Sheriff Wiley Griffin filed a Freedom of Information Request with Decatur County on Wednesday afternoon after reading comments reported by the PSL as made by Commissioner Earl Perry.

Commissioner Perry was quoted in the Post Searchlight "Speaking on Monday, Perry charged Griffin with allowing overtime at his department to grow out of control to the point that three of his deputies grossed more pay than the Sheriff did last year."

To put it mildly, Sheriff Griffin was not pleased.  The Sheriff told us the Freedom of Information request was to unequivocally prove the statement false.  In addition, a 2nd FOI request was made for the tape recording of Monday's budget session made by County Clerk Beverly King.

In a letter to County Administrator Tom Patton from Sheriff Griffin

Pursuant to the Georgia Open Records law (O.C.G.A. 50-18-70 et seq.) (the "Law"), you are hereby requested to make available for review and copying all files, records, and other documents in your possessions that refer, reflect or relate to:

• Gross pay reflected by W-2 forms of any Decatur County employees that exceed $88,328.56 for the calendar year ending 2008 and please include the name and position of those employees
• Gross pay reflected by W-2 forms of all Decatur County Constitutional Officer's employees that exceed $88,328.56 for the calendar year ending 2008 and please include the name and position of those employees
• Gross pay reflected by W-2 forms of any Decatur County employees that exceed $60,000 for the calendar year ending 2008 and please include the name and position of those employees
• Gross pay reflected by W-2 forms of all Decatur County Constitutional Officer's employees that exceed $60,000 for the calendar year ending 2008 and please include the name and position of those employees
• A copy of any emails and/or memoranda that shows I was notified concerning a budget meeting by the County Commissioners that occurred on Monday, June 29, 2009 and referenced in the Bainbridge Post Searchlight Edition of Wednesday, July 01, 2009 and the names of the persons who sent the alleged emails and/or memoranda
• A copy of any emails and/or memoranda that shows which Decatur County Constitutional Officer was notified concerning a budget meeting by the County Commissioners that occurred on Monday, June 29, 2009 and referenced in the Bainbridge Post Searchlight Edition of Wednesday, July 01, 2009 and the names of the person(s) who sent the alleged emails and/or memoranda
• A copy of the most current budget cycle Decatur County Board of Commissioners Employee Job/Pay Report broken down by employee name/salary

In speaking with the Sheriff, he pointed out other problems with the County Commissioner's handling of the budget.  Much of any overtime he has, Sheriff Griffin told us, was due to filling positions for vacation and sick time, now termed by the County as "Personal Time Off".  This has not been accounted for in the budget. 

He also pointed out that over $250,000 of administrative salary had been added to the County budget over the last several years.  This figure does not include the new positions' benefits.

The cost of County benefits is slightly over 50%.  This means for every $10,000 of payroll, benefits cost the county (us, the taxpayers) about $5,000.

Sheriff Griffin also responded to Commissioner Perry's statement that Sheriff Griffin had not responded to the memo (requesting more cuts by departments as noted in our Tuesday article), which had been e-mailed last Tuesday night.

Sheriff Griffin stated he had not received the referenced memo nor had he been notified of the Monday budget work session.  As the Sheriff left for a weeks vacation on Wednesday afternoon, he told us that Commissioners still had not notified him of the budget work session scheduled on Friday, July 10th.

Commissioner Earl Perry was adamant on Wednesday afternoon that he never made the statement that a deputy had made more than the Sheriff.  When asked about the "out of control overtime" comment, Commissioner Perry stated his recollection was that the comment was made by someone else.

How Commissioners Stand
In the budget work sessions and speaking to several to clarify their positions, each and every commissioner has opposed an increase in the millage rate.

Chairman Rich told us on Wednesday, that while opposing an increase, he does not want to cut employees or services to the county.

Commissioner Gary Phillips stated he opposes an increase and wants to make sure every viable cut has been made before any vote to raise the millage rate.  Commissioner Phillips stated the people in his district have been very vocal in wanting their roads fixed.  He stated that at present he is undecided.

Commissioner Charles Stafford has stated that he opposes an increase.  He has also stated that he does not see a possibility of balancing the budget without an increase.

Commissioner Butch Mosely is the only commissioner that has stated he will vote no to a millage increase.

The 2 County Finance Committee members, Commissioners Russell Smith and Earl Perry, have both voiced their opposition to raising the millage rate, but see no hope in avoiding it. 

Commissioner Perry stated on Wednesday afternoon that the committee has diligently worked for many hours over the past month on the budget.  He stated that he feels "all departments have been cut as much as possible without creating employee layoffs or reduction of County services."  At this point he is advocating a millage increase of .57.

A .57 increase would raise property taxes about $30 on $135,000 property.