COVINGTON. Ga. — Newton County commissioners abruptly ended their meeting Tuesday after a sometimes chaotic event in which commissioners refused to take action on agenda items without an attorney present and a state lawmaker defied the chairman's repeated requests to leave the podium for the scheduled start of a legally advertised zoning meeting.

As a result of three commissioners' apparent refusal to approve anything related to zoning, the Board of Commissioners voted 3-2 to deny a typically routine request for an update of a county work program plan required by state law. 

A request for approval of the required plans failed to gain a majority after Commissioner J.C. Henderson said he wanted an attorney from the Jarrard & Davis law firm to be present before he could vote on any zoning matters. 

The Board of Commissioners has employed the law firm for its legal matters since 2016 but is working to establish its own in-house law department to replace it. No one from the law firm was part of the meeting and no explanation was given why one was not present. 

"We have a contract with Jarrard & Davis so Jarrard & Davis should have someone here," Henderson said.

However, County Attorney Megan Martin said later she was dealing with a family health issue and a communication mixup with County Manager Lloyd Kerr led to no one from the law firm being called to replace her.

According to information from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, local governments that wish to impose development impact fees must, by state law, approve a plan that includes a Capital Improvements Element and update their entire Short Term Work Programs annually.

It could not be verified Tuesday night if the action to deny both affected Newton County's impact fee program.

Also at Tuesday's meeting, District 113 State Rep. Sharon Henderson, D-Covington, spoke about her concerns with $10.8 million in federal American Rescue Plan funding not being distributed despite the county having it since May.

Officials, including Kerr, have said the federal government has not given the county final guidelines on how to distribute the money. He also cautioned commissioners about using the money without the guidelines because the federal government could require repayment of any funds improperly spent.

Rep. Henderson, however, said a number of county residents have contacted her about the money, including some who need the funds to avoid evictions.

She criticized Kerr's recent recommendation to hire a consultant to establish the distribution plan because of lack of staff needed to manage such a large sum. 

Rep. Henderson also said she wanted Commissioner Alana Sanders to head up the board's collaborative effort to devise a plan for sending the money to those who need it.

"Let's show our people some love," Rep. Henderson said.

After Banes interrupted her speech repeatedly to tell Rep. Henderson she had to end it because of an advertised 7:30 p.m. public hearing on a zoning matter, she continued to speak. The chairman then called a recess in an attempt to regain control of the meeting and left his seat, leaving Rep. Henderson at the podium.

Afterward, Banes asked Rep. Henderson to come back up and finish her remarks — at which time J.C. Henderson told her he apologized "for the way you've been treated tonight."

Finally, the three Democrat members, J.C. Henderson, Sanders and Demond Mason, voted to adjourn the meeting until an attorney could be present.

The action delayed consideration of requests for purchases of 10 new sheriff's office vehicles and annual renewal of the county's property and casualty insurance policy, among other items.

Tuesday's meeting was the latest in a string of contentious outings for the board this year.

Some commissioners were publicly criticized recently for voting to offer longtime county attorney Martin a six-month contract rather than a standard one-year agreement to become the county's in-house attorney.

Sanders also has publicly denounced Banes and Martin on her official "Commissioner Alana Sanders" Facebook page for not discussing their fears about the county's potential liability from a workout series Sanders has organized in recent months.