Overview
- Cohutta’s council voted to bring back all police employees and to issue back pay after the mayor dissolved the department.
- Members also blocked any new firings by the mayor for 30 days to keep the force in place during the transition.
- The town attorney said the dismissals broke the charter, which requires 30 days’ notice before an employee can be removed or suspended.
- The conflict followed officers’ complaints that the former clerk, Pam Shinnick, who is the mayor’s wife, created a hostile workplace and still had access to payroll and resident data.
- The Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office has covered calls while the town restores its local police service.