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Come together: Jobs, crime on agenda as governments seek common ground

Albany Herald - 3/10/2021

Mar. 10—ALBANY — When Albany, Dougherty County and the Dougherty School Board members get together on Thursday, whether in person or virtually, it may be something unprecedented.

"Never," was the assessment of former Albany City Commission member Henry Mathis, who will serve as the facilitator for the session, set for 10 a.m., as to the last time the three entities have met to discuss common issues.

Several Dougherty County Commission members and Albany City Commission members have committed to attend in person at the Robert Cross Community Center or via telephone, as have some school board members.

The number of presenters and officials who can gather in person has been limited to 25 due to COVID-19 restrictions.

County Commissioner Victor Edwards said he and fellow Dougherty Commissioner Clinton Johnson started discussing the possibility of such a session in December of last year.

The five agenda items for the program are gang violence, youth opportunity work programs, nuisance properties, economic development and sidewalks for east Albany.

Edwards said he also is unaware of a meeting at which all three boards participated jointly in the past.

"It's really what we're calling the first annual listening session between elected officials," said Edwards, who added he would like for the meetings to occur perhaps twice per year. "It's never happened before. The main focus is we're always hearing from the community (asking) why the city, county and school board never have a meeting. That's what started me on this."

The idea is not to point fingers, but to come together to find common ground, he said. All of the issues on the agenda are of particular interest to minority communities, as well as the community at large.

Gang violence, which exploded last year in the community, may be a phenomenon going on around the state, but that's not an excuse for local officials to throw up their hands, the commissioner said.

"That's the attitude we have now: If something is happening everywhere else, then that's OK," Edwards said. "So we give it a pass and we don't have to (address it)."

City Commissioner Chad Warbington said he is excited for the opportunity and will attend in-person.

"I think it's great," he said. "Any time the city, the county, the school board can work on common opportunities is good. Hopefully, we'll leave with a good direction going forward.

"Those are things we all need to be focused on. Economic development, jobs, public safety ... ought to be the top priorities for all of us."

Bringing members together from the different boards also has been a priority for Mathis.

"That has been one of my goals, to bring elected officials together," he said. "They've never been there together as one. I expanded it to a couple of commissioners, and they thought it was a good idea and it took off from there."

The main purpose of the first meeting, which Mathis also said he hopes will be followed by others, is to give participants an opportunity to listen and lay the groundwork for working together in the future.

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