In October, Barrow County resident Alecia Behlog filed legal action against the county for alleged violations of the Georgia Open Meetings Act.
The claims stemmed from a meeting in July when Behlog claims a “vague cost reimbursement” item was added to the agenda right before approval. That item ended up being the county’s divestment from the School Resource Officer (SRO) program beginning in the 2026-2027 fiscal year.
Since then, the county has filed a response and a hearing was set for Dec. 8 at 2 p.m.
However, on Tuesday the county filed a motion to dismiss the matter altogether.
“[Behlog] filed a Petition for Mandamus Relief … premised upon an array of grievances, anecdotal incidents, and perceived slights which she contends entitle her to mandamus relief against all of the members of Barrow County’s Board of Commissioners…,” the filing read.
The county said a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim should be granted when it seems the plaintiff will not be entitled to relief.
They also claim a writ of mandamus can compel specific official duties from a public official, but not a general course of conduct.
Behlog filed a response to the county a day later on Wednesday.
“Respondent’s Answer minimizes, mischaracterizes, or omits key facts that demonstrate a persistent pattern of noncompliance and obstruction, which necessitates judicial intervention,” the filing read.
Behlog also submitted new evidence to the court, claiming that Barrow County Manager Srikanth Yamala never responded to her request for guidance on submitting a complaint about the July meeting.
She also submitted emails that were open records requested, showing that the Barrow Board of Education tried to schedule public joint meetings for discussing SRO funding and that the commission “repeatedly refused, delayed, or cancelled these meetings.”
In an email on June 25 from Yamala to Barrow County Superintendent Dallas LeDuff he said that the commission “will not have a quorum for tomorrow so it’s not fair for the BOE to release a meeting notice when they are not available at such short notice” in response to a request for a joint meeting.
Behlog’s rebuttal also claims that the July 8 meeting is voidable and “must be redone in full compliance with statutory requirements.”
Behlog also responded to the county’s motion to dismiss on Wednesday, saying there is no other remedy other than a writ of mandamus.
She says the county claims she should have complained to the Attorney General or used a county ethics process. Behlog rebutted, saying that the AG can not void an unlawful vote or compel a redo and that the county “has no functional or accessible ethics complaint process.”
For now, the hearing on Dec. 8 at 2 p.m. is still set to proceed with Piedmont Superior Court Judge Andy Crawford presiding.
The post Barrow Co. motions to dismiss legal action filed by citizen, hearing still set to proceed appeared first on AccessWdun.
