Walter Reynolds

VALDOSTA — To retreat or not to retreat; that is the question.

“It’s very important, a very important time to get away from distractions,” said Valdosta City Manager Larry Hanson.

“We all have to work, so finding the time to travel together would probably be difficult. And with us spending so much time on city business already, we just don’t think it is worth the time and expense,” said Dalton Mayor Dennis Mock.

The tradition of the government retreat — lawmakers getting away from the usual meeting place for a few days to hammer out business — isn’t upheld everywhere. Some city councils and county commissions hold scheduled getaways; others do not.

Of those which do, some travel out of town, while others keep it close to home.

By state law, all planning retreats — regardless of location — are considered open, public meetings. 

The newspapers in the SunLight Project’s coverage area — Lowndes, Thomas, Colquitt, Tift, Baldwin and Whitfield counties in Georgia — have checked to see what their local governments do — or don’t do — as far as special gatherings to work out the people’s business.

LOWNDES COUNTY/VALDOSTA

For the last five years, the Lowndes County Commission hasn’t strayed far from home in its annual retreats, according to Commission Chairman Bill Slaughter; they’ve all been held within the county. This year’s was held at the Quail Branch Lodge in Lake Park.

“It’s a matter of convenience for those citizens who want to be heard,” he said.

When all of the commissioners gather, there is a quorum, so the retreat counts as an official meeting, Slaughter said.

Typically, the commission holds its retreats in February.

The commission usually gets year-ending audits and reports from all county departments at the retreats, he said.

“We get insight from the reports and department heads that we normally don’t get day-to-day,” he said.

“We even ask judges from the courts to come down” and discuss any needs, Slaughter said.

The retreats don’t cost much since, being held within the county, there are no hotel expenses nor the cost of an overnight meal, he said.

“We usually have one meal, often catered sandwiches,” Slaughter said. “At the end of the day, we all go home.”

The commission budgets $2,000 for the annual retreat, said Paige Dukes, Lowndes County clerk and public information officer.

The City of Valdosta has held retreats since 1988, and has always held them away from home, said Larry Hanson, city manager.

Councilman and former Mayor Sonny Vickers had been to meetings of the National League of Cities and was a proponent of council retreats, Hanson said.

The city budgeted $3,354 for this year’s retreat, he said, which pays for food, meals and rental of a conference room.

While the retreats are held out of town, they’re usually held “within 30 minutes” drive of Valdosta, Hanson said. This year’s retreat was held at the Lenox River Ranch in Cook County in March.

The retreats are usually scheduled sometime from January to March, he said.

A typical retreat lasts for three days — occasionally two for cost-saving — and tackles 10-15 goals of what the city needs to accomplish, Hanson said.

The retreats usually break down into three parts: looking back at the past year’s goals, assessing the city’s present situation and working on future goals, Hanson said.

THOMAS COUNTY/THOMASVILLE

Local governments do not conduct a lot of costly retreats. Instead, they meet in workshops or in informal settings as needed outside regularly scheduled meetings.

The Thomasville City Board of Education conducts half-day retreats, but the meetings have not been held on an annual basis for the past 11 years.

“The retreats have always been held within the district, either at the district office or at one of the schools,” Superintendent Dr. Laine Reichert said.

Snacks and boxed lunches are served, resulting in a maximum $150 food bill.

Reichert said board members are “locked in” with agendas at regular board meetings. Retreats have open-ended agendas and allow board members to brainstorm, she explained.

“You really are able to go into issues and planning that you can’t do in a board meeting,” Reichert said.

In-depth planning sessions are a procedure Reichert considers a luxury.

“I have a hard time justifying it with limited professional learning funds. I hope we can call on local partners to have an off-site retreat with little or no cost,” the superintendent said.

In February, Thomasville City Council conducted a retreat at Lake Blackshear at a cost of $2,371.61. In June, the council conducted a special purpose local option sales tax retreat at city hall at a cost of $221, including breakfast and lunch.

