‘We are in peril here,’ Burke County sheriff says of finances

WAYNESBORO, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Ahead of a meeting of the Burke County commissioners Tuesday, Sheriff Alfonzo Williams wrote a letter the officials outlining his agency’s financial problems and defending how he’s spent his budget.

Commissioners say the Burke County Sheriff’s Office will run out of money this month. He met last week with two of the commissioners and has come up with some private donations to pay for the raises of staff he recently promoted. He’s also announced federal grants he’s received.

Acceptance of the dominated money is on the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting of the commissioners.

Here’s the letter he sent commissioners ahead of the meeting:

Williams says private citizens raised $22,000 for employee promotions that were put in place a few weeks ago.

Williams promoted 20 employees within the agency on June 27 as part of a restructuring that also includes eliminating some positions through retirements, consolidation of workload, restructuring, state and federal grants, and other methods.

The sheriff says the reorganizational plan would save taxpayers $200,000 in 12 months.

It’s the promoted employees whose extra duties would be covered by donors.

ALSO IN THE NEWS:

• There are new details on the Georgia Bureau of Investigation case involving training records with the Waynesboro Police Department and Burke County Sheriff Alfonzo Williams. The GBI has given the case to district attorney Jared Williams. Authorities in Waynesboro found irregularities in required training records from when Williams allegedly trained officer Gary Jenkins. Williams claimed to have trained him, but entered the wrong dates for that training.

“My office has been approached by a group of citizens who report they have raised enough money to pay the salaries of deputies who aren’t being paid for the additional work and responsibilities they took on after retirements allowed us to restructure the office and eliminate some positions,” Williams wrote in an email to Waldrop. “The citizens are concerned about their safety if deputies are not being paid as promised and it is their desire to fix this situation through the end of this fiscal budget. They are asking that we present this issue to the commission and have the commission adopt a resolution accepting the money. They have a representative who can attend to answer any questions or concerns the commission may have.”

Commissioners say they have told Williams multiple times to cut back on spending, and they say he has not listened.

Agency receives grants

The Burke County Sheriff’s Office said Friday it had received a $100,000 Rural Violent Crime Reduction Initiative Grant.

The funding s a two-year program for a crime analyst position within the agency.

Additionally, the agency announced the Bureau of Justice istration selected the agency to get $50,000 added to the original award of $100,000.

“This additional funding will allow us to protect our citizens from violent crime through enhanced technology and crime-fighting initiatives,” the agency said.

The U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, through Justice & Security Strategies Inc. also announced that it will award the agency a micro-grant for body-worn cameras. This is part of a group of awards being made to 265 small, rural, and tribal law enforcement agencies for body-worn cameras. Burke County will receive $75,000 for funding for the body cameras.

“I am ecstatic that the BJA has seen fit to assist rural agencies that work strategically to combat violence in their communities,” Williams said.

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