WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — Disorder, confusion, ambiguities, and inefficiencies -- that's how some people are describing Warner Robins city government after a University of Georgia report took a critical look at the city charter.
Representative Heath Clark says he and other legislators have heard for years about "confusion and inefficiencies" plaguing Warner Robins city government.
Mayor Randy Toms said he's not sure if he's in favor of changing the charter, but he would like to see some things clarified.
"I don't think anybody has a real understanding of where their swim lanes are, if you will. Because of the confusion in a lot of the charter issues, I think that those lanes don't get adhered to very well," said Toms.
Clark said a lot of things make Warner Robins different from similar-sized cities in Georgia, including the fact that it could not clearly be classified as a "strong mayor" or "strong council" form of government.
Council member Keith Lauritsen said it used to be a strong mayor form of government until temporary ordinances were passed a few years ago.
"Right now, it's really more of a strong council because four votes on council right now can do just about anything," he said.
Toms and Lauritsen agree they should look into bringing in a city administrator. The council approved the position back in 2017, but it was never filled due to disagreements about who would appoint them.
"I've said for the last six years now that I'm not opposed to some form of a city administrator, but I
have other ways that I think we can accomplish that same thing. I do think
that where the lines get kind of blurry is that I don’t think anybody the
city administrator or any department director needs to answer to seven people," Lauritsen said.
Lauritsen said it will take time to find solutions to the problems in the charter. "What we're looking at now is do you move away from a purely strong mayor or a strong council and just try to find somewhere in the middle and I think that's the solution."
Toms agrees.
"It's a start of a process. I mean, anybody that thinks this can and should be done or should and can be done within the next couple of months or for that matter within the next year, I think that's unrealistic."
Lauritsen also suggested putting together a group of citizens to come up with ideas about how they'd like to change the charter.
He said brighter days are ahead for Warner Robins and fixing the charter will have a lot to do with that.
Rep. Clark said after Tuesday's council election, city officials and the public should begin meeting about charter changes and live-streaming those meetings.
13WMAZ also reached out to the eight candidates running for city council asking what their thoughts are in voting to change the charter.
Candidates Jon Nichols, Eric Langston, Charlie Bibb, Incumbent Tim Thomas, Incumbent Larry Curtis, Kevin Lashley, Miranda Britt and Stephen Baughier all responded saying they want to look into changes to that charter if it is, in fact, creating "disorder and confusion" like the report states.
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