Sheriff had nearly $400,000 left in his 2017 budget when he sued the Board of Commissioners
News March 18, 2018
Sheriff Jeff Johnson
DAWSONVILLE, Ga. – Dawson County officials say they do not understand why Sheriff Jeff Johnson sued the Board of Commissioners for a bigger slice of the 2018 budget when he had nearly $400,000 left in the 2017 budget he failed to spend.
District 2 Commissioner Chris Gaines said, “He actually had about $500,000 left in the budget while we were going through the court hearing. But he reimbursed his staff for accrued leave that was left unpaid at the end of 2016.”
Johnson sued the county in Superior Court, claiming the Board of Commissioners abused their discretion by not providing enough funding for him to adequately perform his responsibilities as sheriff in 2018.
Senior Superior Court Judge Fred A. Bishop ruled in favor of the county, stating, “(Commissioners) exercised their discretion in a reasonable fashion. They have honored their obligation to do so giving all due consideration to the needs of the sheriff and to the entire fiscal picture of Dawson County and its citizens, of which the sheriff’s duties are a key part – but not the only part.”
Commissioner Chris Gaines
An end-of-year financial report obtained from Finance Director Vickie Neikirk Friday showed Johnson had $397,319.58 remaining on Dec. 31. That is more than enough to pay for the new computer aided dispatch (CAD) system the sheriff wanted and to pay his staff for their accrued leave time, which went unpaid for nearly two years. Under the county’s financial protocol, that money must not be returned to the county’s General Fund.
District 2 Commissioner Chris Gaines is one commissioner who said the lawsuit – which cost taxpayers about $20,000 in legal fees – made no sense.
Gaines said he does not know if Johnson was aware he had close to $400,000 left in his 2017 budget. However, he questioned why the sheriff needed more money when he did not spend the money he had.
“My goal is for each department to know what their budget is and use it to provide the best service to citizens they can,” he said.
Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com
One officer demoted four others reprimanded following pre-dawn badminton game
News December 18, 2018
DAWSONVILLE, Ga. – Dawson County Sheriff’s Office Night Patrol Shift Supervisor Donna Bennett has been demoted from sergeant to corporal after she and the entire night patrol shift left the county with no officers on the road last Wednesday to play badminton in a local middle school gym.
Corporal Casey Honea, and Deputies Jacob Champion, Richard Martin and Corey Gearin all received a verbal reprimand for their participation in the pre-dawn departure from duty. The officers reportedly met at the school to conduct a building-clearing exercise.
Johnson said the game lasted only 35 minutes, but a video surveillance camera shows the officers were in the gym from 1:45 a.m. until 3:46 a.m.
The incident is just the latest in a series of incidents that has created negative publicity for the sheriff’s office and caused some elected officials to questioning Johnson’s leadership. Some have quietly discussed finding someone to run against him in the next election.
The negative publicity started during Johnson’s first year in office when he angered county commissioners by filing a $700,000 lawsuit against them seeking additional funding in his budget. Johnson claimed the Board abused its discretion by setting the sheriff’s office budget at $8.4 million.
Senior Superior Court Judge Fred A. Bishop ruled against the sheriff and taxpayers were left to pick up the cost of the lawsuit. At the end of the year Johnson was surprised to learn that he had $400,000 remaining in the budget that he failed spend.
In the last three months, three Dawson County detention officers have been arrested.
In September, Luciano Pablo Betancourt was forced to resign and charged with violation of oath of office after a female inmate alleged she and Betancourt had carried on a sexual relationship.
One week later, detention officer Michael Kormos was arrested in Lumpkin County and charged with simple battery family violence following a weekend domestic dispute with his estranged wife.
On December 2, Richard Anthony was arrested in Cherokee County and charged with battery against his wife.
Fetch Your News attempted to contact Johnson for comment, but he declined to return our call.
Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. FYN attracts 300,000+ page views per month, 3.5 million impressions per month and approximately 15,000 viewers per week on FYNTV.com and up to 60,000 Facebook page reach. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com
Judge Bishop rejects sheriff’s claim that Dawson County Commissioners abused their discretion
News March 16, 2018
Sheriff Jeff Johnson
DAWSONVILLE, Ga. – Senior Superior Court Judge Fred A. Bishop has ruled against Dawson County Sheriff Jeff Johnson in his petition for mandamus against the Dawson County Board of Commissioners.