Steve Sykes, Thomasville city manager/utilities superintendent, said the most important feature of a retreat location is it provides sufficient accommodations for the number of participants and comfort, depending on the length of the meeting.

“Half-day retreats may require a smaller space and less comfortable seating than a full-day retreat,” Sykes said. “As a rule, retreats should be conducted locally, not withstanding special circumstances, and retreats should always be advertised and open to the public.”

Retreats, Sykes said, are time set aside to plan and envision and to set annual goals for staff.

Thomasville resident Patricia Ingram said it is sometimes necessary for local government to venture out to gather information and to learn, but the cost should be kept in mind.

“Everything should be done within reason,” she said.

April Waldron, a Thomasville resident, agreed.

“I think they should keep it in town and keep it simple,” Waldron said. “That’s funds that can be used someplace else.”

The Grady County School system does not conduct annual retreats.

“Our board will schedule workshops when there is a topic they want to spend more time on,” said Superintendent Dr. Kermit Gilliard. “In the past year, workshops were scheduled so board members could share information with the whole board about training conferences individual board members had attended or that I had attended.”

Gilliard said workshops give him and the board an opportunity to share information learned during conferences/training sessions and do not take time from business meetings or regular board meetings.

A recent Thomas County Board of Education state-required training session cost $229.80. The session was attended by staff and a facilitator, in addition to the school board.

“It’s an opportunity to review progress of the past year and set goals for the upcoming year,” Superintendent Dr. Dusty Kornegay said, adding budget goals were discussed at the session.

Thomas County Commission Chairman Ken Hickey said work sessions give commissioners more time to discuss things and to try working out problems.

Commissioners conduct a planning session each January.

“We don’t reserve lodging or hire facilitators,” said County Manager Mike Stephenson. “We’ll usually order in sandwiches or salads or go out to eat at a local restaurant if the session runs into the afternoon. The cost is probably less than a couple of hundred dollars.”

At the meetings, commissioners review accomplishments of the past year and identify performance objectives for the upcoming year, the county manager said.

The City of Cairo does not conduct an annual retreat.

City Manager Chris Addleton said, “We do have called workshops, normally around council meetings, where we discuss budget priorities.”

BALDWIN COUNTY/MILLEGEVILLE

Both the Milledgeville City Council and the Baldwin County Board of Commissioners have taken multiple retreats in the last two years. While neither body uses a set timetable to determine the dates of their retreats, both average at least one retreat to discuss city/county business per year.

In the past year, the Baldwin County Commission has met twice, once in September at the Central Georgia Technical College campus, and once in June inside the County Courthouse. At the September meeting, the commission did not pay a fee to rent space inside the college, but did pay $557.84 to a local restaurant, The Local Yolkal, for breakfast, lunch, and two snacks throughout the day.

At the June meeting, commissioners charged $72.76 to local a coffee shop, Blackbird Coffee, for assorted muffins and pastries. In January, the Milledgeville City Council paid $610 to The Lodge on Lake Oconee (in neighboring Putnam County) for a one-night stay for all six council members, Mayor Gary Thrower, and City Manager Barry Jarrett. The city also spent $326.62 for a meal at the nearby Bone Island Grillhouse that same night. 

When asked to comment about the council’s retreat, District 4 Alderman Walter Reynolds said although retreats give the council a chance to discuss city business without distraction, he felt retreats could just as easily be moved inside the city limits.

“Personally I think we could do these retreats really anywhere,” Reynolds said. “It is nice to work in a different space because it definitely puts you in a different state of mind when you’re not looking at the same four walls that you’re used to, and it feels like because you are further away, there are fewer distractions. I definitely see the benefit in taking the retreat elsewhere, but I’d also be fine with doing a retreat right here in Milledgeville/Baldwin County.”

When informed of City Council and the County Commission’s recent retreats, local residents expressed a range of opinions on the necessity of the extra meetings.

