WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — When news broke that Warner Robins Mayor LaRhonda Patrick suspended City Administrator David Corbin for executing a contract without her approval, it stirred some reaction
“We agreed upon that, so all the council, even some of the council, are confused about why this is being done," Councilman Charlie Bibb said
In a December council meeting, Corbin was approved to negotiate a contract to outsource the city's payroll service. Councilman Bibb says a charter gave Corbin special permissions.
"In our charter it states the fact that when there’s time of the essence that needs to be done that he can execute certain orders like that," Bibb said.
The charter does make note of that, but In council agenda minutes, it specifically said once Corbin negotiated, he was to bring it back to mayor and council for approval. That never happened. Instead, he moved forward with a three-year contract with NEOGOV that totaled almost $350,000.
“He has no authority as a purchasing agent. The only purchasing agent for the City of Warner Robins is the mayor," Mayor LaRhonda Patrick said.
With conflicting opinions, we asked the question, "Can financial decisions be made without the mayor's consent?"
According to the city's charter and Mercer law professor David Oedel, they cannot.
"The negotiation needs to go back to the mayor, and the new mayor and the council need to authorize," he said.
The charter states: "The Mayor shall be the chief purchasing agent for the city by whom all purchases or supplies and all contracts therefore shall be made," and that applies to any cost over $10,000.
“I can’t sign anything unless council tells me to," the mayor said
So, no, financial decisions cannot be made without a mayor's consent.
Corbin had no deadline on when he was supposed to bring negotiations back before mayor and council, but Mayor Patrick says they held two meetings prior to his unauthorized signature.
She and the city's lawyers stopped the contract around January 19th, saying the contract with NEOGOV is not legally enforceable, and the company complied with the termination.