Albany City Commissioner Jalen Johnson on the verge of missing maximum number of meetings allowed

ALBANY — Albany Ward II City Commissioner Jalen Johnson would appear to be skating on thin ice for his future on the commission after missing the last four regular commission meetings.

The first-term commissioner, who faces removal if he is absent from the January meeting, said he intends to attend that meeting and that he remains responsible to constituents, even though his work schedule has kept him out of town for extended periods.

The city’s charter states: “Absence from five consecutive regular meetings, whether excused or unexcused, shall operate to vacate the office of a commissioner unless said cumulative absence is excused by the commission by resolution setting forth the reason therefor and entered upon the minutes of the board.”

That means  commissioners would have to make a decision were Johnson to fail to make the January meeting, Commissioner Chad Warbington said. The commissioner said his understanding is that the missed meetings have been due to Johnson’s job.

“There’s been some chatter,” he said. “Jalen’s missed a lot of meetings.”

Commissioners also have discussed the issue of virtual attendance of meetings, the Ward IV commissioner said.

During the COVID-19 state of emergency, rules were relaxed to allow for elected officials to attend meetings online. During the worst of the pandemic, all meetings for the city and Dougherty County were conducted via the internet.

There was some confusion, with there being local, state and federal declarations of emergency that were ended at different times, Warbington said, but all of the commissioners are on the same page since Gov. Brian Kemp’s instructions that elected officials are only allowed to attend two meetings virtually during a calendar year, as determined by state law.

“As far as Commissioner Johnson is concerned, he’s still within the guidelines with the meetings he’s missed,” Warbington said. “He still lives in Albany. Hopefully he’s going to get back on board in January.

“The charter is pretty clear. Come January or February, if Commissioner Jonson continues to miss meetings because  of his work schedule, we’ll have some decisions to make.”

Former Ward II Commissioner Henry Mathis has brought the issue of Johnson’s absences up in recent weeks. He was scheduled to be at a December commission meeting but had a work conflict, but he plans to be at the Jan. 7 meeting.

Including the several work sessions held each month and the regular meeting held monthly, Johnson has missed more than 20 of the total of 39 meetings, Mathis said.

“Every one of these meetings is important,” he said. “That’s 22 times he has missed discussions on issues. For the residents of Ward II, we do not have a voice. We’ve had a leadership vacuum for a long time.”

Former Ward II Commissioner Bobby Coleman said residents have been calling him for assistance.

“People are calling me, and I don’t know the answer,” said Coleman, who was on the commission from 2014 through 2017 and ran unsuccessfully against Johnson in 2021. “The people are upset, I can tell you.

“He won, and I congratulated him. But you’re talking about taxation without representation, that’s what’s going on.”

When contacted, Johnson said that he does intend to be at the January meeting. During the conversation, the commissioner said he would not give additional comments and that he would issue a statement.

In the statement, he said: “We all have different full-time jobs and varying work schedules. As the city commission is a part-time role, missed meetings are sometimes inevitable. We’ve also had a few meetings rescheduled, which has caused conflicts.

“However, I’ve remained committed to staying responsive to the community’s needs, and I have made sure to monitor all meetings virtually. I look forward to seeing everyone at the commission meeting in January.”

Former Ward III commission member B.J. Fletcher, who is a friend of Johnson’s, said she supports him and thinks Johnson should hold a public meeting in early 2025 with constituents.

“I’m hearing rumors,” she said. “You can tell the public we’ll get to the bottom of it and to the truth of it. The (people) of Ward II deserve answers and a good commissioner. I stand beside him.

“You can tell Ward II I’m going to encourage Commissioner Johnson to put together a (meeting) and they can get answers to their questions.”