Fulton County Commissioner Marvin Arrington Jr. apologized for using profanity during a meeting on June 18, but his fellow commissioners still fined him $500 and issued a letter of reprimand.
“I guess I’ll first start off by apologizing for using the word that I used at the last meeting,” Arrington said during the commissioners’ July 9 meeting.
Arrington questioned during the July meeting whether another commissioner violated rules during the previous meeting by interrupting him before the chairman permitted that commissioner to speak.
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Later in the July 9 meeting, Arrington said he believes the Fulton County Code section under which he was fined was unconstitutional.
“You can’t serve as the judge and the jury, but you certainly can’t serve as the prosecutor, judge, and jury,” Arrington said. “And as such, I believe it is unconstitutional, and all of the actions are unconstitutional. I’ll be filing a petition for judicial review.”
The issue of decorum came up during a discussion at the June 18 meeting on extending an existing contract for the operation and maintenance service for wastewater facilities and pump stations in the North Fulton Service Area.
Commission Chairman Robb Pitts added a discussion-only item about the fairness and impact of rebidding contracts after a bid protest was included. A protest over the contract’s bid award had forced the county to rebid the contract.
Arrington asked to discuss and consider separately the contract extension and the discussion on the fairness of rebidding contracts agenda items. Pitts disagreed and ruled that it was unnecessary because the items would have separate votes.
Commissioner Bob Ellis and others called for a point of order, with Ellis asking if they could call for separating the agenda items when one was a non-voting item. The fairness of rebidding was only a topic for discussion.
At that point, Arrington interrupted, and he uttered a profanity. Other commissioners immediately called for a vote on a violation of the decorum ordinance.
Under Fulton County Code Sec. 101-68(a)(5): Use of obscene or profane language is prohibited and shall constitute a breach of decorum.
The decorum violation vote passed 5-0.
