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The True Citizen, Wednesday, August 31,2022 — Page 3
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I TODAY |
| THURSDAY I
I FRIDAY 1
| SATURDAY |
I SUNDAY
BURKE
COUNTY'S
FIVE-DAY
FORECAST
Mostly Sunny
20% Chance of Showers
Mostly Sunny
30% Chance of Showers
Partly Sunny
50% Chance of Showers
Partly Sunny
60% Chance of Showers
Partly Sunny
40% Chance of Showers
91° 72°
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69°
86169°
Forecast of the National Weather Service
Sheriff wants $12 million for 2023 budget
BEN ROBERTS
benroberts@bellsouth.net
Burke County Sheriff Al-
fonzo Williams is asking the
commissioners for another
increase in funding for his
department.
In a work session on August
16, Williams told commis
sioners he needed $1.2 million
more than what was allotted
last year for the Burke County
Sheriff’s Office (BCSO).
In the six years Williams has
been sheriff, his budget has
increased five times.
According to county finan
cial records, the 2016 budget
the meeting Williams said he
wanted to increase the starting
pay for his staff, make adjust
ments to the current pay scale,
and begin paying a night-shift
bonus as well as educational
supplements for staff that had
or received higher levels of
education.
Williams has suggested his
desire to pay the night shift
and educational bonuses in
the past but this year marks
the first time he’s ever made
the request during a budget
work session. The sheriff has
had the power to set the pay
ranges of his employees since
January but has so far not opted
to actually move forward with
a count that would be sig
nificantly higher than multiple
other counties with higher
populations than Burke.
Williams’ said his request
would also cover new equip
ment needs as well as a lease
the sheriff entered into without
the commission’s knowledge
for additional office space
located at 250 E 6th Street in
Waynesboro.
Williams and the commis
sion continue to discuss the
need for a training center that
includes a firing range and
class room space.
Commissioner Art Lively
noted that Williams had de
tailed his spending plans for the
explain almost $40,000 of
credit card expenses made in
roughly eight months, much
of that for travel expenses for
Williams. An investigation by
The True Citizen found that
approximately $8,800 of that
spending was for travel for
Williams while working as a
paid instructor for the Leaders
Helping Leaders Network.
Williams told commission
ers if he were given sixty to
ninety days, he could devote
staff to retrieving copies of all
the receipts.
“I’m so sick of it,” he said, “I
want to put it to rest.” Adding,
“We have not done [anything]
wrong.”
WHAT’S NEXT?
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{fifttjr mum. In in bun?/ fmnui?
Thursday, Sept. 1
Burke County Retired Educators Association will meet at 3
p.m. at Burke County Senior Citizens Center.
Tuesday, Sept. 6
The Burke County public Library is hosting adult bingo from
10-11 a.m.
Friday, Sept. 9
The Burke County Library is hosting an outdoor scavenger
hunt to include popsicles and more from 3-4:30 p.m.
for the BCSO/detention center
was $5,053,373. In 2022, that
number jumped to $9,708,117,
an increase of 92-percent since
Williams was elected.
The county manager’s office
has recommended an increase
in the 2023 budget to $10.9
million. The sheriff’s request
would put that total at $12 mil
lion from the county’s General
Lund for 2023.
Williams’ request to county
officials did not include spe
cific line item needs but during
instituting those raises despite
having multiple position open
ings in his office to help cover
those costs.
To justify his need for the
increases, Williams compared
the starting salaries of his of
ficers with those of larger, met
ropolitan areas in the CSRA.
He did not provide numbers
comparing his salaries to other
comparable size communities
with a similar population.
Williams said his office cur
rently had 130 employees,
2023 fiscal year but he had yet
to fully explain his spending of
over $200,000 of grant funds
his office received in late 2021.
“When are we going to figure
that out,” Lively asked.
