A court ordered members of a county’s Board of Commissioners to make repairs to a road in McIntosh County. The petitioners sought mandamus to compel the commissioners to repair the road because, they say, the commissioners had a non-discretionary duty to maintain the road.
The commissioners argued that they had discretion over whether to repair the road because (i) the repair costs would exceed the budget and (ii) the repairs would require acquisition of rights-of-way. But court disagreed because, until the road is abandoned, the County had a duty to maintain it. And while precedent granted the Board discretion as to the priority to give the road maintenance among other projects, the Board could not abdicate its duty altogether.
Accordingly, the appellate court affirmed the grant of mandamus to the petitioners.
Stevens v. Bluff Holdings, LLC, — Ga. App. –, A24A1342, 2024 WL 5197863 (Dec. 23, 2024).
