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Council fires clerk
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Disturbed by what they said were ongoing issues in the office, Dawsonville city councilmen voted 4-0 on Monday night to fire Kim Cornelison, city administrator and clerk.

  

Councilmen unanimously approved the appointment of Bonnie Warne, city zoning administrator, as an acting clerk until the position is filled with a permanent replacement.

  

Mayor Joe Lane Cox, who was unable to attend Monday night’s scheduled work session and called meeting due to medical reasons, said he could not comment.

  

Also absent was Cornelison, who declined to comment on the matter Tuesday morning.

  

Following the vote, councilman James Grogan said the decision to fire Cornelison “did not come casually.”

  

“It’s come over a period of time, and we felt like we needed to make this decision,” he said.

  

Grogan said the city council had “lost confidence in the things that were going on in that office.”

  

Councilman Calvin Byrd echoed Grogan’s remarks.

  

“That’s what the council decided tonight, and we’re sticking by it,” he said.

  

Cornelison’s termination comes with two weeks of salary per year of service to Dawsonville. She’s been the city clerk since September 2004.

  

Cornelison was elevated from interim clerk in 2004, when the city council chose to replace former clerk Betty Cloer.

  

According to City Attorney Dana Miles, Cornelison could appeal the termination, “but if she did she would give up the severance package that she negotiated with Mayor Cox last week.”

  

As of Tuesday afternoon, requests for personnel records including Cornelison’s salary, had not been filled.