“If they’re going to talk about city issues, they should do it here,” Sarah Cannon said. “Instead of spending taxpayers’ money on something like that; they could feed some underprivileged kids, and clothe them, too.”

“On the surface, you’d think it would be a waste of taxpayer money, but it’s hard to say what was achieved by it,” Benjamin Seay said. “If it led to something positive, it’s probably worth the money, but if it’s just a boondoggle then it’s a boondoggle.”

“I don’t think that’s a justified use of city money,” Larry Odom said. “If they wanted to spend money, they could have stayed here in town and put it back into the city.”

Neither the Putnam County Commission nor the Eatonton City Council hold regular retreats. The Baldwin County Board of Education did not respond to inquiries before Thursday afternoon.

TIFT COUNTY/TIFTON

The Tifton City Council holds annual retreats, and has held them both in and outside of the city.

Most often the retreats are scheduled around training conferences which take place annually in Atlanta and Savannah. The council has also held retreats within 10 miles of its regular meeting place. 

Incorporating retreats around conference times does not require any additional rental, lodging, or meal costs. Council usually provides refreshments for local retreats and the costs have ranged from $100 to $400.   

Neither the Tift County Board of Commissioners nor the Tift County Board of Education hold annual retreats.

COLQUITT COUNTY/MOULTRIE

Each month, Colquitt County Commission retreats into a setting away from the public; there is no meal served, no out-of-town travel is involved — in fact it’s held in the board’s meeting room — and the cost is reasonable.

“It’s called our regular monthly meeting,” District 4 Commissioner Al Whittington said, referring to the fact that having a member of the public show up at a board meeting is a rarity.

For the most part, people in attendance are either a staff member or, if any county residents show up, a resident or company with a request such as a zoning matter before the commission or an issue such as a road complaint to bring before the seven-member board.

Whittington, who went to the commission after two decades as Colquitt County sheriff, attended his first retreat earlier this year.

Held at Sundown Farms Plantation inside the county and about seven miles outside Moultrie, the all-day discussion session costs taxpayers $2,837. That included renting the hunting lodge, a meal prepared by plantation staff and a facilitator from the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government.

“I certainly realize the benefits of it,” Whittington said. “It’s an opportunity for people to sit around and discuss the issues at hand.”

Among the topics discussed during the day were how to deal with an aging jail facility, employee retention and whether it was financially viable to continue housing state prison inmates at Colquitt County Correctional Institution.

The facilitator helped steer the conversation and topics on the agenda, he said.

“I think you need someone such as that to keep you moving and to keep you focused,” he said.

The 2015 retreat, also held at Sundown Farms at a cost of $2,560, was the first for commissioners in six years. In 2016 the commission held its retreat at Ashburn Hill Plantation, also in Colquitt County, at a cost of $2,837.

“I don’t see having the thing in Savannah or somewhere like that,” Whittington said. “I think having it right here locally is just better for everybody.”

Were commissioners to ever hold an overnight retreat hours out of town, it’s a likely bet they would have more residents showing up at their regular board meetings to express their opinions on such an expenditure.

During the last three years, the City of Moultrie, Colquitt County’s largest municipality, has racked up exactly $0 in costs for governmental retreats because they have not held any.

Setting aside time for brainstorming is something the council has done in the past, but not for some time, said Mayor Bill McIntosh, who has held that gavel since being first elected in 1983. It has been as many as four years since the last one.

Traditionally, they have been held at one of the quail hunting plantations in the county.

“We have had them in the past and they have been fruitful,” McIntosh said. “I think it would be fruitful to do some long-range planning and see what our problems are and try to address them.”

Some likely topics for discussion include economic ones, such as the stability of the city’s enterprise funds and general budget.

“It’s always good to see what’s on the horizon,” McIntosh said.

The topic of a retreat has been on the council’s agenda recently, and McIntosh expects that it will hold one in one of the first two months of 2018.

