State Rep. Rhonda Taylor blasts Rockdale BOC for requesting GA governor to veto SB238

“I am appalled that the BOC would pen a letter to the Governor asking him to veto SB238 without any communication with the citizens and without a public vote that could be witnessed and recorded.”  –State Rep. Rhonda Taylor 

ROCKDALE COUNTY, GA—Rockdale County leaders and constituents are at war over a bill that is now awaiting Gov. Brian Kemp’s signature. 

JaNice VanNess, the newly-elected chair of the Rockdale Board of Commissioners, veteran Commissioner Doreen Williams and newly-elected Commissioner Tuwanya Smith are under fire for sending a letter requesting that the governor veto SB238. The bill paves the way for voters to decide in a special referendum this November whether  to expand the Board of Commissioners from 3 to 5 members and hire a county manager to oversee the day-to-day operations of Rockdale government. 

The BOC’s letter to the governor became public this week after Corliss Turner, who heads the watchdog group called Voices for Rockdale, obtained a copy of the letter from Rockdale County government through Georgia’s open record laws. Turner posted the copy on social media, sparking an outcry from angry residents demanding to know why they were not informed of the board’s actions. Turner said she learned of the letter while attending the Board of Commissioners’ retreat where the board and stakeholders discussed goals and updates. 

Chair VanNess provided a statement to On Common Ground News on Thursday, May 1, after a 90-minute meeting where several other matters were discussed. 

VanNess said during the meeting that the BOC wasn’t obligated to disclose that it had sent a letter to the governor asking him to veto the bill. VanNess also said that the board’s action did not violate Georgia’s Sunshine Law since a staff director in her administration had obtained authorization for the letter from all three board members independently of one another. 

Rep. Rhonda Taylor condemned the board’s actions. 

“I am appalled that the BOC would pen a letter to the Governor asking him to veto SB238 without any communication with the citizens and without a public vote that could be witnessed and recorded,” Taylor stated. 

“What the BOC has done is suppressed the citizens’ vote and their voice by trying to block the measure from being on the ballot.  And further, they have disrespected the process. They do not have the authority to run the county and the state; that is much like the position of the chair currently serving in the capacity of both the executive and legislative branches. It is a conflict.”

Taylor said that she has worked for years on several proposed versions of legislation that would change Rockdale’s form of government in response to Rockdale constituents who asked for the changes. Taylor said Rockdale legislators ended up with SB238, which would expand the BOC from 3 to 5 members and separate the powers of the BOC chair, who currently oversees both, the executive and legislative branches. Under the bill, the board would hire a county manager to oversee the day-to-day operations. 

“When I first introduced a bill 3 years ago to expand the Rockdale County Board of Commissioners (BOC), bring in a county manager and create an ethics board, it was a response to the will of the citizens. 

I have continuously filed the bill every year thereafter as I worked to secure support from the other state legislators who comprise the Rockdale delegation.

SB238 finally was passed during this year’s Legislative Session, Taylor said. With the approval, Taylor  reached out to the three BOC members to let them know

that she had filed the legal notice concerning bill, authored by Tonya Anderson. Taylor said she forwarded a copy of the legal notice to all three BOC members.

“I received responses from Commissioner Smith and Commissioner Williams. Chair VanNess never responded so I filed the notice and forwarded a copy to all three of the BOC members. That is when the Chair reached out for a meeting, to which I obliged,” said Rep. Taylor. “We met in her office and upon discussion of a host of things—including the bill—she asked for a year to “prove herself.” I explained that the matter was not regarding proving one’s self. It was a matter of operating in good faith.” 

Taylor said that she was referring to a promise VanNess had made before she was elected last November. She said that VanNess had contacted her to share that she planned to run for BOC chair in the November 2024 election and would support Rockdale citizens’ desires to expand the board and hire a county manager. 

“In that conversation, I asked her about the BOC expansion bill and her exact words were ‘I don’t have a problem with it. I am not in it for the money.’ Now, that she has won the election, I see an about face,” Taylor told On Common Ground News on Friday (May 2).

Currently, the BOC’s annual salaries are as follows:

Chair JaNice VanNess – $158,459.08

Commissioner Doreen Williams – $43,971.72

Commissioner Tuwanya Smith – $40,843.40

Christopher L. Causey (Commissioner Smith’s assistant) $79,898.78 / Full-Time

Catrena Carter (Commissioner Williams’ Assistant) $81,957.98 / Full-Time

Tina Dawson (shared duties with Chair VanNess and COO Sue Sanders) $45,593.60 / Full-Time 

The salaries represent the resolution the previous administration voted for in February 2024 and became effective January 2025, said Corliss Turner, founder of the Voices for Rockdale watchdog group.   

Turner said that on Feb. 5, 2025 members of the group met with newly-elected Commissioner Tuwanya Smith and two top county directors to discuss rescinding the raises. 

“I said ‘Can you at least wait until next year(2026)?’ The citizens are already struggling. I begged them,” said Turner. “They said no, the resolution cannot be amended. They said that would have to be done before qualifying in an election year.”

Meanwhile, language for the special referendum ballot question is already written in SB238.  The question would appear this way:

 ( ) YES

( ) NO

Shall the Act be approved that expands the Rockdale County Board of Commissioners to five members and provides for a county manager form of government?”

All persons desiring to vote for approval of the Act shall vote “Yes,” and all persons desiring to vote for rejection of the Act shall vote “No.” 

In order for the measure to pass, it must be approved by more than 50 percent of the votes cast.  

Lawmakers said the governor has has three options concerning the bill: He can sign the bill by May 14; veto the bill; or not sign the bill and it automatically becomes law, paving the way for voters to decide whether to adopt the measure and move forward.

Elections would be held to expand the board by two members in 2026 and those elected would take office in 2027, when a search for a county manager would be conducted by the five-member board.  

Rockdale County Chair JaNice VanNess responds to controversy over veto letter sent to governor