Williams said he had been in
discussions with the county’s
independent auditor who has
been asked by county officials
to produce a final report ex
amining Williams’ spending of
those grant funds.
Williams has claimed he did
not retain receipts that would
Roberts/Wingate Take Golf Classic
The team of Chad Roberts
and Jon Wingate won the 30th
Annual Rotary Golf Classic.
The 2-day Lauderdale format
was held at Waynesboro Coun
try Club.
Roberts and Wingate shot
117 (27 under par) winning
by two shots over three other
teams.
The purpose of the Classic
is to raise funds for various
projects. “Our Club contin
ues to support local programs,
provide scholarships, leader
ship training for youth, Polio
eradication, literacy, Alzheim
er’s research, and other Ro
tary initiatives, Clifford Lewis,
Tournament Chairman, said.
“With the help of our sponsors,
participants, and volunteers,
this tournament continues to be
successful and our Rotary Club
wants to thank them.”
The 30th Annual Rotary Classic Championship Winners, Jon
Wingate (Left) and Chad Roberts (Right) celebrate their victory
with Tournament Chairman, Clifford Lewis (Center).
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Editor:
Sheriff Williams' recently
appeared before commission
ers to defend his request for
a $1.2 million increase in his
2023 budget. He defended
the request by stating that he
deserved more than a 10%
share of the overall county
budget because some of the
surrounding counties budget
more than 10% for their sher
iff’s departments. This lame
argument flies out the window
when one considers the present
size of Burke County govern
ment and shows no sincerity
on Williams' part in budgetary
matters. I suppose he thinks
that commissioners who have
been overly generous to him in
the past will overlook the fact
that he now oversees one of
the most expensive operations
in the state.
Williams has proven himself
to be untrustworthy with his
recent handling of designated
grant monies. The scandal that
he created with his question
able spending of these public
funds reeks of malfeasance to
many of us that are not taken
in by his rhetoric and outright
lies during dramatic news
conferences. I hope that our
county commissioners have
the fortitude to do their duty in
holding this man accountable
with a thorough investigation
of how these funds have been
misused and, if necessary, call
in the appropriate agencies to
assist with the investigation if
any criminality is discovered.
So far we know from what
few records he has made avail
able that half of this money
was not used for its designated
purpose. It has also been dis
covered that he charged travel
expenses for consulting work
that he does on the side to his
departmental bank account
which he took upon himself to
create. There is certainly an ap
pearance of public funds being
used for personal gain with his
side business.
The question which begs
to be asked by reasonable
people, especially commis
sioners, is how Williams can
divert $450,000 of grant mon
ies, which were designated
to offset expenses for adding
several temporary deputies,
into a personal slush fund to
finance his lavish travel junkets
and contributions to celebrity
charities if he is so strapped
for operating funds. There is
an important revelation in all
this that I hope does not escape
the attention of commissioners
when they decide the fate of
his budget request. We now
know that he has a minimum
of $450,000 of slush money
built into his budget.
Property owners are reel
ing from recent assessment
increases on their homes which
will result in a hidden tax in
crease if commissioners fail to
offset the increased valuations
with a millage rate reduc
tion. In the near future Burke
County will begin to experi
ence once again a sharp reduc
tion to its utility digest which
will be irreversible due to the
magnitude of depreciation on
Vogtle units three and four. As
a result more of the burden for
financing our bloated county
government will once again
shift from Plant Vogtle to the
private property owner. All
eyes should be focused on our
county commissioners as they
move forward in the budgeting
process. They have the power
to soften the coming blow by
trimming the fat from depart
mental budgets and throwing
out ridiculous budget requests.
Bill Hargrove
County finance director Mi
chael Wiseman confirmed that
he and the auditor did meet
with Williams last Thursday,
August 25, to discuss questions
about the grant expenditures.
Wiseman said he expects the
auditors’ report in the coming
weeks.
Williams was also scheduled
to meet with the commission
ers yesterday (August 30) to
discuss what he called “serious
issues” at the county’s deten
tion center.
