Columbus, Georgia

EXCERPTS OF THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF

THE TAXICAB COMMISSION OF COLUMBUS, GEORGIA

July 6, 2005





MEMBERS PRESENT:



Chairman Wallace Archie, Mr. James E. Brooks, Jr., Mr. David G. Cassell,

Mr. Bob Kidd, Mr. James Nash, Mr. Mark Oropeza and Ms. Diane Quick.





MEMBERS ABSENT:



Lt. Julius Ross and Mr. Lorenzo Landrum.





VISITORS:



Mr. Travis White

Mr. Donald Whitley of Gold Star Cab Company

Ms. Chorine Arnold of All American Cab Company





The meeting of the Taxicab Commission was held in the Ground Floor

Conference Room of the Government Center, Columbus, Georgia. Chairman Archie

noted that a quorum was present and called the meeting to order at 3:10 p.m.



Chairman Archie noted that Mr. Travis White, a taxi driver for Yellow Cab

Company is listed on today?s Agenda to request that his taxicab permit be

reinstated. A letter from Mr. Travis White explaining his reason for appearing

before the Commission, along with a letter from Ms. Sherri D. Carmack from Sun

Trust Bank was submitted to each member of the Commission for their perusal.



Chairman Archie then asked Mr. White if he had anything else to add other

than what was submitted in his letter.



Mr. White said he doesn?t feel like he should be penalized for something

that he didn?t do.



Mr. Archie said he agrees with Mr. White that he shouldn?t be penalized

for what he didn?t do. He said you asked in a portion of your statement that

the Commission reinstate your permit; however, we don?t have the authority to

do that. He told Mr. White the only people that can reinstate his taxicab

permit are those who took his permit or those refusing to give it to you.



He said he believes that the only people or person, who can clear this up,

is the person who imposed it. He said whoever said that this is part of your

record; then it is up to that person to remove it. He said it is just like a

court of appeal, if a Judge gives a sentence, the only one who can overturn

that sentence is a Judge. He said this Commission doesn?t have the authority;

however, we can recommend whatever the Commission sees fit, but it would have

to go to the Council. He said when we get through with it, and then the Council

will do whatever they deem necessary.



Mr. White said he went back to Judge Turner and he gave him a letter that

came from the GBI and in the letter it states that once a charge has been

placed, it cannot be removed.



Mr. Brooks then asked, if what they are saying, is that if he is

wrongfully accused of doing something, is that part of his record.



Mr. White said that is what the letter says.



Mr. Brooks said the first thing that everybody should see is a statement

from someone saying that you were wrongfully accused. He said there are many

things that concerns him about this and then, asked Mr. White if he had this

information with him on the day he went to renew his taxicab permit.



Mr. White said he didn?t know that this was going to affect him when he

went to go and renew his permit.



Several minutes of discussion continued on this matter, with members of

the Commission expressing their views regarding this subject.



Mr. Brooks said if an officer wrongly accuses somebody or makes a mistake,

that officer can?t undo it, but it would have to go to the Council who is less

informed about the situation than the officer who made the move in the

beginning.



Mr. Nash asked, what is the false accusation here?



Mr. Brooks said that he wrote bad checks.



Ms. Quick said that Mr. White?s checks were stolen by his cousin?s

boyfriend, whom he was living with and he chose not to press charges; thinking

that this person was going to go and make good on those checks. She said Mr.

White then moved out of town and later came back to town and found out that the

individual did not pay the checks; and the charges had already been made

against him.



Mr. Nash said what Mr. White is asking us to do, is something that he

didn?t do himself. He said he chose not to turn the individual in that stole

his checkbook, and that was his prerogative, but that would have righted that

situation. He said by choosing not to implicate his cousin?s boyfriend, he put

the burden on himself.



Mr. White then responded to questions of the Commission. He said he did

not press charges against the individual. Several minutes of discussion

continued on this matter with members of the Commission expressing their views

on this matter.



In response to a question of the Commission, Clerk of Council Washington,

who was taking the minutes of this meeting, pointed out that Mr. White did come

before the Council regarding this matter and that he was referred back to the

Taxicab Commission.



Mr. Cassell then said the Commission?s job is to determine whether or not

we make the recommendation that his permit be reinstated or not, to which Clerk

of Council Washington said that is correct.



Mr. Cassell said based on what he sees here and what he has heard, it is

his recommendation that Mr. White be allowed to drive or that his license be

reinstated.



Mr. Brooks said he would recommend that we go ahead and vote on this

matter.



Mr. Cassell said this particular incident suggests that Mr. White?s permit

not be renewed because of something that he believes is supported by the bank

that he didn?t do; therefore, his recommendation would be that

Mr. White?s permit be renewed. He said the intent of the law was to keep

criminals from driving our taxicabs and he doesn?t think that is the situation

here.



He then made a motion that we recommend to the City Council that Mr.

White?s permit be renewed. Seconded by Diane Quick.



Mr. Nash said he will vote to renew the license, but said he sees nowhere

in the information that Mr. White submitted to us that the checkbook was

stolen. He said to him that?s not proof that he had nothing to do with it.

He said he doesn?t want to hurt Mr. White?s livelihood or hurt him, but he

thinks that with this vote, we are setting a precedent as far as doing that.

He said there is nothing concrete to say what happened in that particular

situation and he doesn?t see where anything in that letter that indicates that

he had nothing to do with it, and can?t nobody said that it did; but said he

will vote to have his license renewed.



Ms. Quick asked Mr. White if he has a copy of the Police report or could

he get one. Mr. White said he went down to the Police Department several times

and made several attempts to get a copy, and every time they told him that they

couldn?t find a copy of the report, but said he did make a report.



Mr. White said his bank notified the Police Department and at that time,

they said they had a report and when all this was over and he went down to get

a copy of that report, they told him that they couldn?t find it.



Mr. Cassell then said he would like to amend his motion to state that he

would recommend that we renew his permit based on confirmation of these facts

and details that they prove out true; basically that would be the fees for the

back checks, relative to your checkbook being stolen, as stated here and that

you have paid those monies.



Chairman Archie then asked for a clarification on Mr. Cassell?s amendment

to the motion.



Mr. Cassell said he would amend his motion to state that we will make a

recommendation to renew his permit pending these details that Mr. White

presented to us today are confirmed that this is true.



After further discussion on this matter, and Mr. White responding to

further questions of members of the Commission and them wondering how long will

it take for them to get this information back, Clerk of Council Washington said

she would provide this information to Lt. Ross and relay the wishes of the

Commission to him. She said she would ask Lt. Ross to confirm this information

that was provided by Mr. White and once she receives this information back from

Lt. Ross, she would provide a copy to the Commission members.



The question was then called on Mr. Cassell?s motion to recommend that Mr.

White?s license be reinstated pending the outcome of Lt. Ross? investigation,

which carried unanimously by those seven members present for this meeting.



Ms. Quick told Mr. White that once Lt. Ross checked this information out,

do the background search and make sure everything is in order and then you can

go back before the Council and they will vote on the Commission?s

recommendation.



Clerk of Council Washington said once she receives the information back

from Lt. Ross, she will call Mr. White to let him know what day it will be on

the Agenda.





Tiny B. Washington, CMC

Clerk of Council