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Saturday, Apr. 11, 2009

Twiggs commissioner wants sales tax probe

Twiggs County Commissioner Tommie Lee Bryant said Friday that he wants an outside investigation of the commission office to be sure that sales tax revenue is being properly handled.

Bryant said he believes other funds have been improperly mingled with proceeds from a special purpose local option sales tax in the county’s bank accounts.

“SPLOST funds are to be kept separate,” he said, accusing county officials of putting more than $150,000 of money from the state Department of Transportation and another $418,669 from a OneGeorgia grant into a SPLOST bank account.

“And there’s another $50,000 and $174,000 that wasn’t SPLOST put in there,” Bryant maintained. “Then the other commissioners approved taking $460,000 out of SPLOST to put in the general fund to pay for land we bought. That’s against state law.”

Commission Chairman Ray Bennett denied that SPLOST money has been mishandled, pointing out that proper checks and balances are in place to be sure the county finances are in order. He said he knew of no ongoing investigations of the county administration.

Other than that, “right now I hate to make a comment,” Bennett said. “But I’m confident that what is true will come out.”

Bennett also offered to arrange a meeting with Telegraph representatives to discuss the issue. That meeting would include himself, the county attorney, accountant and other commissioners, he said.

State Rep. Bubber Epps, D-Dry Branch, a former Twiggs County commissioner, said he and state Sen. Robert Brown met with Twiggs County officials earlier in the year, and that Bryant asked Brown then to have the state investigate the Twiggs commission.

“He expressed his concerns about commingling of funds that did not meet state law,” Epps said.

Epps said Brown asked the Georgia Attorney General’s Office to look into the situation, but he was told by that office that a local investigation should be conducted first.

Brown could not be reached for comment Friday.

Epps and Bryant said there is a history of conflict involving Bryant and other county officials, chiefly Bennett and County Administrator Glenn Barton.

“Bryant says that he has to fill out open records requests to get information from the county administrator, and the administrator will not deal with him directly, but only through the chairman,” Epps said. “Other commissioners do not have to do the same to obtain information.”

But Epps said his wife, Kathryn Epps, who also is a Twiggs County commissioner, also has had difficulties with Barton.

“He’s ordered her out of his office in the past when she’s tried to obtain information,” Epps said.

Bryant said he made a motion at the last commission meeting to terminate Barton, which was seconded by Kathryn Epps, but that none of the other commissioners would act.

Barton said Friday evening that he stopped communicating with Bryant directly only after Bryant accused him of lying and stealing. Barton said he doesn’t require Bryant to submit open records requests. He said Bryant files them to obtain additional copies of information about the county’s SPLOST records that have already been supplied to him in the past.

“(Bryant) asks for the same thing over and over. He just keeps digging to try to find something he can take to a grand jury or to the commissioners to get me fired,” Barton said. “The commissioners have spent over $5,000 to have the auditor and attorney look through our records to be sure we are doing everything correctly. They say we are, but he won’t be satisfied.”

Barton said Bryant has been against him since he was hired eight years ago because Barton insists county offices be run legally and efficiently.

“I tell the commissioners the hard truths they don’t always want to hear,” he said.

As for his dispute with Kathryn Epps, Barton said he did ask her to leave his office when she accused him of lying. She was seeking information about a personnel matter, and Barton told her he was not at liberty to discuss it.

“I didn’t order her to leave. I asked her to leave, and when she wouldn’t, I did,” he said.

Bryant said he intends to ask federal prosecutors in Macon to investigate the commission office because some of the money in question is provided by the federal government.

“I want an outside investigation so everyone can see what’s going on,” he said.

Bubber Epps said he knows of no investigation that has shown sales tax money is being mishandled in Twiggs County.

“I’m trying to stay out of local arguments,” he said. “But if I can do something to help build unity, I will. I think good leadership is there. They just have to pull in one accord and not have these fragments if Twiggs County is to continue to grow.”

To contact writer Chuck Thompson, call 923-6199, extension 235.