The council does have a work session prior to each regular meeting, but those are limited in focus to items coming up on the agenda that night and by time. Those meetings are open to the public but, as is the case with the County Commission meetings, the public doesn’t beat down the door to get into them.

“When you go to meetings, everybody has their own schedule” and engagements planned for afterward, McIntosh said. “If you plan ahead and you know you’re going to be there for the better part of the day, it gives you a little more focus and a better idea of what you want to do.”

During previous governmental retreats, the council used a facilitator and McIntosh said that is a possibility for next year’s session.

“We’ll stay here in the county,” he said. “We’ll be right here in Colquitt County.”

After holding retreats at the Norman Park Assembly campus about 10 miles out of Moultrie in Norman Park in Colquitt County, the Colquitt County Board of Education in 2015 shifted closer to home. Much closer, in fact, as in at its regular meeting digs at board offices.

The last retreat held in Norman Park cost a total of $1,366 for renting space and food.

Four retreats held since then have totaled: March 12, 2015, $92.88; April 9, 2015, $68; March 14, 2016, $125; and March 7, 2017, $117.

The only cost for the school system is for food served during the retreat sessions.

“It does save money,” board member Trudie Hill said of holding the meetings in the home offices. “We always try to be (frugal) with the taxpayers’ money. We’re taking a careful look at that. We’re utilizing modest meals.”

The school board has not used facilitators. Various staff members provide information to the board.

“We have experts right there within our school system,” Hill said.

Schools Superintendent Doug Howell said if there is a facilitator, it’s him, and he’s not making anything extra for those duties.

“We talk,” he said. “About halfway through we have our meal — a working meal.

“We decided we can do just as well and not spend any money (by) having it at our facilities.”

WHITFIELD COUNTY/DALTON

The Whitfield County Commission has traditionally held a retreat each year with department heads in Savannah coinciding with the meeting of the Association of County Commissioners of Gerogia.

But following a public outcry after this year’s retreat about commissioners meeting some 340 miles from the county and about the costs of taking commissioners and department heads to Savannah, commissioners said they are not sure whether they will continue the tradition next year.

“It’s beneficial for us to get together and talk to our department heads,” Commission Chairman Lynn Laughter said. “But we have not decided when, where or if we will do that yet.”

The total cost to taxpayers when the Whitfield County Commission and other county officials traveled to Savannah for this year’s ACCG conference was $18,594, according to receipts and other documents provided by the county.

Hotel rooms and parking at the Savannah Marriott Riverfront made up the largest share of that, about $12,500. Hotel rooms and parking for county staff came to about $7,200, almost 60 percent of total hotel costs. Mileage made up the second largest portion of the costs, some $3,200. Drivers were reimbursed at $0.535 per mile.

Meals, not counting snacks for the retreat/work session the commissioners held, accounted for the third-largest share of the cost, some $1,900.

For the retreat/board work session, commissioners paid $377 for snacks — which also included three gallons of coffee, a dozen and a half brownies, a dozen and a half pastries and a pound of nuts. They paid $451.36 for use of the conference room for two days but ended up cancelling one scheduled work session because of concerns regarding whether it had been properly advertised. They paid $115 for use of a projector and screen.

Members of the Dalton City Council do not hold retreats. With council members holding a work session every other week and a finance committee meeting each month, Mayor Dennis Mock said he does not think it’s necessary to hold a retreat.

Members of the City Council do go to the Georgia Municipal Association meeting in Savannah each year. But they don’t take their department heads with them, and they don’t meet together during the conference.

The total cost to Dalton taxpayers of some City Council members’ trip to Savannah for the Georgia Municipal Association convention last month was $4,018.36 for hotel rooms for four council members, three of whom took family members with them.

The SunLight Project team of journalists who contributed to this report includes Patti Dozier, Terry Richards, Eve Guevara, Natalie Linder, Matt Hamilton and Alan Mauldin. To contact the team, email sunlightproject@gaflnews.com.