will be no laws in the city at that time, and so to protect the residents of this city…there will be a meeting at midnight for the second reading and the voting of those ordinances for them to go into effect.”
Mulberry is currently facing a lawsuit filed by Gwinnett County alleging the city’s charter is unconstitutional, as it will not allow officials to levy property taxes. A hearing Wednesday ended with judge Rachelle Carnesale deciding to take the matter under advisment.
