Franklin City Council sets dates for upcoming Special Elections

Pictured above at Wednesday’s Franklin City Council meeting (L-R): City Attorney David Mecklin, Council members Bo Almond, Cindy Putzek, Kevin Hayes, Cliff Jiles, and Alane Bradfield

(Franklin, Ga) — The Franklin City Council held its March meeting Wednesday evening and determined the road forward in replacing the late Mayor Joel Rogers.

Acting Mayor and councilman Kevin Hayes led the meeting and the council unanimously approved the dates and times for two special elections on May 19, 2020.

Hayes announced that he will be running for Mayor during the special election and will therefore be resigning from his Post 3 Council position prior to the qualifying period which begins April 13, 2020. Hayes’ resignation means the Post 3 Council position will also need to be filled.

The qualifying period will take place at Franklin City Hall under the supervision of City Elections Supervisor Karen Boyd and will last from 12:00 PM on April 13 through 12:00 PM on April 16.

Although taking place the same day as the General Primary and other local elections, the election and early voting for the these two special City of Franklin elections will take place by paper ballot at city hall.

Due to time constraints and state law, the election was unable to be held in conjunction with the General Primary. Early voting would take place for three weeks prior to election day on May 19, 2020.

If either race features only one qualifier, the election will not need to be held for that position. The terms of office for both elected positions will expire at the end of 2021.

The council also designated council member Cindy Putzek as the new mayor Pro Tem while Hayes is acting as Mayor. Councilman Cliff Jiles motioned for Putzek to be Pro Tem and the second was by Councilman Bo Almond before a unanimous 4-0 vote. Putzek abstained from that vote.

In other business, the council approved the write-off of some uncollectable Property Taxes and Inventory Taxes and agreed to move forward with inventory of some surplus items to be auctioned off at a later date.

The council also approved classifying Saturday, June 27 as a ‘Special Event’ for SummerFEST on the square.

During public comments, resident Charles Israel commended the council on doing a good job and asked that they look into the possibility of adding a crosswalk somewhere between Newnan Street and the Three Rivers facility for those trying to access the walking trail.