Newspaper Page Text
September 30, 2024, The Islander, Page 9
DA's offices
Continued from Page 1
would be $172,771 according to Cam
den County Chief Financial Officer
Nancy Gonzalez.
Currently the DA’s office owes Cam
den $47,666 for the July 2023, May
2024, and June 2024 payroll. This
amount will be paid back with a month
ly deduction of $5,296 for the rest of the
2025 fiscal year.
Boatright told the commission that
86 accusations and 79 indictments had
been filed in Camden to date since Jan
uary 2024 and 2,900 cases are pending.
“The numbers continue to increase
even though we have increased his
(Higgins’s) budget,” Boatright said.
“The other counties’ case loads are as
backed up as we are,” he said.
Since Camden has no state court all
misdemeanors and felonies go to supe
rior court.
Camden has 30 plus misdemeanors
active in superior court, Boatright said.
“There are between 1,400 and 1,500
misdemeanor cases in the DA’s office
currently. It’s up to the DA to bring ac
cusations or indictments.”
Since Higgins took office in 2021 his
annual Camden budget has increased
from $393,325 to $773,145. “Before
Higgins became DA we only adjusted
their annual budget by a few thousand
dollars,” Boatright said. “Now it has in
creased almost $400,000 in four years.”
“The increase is partly based on posi
tion requests based on the case load,”
he said.
Boatright was asked how many
cases have met or passed the statute of
limitations, but he did not know.
Boatright said that Wayne County
also will take on an additional payroll
request. But, he continued, they will
withhold the request until an audit is
done on the personal supplement paid
to Higgins by Wayne County.
Boatright also said Wayne County
wanted to hold the 5% fee collected
from comity and municipal courts for
the victims assistance fund until the
DA’s office is named eligible to receive
these funds.
“His office is eligible as of today,
Sept. 24,” Boatright said.
Boatright said he asked Higgins if
Camden takes on the payroll and ben
efits for the additional employees, will
they be willing to move their retire
ment Camden.
“Higgins said yes,” Boatright told
the commission.
“We should be considering his re
quest for additional employees,”
Boatright continued. “If we don’t there
won’t be anything happening in Superi
or Court. If the attorneys don’t get paid
they won’t show up for work.”
Com. Jim Goodman asked Boatright
if he had a history of the amount of
money available to the DA’s office.
“When you have an office operating
with a surplus then that is expended
and you come up with the amounts of
money in arrears, we now see it’s mon
ey on top of money,” he said.
“The money isn’t being managed
prudently. Taxpayers deserve value for
all the money that the DA has spent,”
Goodman continued.
“In addition to that concern I have
read news reports about major fen-
tanyl cases getting a $5,000 bond when
speeding bonds are much higher,”
Goodman said.
“I have concerns about the perfor
mance of the DA’s office. I wish the DA’s
pay was performance based,” Goodman
said.
Boatright said he did not under
stand the full financial details of the
DA’s office. “I think that’s why Wayne
county requested an audit and I think
the rest of the counties are doing the
same thing.”
Goodman said, ‘We don’t need just
an audit. We need an investigation, a
grand jury investigation or a state eth
ics board investigation. What in the
world is going on with an office that’s
not performing and is asking for more
money on top of unaccounted for mon
ey and when criminal cases are going
unprosecuted?”
“I don’t want to see people languish
ing in jail due to lack of performance
by the DA’s office when we are paying
money to have that done,” Goodman
said.
“All the county attorneys are discuss
ing an audit,” Boatright said. Wayne is
the first to publicly ask for an audit.”
According to Boatright Camden had
2,572 outstanding cases as of Jan. 10,
2024 and that number has increased to
2,800; 150 of those have been accused
or indicted.
On Jan. 10 Glynn had 2,259 out
standing cases; Wayne - 842; Appling
-315; Jeff Davis-216.
Information received through an
open records request from Glynn
County Superior Court showed Glynn
County had 560 unindicted / unaccused
cases from Jan. 1,2024 to Aug. 14,2024
and 288 indicted / accused cases for the
same period.
After two tries on a motion to ap
prove the additional employees, the
commissioners voted to pay for the em
ployees with the caveat to remove the
receptionist in the Glynn County office
after 60 days from the Camden payroll.
This would give the Camden staff
time to negotiate this position since no
one understood why Camden was pay
ing for a staffer in Glynn County.
Com. Goodman voted against the
motion.
Brunswick Coca-Cola Bottling Company
supports KGIB
The Brunswick Coca-
Cola Bottling Company
recently presented Keep
Golden Isles Beautiful
with a $2,500 donation to
further the organization’s
clean, green and beautiful
efforts and projects. The
local facility also regularly
supports KGIB by
supplying event drinks and
printed banners. As a Core
Partner, Brunswick Coca-
Cola Bottling Company
will now sponsor KGIB’s
monthly e-newsletter.
Pictured (L-R): KGIB’s Lea
King-Badyna, Brunswick
Coca-Cola Bottling
Company Sales Center
Manager Lance McLain,
and Heather Riviera.
Old fashioned service, New fashioned products!
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