Concerned citizens fill Varnell City Hall during the Q&A session on Wednesday.

VARNELL, Ga. — Officers of the Varnell Police Department were back on patrol and answering calls Thursday afternoon after Mayor Anthony Hulsey vetoed a 3-1 vote by the City Council to dissolve the department.

Hulsey turned in the paperwork to City Clerk Pam Garrison around 2:30 p.m.

The move came two days after council members Andrea Gordy, Mayor Pro Tem David Owens and Jan Pourquoi voted to dissolve the department, and less than 24 hours after Hulsey held a “Q&A” session before a standing-room-only crowd at City Hall on Wednesday afternoon. Council member Ashlee Godfrey voted against the move. Hulsey typically only votes in the case of a tie but spoke out against the measure on Tuesday.

The police department could face being dissolved again as the council members could vote to override Hulsey’s veto. The next scheduled council meeting is July 25, and Hulsey said Wednesday the meeting will be at 7 p.m. at the Varnell Gym. A “Save Our Varnell PD” rally organized by resident Jon Owen tonight at City Hall was canceled.

Owens and Pourquoi said they intend to vote to override Hulsey’s veto. Gordy did not immediately return a phone message Thursday evening.

“My position has not changed as of yet,” Pourquoi said. “My position has been the same all along. I am a fiscal conservative and always have been. For me, it is a matter of generating maximum bang for the buck.”

Owens agreed.

“I think the mayor had the right to execute a veto, but it hasn’t changed my opinion where the city is and I intend to vote the same way again,” Owens said. “A lot of people have called me. There are two sides to every coin. I’ve gotten comments from both sides. The support for terminating (the department) has far outweighed the negativism. Most of the negative people don’t want to hear my position. They want to call names and say nasty, uppity things. They don’t want to hear the other side.”

Both Owens and Pourquoi said the debate is about whether Varnell, with fewer than 2,000 residents, needs a police force with four full-time officers and six part-time officers. The budget of the force for salaries and expenses is $307,000 for 2017.

“The debate has been simmering for years,” Pourquoi said. “My sense is that there is a silent majority out there that agrees with my point of view. I have had a lot of positive reactions. Nobody is happy people are losing their jobs, but at the end of the day I have to watch over the people’s money. And I am a diehard fiscal conservative.”

The council members voted to dissolve the department following the reinstatement of Chief Lyle Grant by Hulsey. Grant had been on paid administrative leave following his handling of a domestic call on June 13 at former councilman Sheldon Fowler’s residence during which Fowler called his stepdaughters vulgar names and “poked” officers in the chest with his finger, according to an incident report. In that report, Grant wrote that “officers were tolerant of his behavior because of his position on the Varnell City Council.” Fowler later resigned from the council. 

Wednesday’s nearly two-hour session at City Hall was part civics lesson, part public venting and a major show of support for the police department.

There were calls from some in the crowd for the beginning of a recall effort of the three council members who voted to dissolve the department, questions about the residency status of Gordy and shouted comments questioning the citizen status of Pourquoi. Pourquoi is a native of Belgium but is a naturalized U.S. citizen. Gordy’s fiance lives in Rocky Face, but she says she maintains a residence in Varnell, and City Manager Mike Brown said her residency status has been addressed by the council and no action has been taken against her.

Others said they plan to run for spots on the council, including former state representative Tom Dickson, who said if Hulsey doesn’t run for re-election as mayor, he will run for the position. Hulsey said on Tuesday he hasn’t made up his mind whether he will run for re-election this year. 

Three council seats — those of Godfrey, Pourquoi and the seat for the remaining two years of Fowler’s term — along with the mayor’s position will be on the November ballot. Qualifying will be in August. Gordy and Owens are not up for re-election and have two years remaining in their terms.

Hulsey, Godfrey and City Attorney Terry Miller spoke to the crowd with Hulsey choking up during his opening remarks about how he was “blindsided” by the action and as he talked about the officers and their families. He acknowledged his veto will do no good if the citizens don’t put pressure on the council members. 

“I encourage every one of you guys and gals to be there (at the council meeting),” he said. “Bring your neighbor. Bring whoever you can bring, especially if you are a city resident. Be there. Express your concerns. Ask them questions. Because in the political limelight, you guys put us in office as your voice. And we work for you.”

Godfrey said the suddenness of the vote took her by surprise. 

“I do not believe the community has been considered in this matter,” Godfrey said to the crowd, reading a prepared statement. “Because if they had, we would have done our homework as needed in advance, brought this matter to the citizens and presented the basis and results (as) to why it would be a true benefit. And none of that was done.”

Gordy, Owens and Pourquoi were not at Wednesday’s Q&A session.

A statement posted under Hulsey’s name on the Varnell Police Department Facebook page Thursday morning indicated the strong feelings that the matter has brought about for some residents.

“It has come to my attention that some City Council members have received threats and are in fear of retaliation,” Hulsey wrote. “The purpose of the session (Wednesday) was to answer questions and provide what information I had in regards to what happened and why the police department was dissolved so quickly. You, as citizens, have the right to voice your opinion and to get answers from the people you put in office. I ask that you please treat these people with respect and voice your concerns and ask your questions in a civil manner. I realize a lot of you are upset with the actions and how it went about. I again ask that you please allow yourself to settle down before asking questions.”

Another post on the department’s Facebook page called for those angered by the decision to remain “civil.” 

“The mayor has informed us … certain City Council members have been receiving threats … ,” the post said. “This (is) both illegal and improper. Please be civil in your interactions with elected officials. By all means make your voices heard. Threats however cannot be tolerated.”