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■ ■ ■ ■ CROSSWORD ■ ■ ■ ■
n
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D
0.
31st August
ACROSS
1 Food Network
host, often
5 Dispatched a
dragon
9 The punch in
planter’s punch
12Shoshonean
Indians
16 Locale in the
game of Clue
17 Falafel holder
18 Candle holder,
at times
19 Southwest
African
20 Livy’s bear
21 Peggy and
Stephen
22 Mimics
23 Bestselling
author Johansen
24 Handle loss
magnanimously
27 Free taste at the
bakery
29 African antelope
30 Place for a
pedicure
31 Injured pup
sound
32 Attractive
35 Ross and
Rachel’s baby
38 Astro ender
41 I believe: Lat.
42 Building design
ers’ group: abbr.
45 Vast age
46 “Ta- -Boom-
Deay” (Gay
Nineties hit)
48 Fireplace shelf
49 List of invest
ments
52 Vegas area,
with “The”
53 “Right now!”
acronym
55 Raises
56 Ocean ship
58 Crude metal
60“ Hero” (1983
film)
63 Author Beattie
64 Tiny life form
68“ You Glad
You’re You?”
70 Asian holidays
74 Drop off
75 Most dashing
79 Island chain
80 Auberjonois or
Enriquez
81 Iowa Indian
82 "American
Beauty” director
Mendes
83 renewal
85 Dry: prefix
87 Weapon for
Athos
89 Challenging time
91 Community
theater mainstay
93 Refrain syllables
95 Games orga
nizers: abbr.
96 Blackman’s role
in “Goldfinger”
99 Caribbean
capital
105 Baseball slugger
Moises
106 Pillage
108 Patriarch of the
West
109 Rain heavily
110 Pablo’s uncles
111 Controversial
birds of the
Northwest
112 Before long
113 Equal
114 Anglo-Saxon
peon
115 Society page
word
116 Pair below jacks
117 Talk back to
DOWN
1 Fish found on
the breakfast
table
2 Krishna
3 “Born Free”
heroine
4 Lost energy
5 Young plant
6 Song, in Stutt
gart
7 Greek letters
8 Hornets' cousins
9 Deep in thought
10 Stringed instru
ment, for short
11 Like a pie-eating
contest winner
12 Trivial
13 Painter’s cloth,
for short
14 Marlene’s costar
in “The Blue
Angel”
15 MS. accompani
ment
18 Rolo’s middle
25 In first place
26 Cockney aspira
tion
28 Provide support
for
32 They’re in favor
33 Grammy winner
McEntire
34 Easily sailed
36 Me, to Miss Piggy
37 Years, to Pedro
39 Schoolmistress,
of old
40 Pennsylvania’s
only lake port
41 Half a dance
43 Sloping type:
abbr.
44 Alternative to
corn rows
47 Month to pay
the IRS
SOMidianite prince
51 Robertson of the
NBA
52Capitol Hill VIP
54 Cut of steak
57 Makes trimming
59 Richard or
Tommy
61 Painting and
dance, e.g.
62 Princess played
by Carrie
64 Ides mo.
65 Goat with
curved horns
66 Candy
67 Actual being
69 Lom’s “Mysteri
ous Island” role
71 Exile island
72 Gadwall’s relative
73 “ City” (Bruce
Willis film)
76 Idea lacking
substance
77 Spotted cats
78 Henry Vlll’s
royal house
84 Cooking direc
tions
86 Skiff accessory
88 Audience
90 Develops in the
orchard
92 Honeydew, e.g.
94 Irish hero, for
short
96 Fortress’s weak
spot
97 Baba and others
98 Diving bird
99 Racetrack’s
inside lane
100 Best-rated
101 Current with
102 Chevy model
103 What a
prompter
provides
104 Coastal birds
107 Be in debt
ANSWERS ON 12