Commissioners fight Burke County sheriff’s push to seal court battle
WAYNESBORO, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - We’ve got an update on the Burke County sheriff’s intent to sue county commissioners.
The Board of Commissioners has now responded to Alfonzo Williams’ request to have court records and hearings sealed from the public.
This is connected to his intent to ask a judge to order commissioners to give him full control of the sheriff’s budget.
In their response, commissioners say Williams didn’t comply with all the requirements needed to ask for the case to be sealed.
It’s still up to a judge to decide whether the media or anyone can attend these court hearings.
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Commissioners’ response comes a few days after they got notice Williams was filing a writ of mandamus against them.
Because of the sensitive nature of the proceedings, Williams asks in a May 18 filing in Burke County Superior Court that the matter be sealed from the public. He asked that any hearings be held only in the presence of the involved parties and their attorneys.
The budget battle goes back years, with commissioners saying he needs to spend within his means and Williams saying he needs the funding to do his job.
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Before filing the lawsuit, Williams had appealed to Gov. Brian Kemp to intervene on his behalf.
That came after commissioners voted to table funding for inmate housing costs and declined to allocate school speed camera funds toward the purchase of body cameras for detention officers.
This has been a yearslong battle we’ve continued to follow since 2021.
READ THE MAY 18 FILING:
In January, the sheriff sent a letter to county commissioners asking that they provide an attorney for his office to file a civil suit against them.
The sheriff is asked for this to be paid out of the county’s general fund and not his budget
Commissioners responded to the sheriff’s threats, saying his office is properly funded.
Later that month, commissioners follow through with suing the county.
And now he’s following through on that threat.
It’s not the first time he has sued over the budget. He filed a writ of mandamus back in 2021, but lost that case.
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