In ruling against the sheriff, Bishop wrote, “(Commissioners) exercised their discretion in a reasonable fashion. They have honored their obligation to do so giving all due consideration to the needs of the sheriff and to the entire fiscal picture of Dawson County and its citizens, of which the sheriff’s duties are a key part – but not the only part. I conclude there has been no abuse of the Board of Commissioners’ discretion and petitioner has not shown good cause for making mandamus absolute in this case.”
Johnson stated, “Obviously, we are disappointed in the ruling and continue to be concerned for the safety of our community. Our primary argument was and continues to be for additional staff to perform the duties and responsibilities required of this office. Very little in the ruling addressed this primary concern. Ultimately, the court found that the BOC properly exercised their discretion in setting the budget. Regardless of this outcome, we will continue to serve the citizens of Dawson County at our highest level.”
Bishop rejected several of Johnson’s claims. For example, the sheriff testified that he sought to have staff paid for accrued leave lost at the end of 2016. However, when asked on cross examination if he had sufficient funds in the budget to do so, he testified that he did. In fact, it was recently disclosed that at the end of the budget year, Johnson had more than $397,000 left in his budget that he did not spend.
Bishop rejected Johnson’s claim that his request for additional funding was justified by the county’s increased population. Bishop found the best indicator of population trends shows the county has grown by less than 1 percent per year.
While Johnson claimed that crime and arrest figures have increased sharply, the judge noted that the sheriff’s own indicators demonstrate that is not the case. Crime, arrest and activity figures are up and down year by year the judge wrote and the Georgia State Patrol has helped lighten the sheriff’s load considerably by its activity.
In ruling for the county, Bishop wrote, “The Board of Commissioners is charged with management, control and use of all county property, funds and assets in such a manner as to balance a budget, which reasonably provides for all county operations within available funding.”
He added, “The board has assigned the highest priority to public safety, which gets roughly 47 percent of the Dawson County General Fund appropriations, and specifically to the Sheriff’s Office, which was allocated about 29 percent of that budget for 2018.”
Bishop likewise rejected Johnson’s claim that his budget had been cut from the previous year. “The 2018 budget allocation to the sheriff from SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) has increased by $100,000.00, from $500,000 to $600,000.00, and the Capital Fund budget appropriation included $40,000 for an HVAC system upgrade as well as the $260,000 set aside to cover half of what the sheriff requested for a 911 dispatch CAD system,” Bishop wrote.
Finally, the judge found Johnson’s claim that the county refused to meet with him not to be factual.
“The record clearly shows that the Board of Commissioners met with the sheriff on a number of occasions to hear his comments and requests and to hear his attorney speak on his behalf at several meetings,” Bishop explained.
Upon hearing the decision, County Commissioner Chris Gaines said, “I am proud of our team and especially our attorney, Lynn Frey, for his hard work and efforts to properly defend a decision that was made in the best interest of the community. As we have always said, as revenue increases, we look forward to working on meeting the needs of every department.”
Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com
Sheriff asks county to reallocate $397,318.58 remaining in his 2017 budget to 2018
News March 21, 2018
DAWSONVILLE, Ga. — Dawson County Sheriff Jeff Johnson has asked the Board of Commissioners to reallocate $397,318.58 that was left unspent in his 2017 budget to his 2018 budget. County policy dictates that an overage in any departmental budget must be returned to the General Fund.
Johnson sent an email to the Board of Commissioners Tuesday which states: “Lately, there has been much discussion about excessive funds remaining in the S.O. (Sheriff’s Office) 2017 Budget. It has been asserted that these funds may have been applied to a CAD System or other needs. I ask you to simply reallocate those remaining funds to this 2018 budget. Although I cannot say with all certainty that this amount would completely cover the cost of a new CAD System, I believe it would. Remaining funds could be applied to other needs such as SWAT equipment, etc.”
FetchYourNews (FYN) obtained a copy of that email via an open records request. Johnson himself confirms what FYN reported last week: “That he could have purchased the CAD system and had money left over.”
County officials have repeatedly recommended that he allow the county Finance Department and Purchasing Department to assist him. It is a free resource that, to this point, the sheriff has declined to utilize.
Several county officials have questioned whether Johnson knew he had money left in the 2017 budget.
County Manager David Headley said, “We are at a loss to understand why he would not address more of his needs if he did know. It could have been used. He could have used it to fund whatever he wanted. He could have gotten the CAD system and the SWAT equipment.”
Several sources who were present when Johnson addressed a Leadership Dawson class recently said when he was asked how much money remained in his budget his answer was: about $100,000.
On the Sheriff’s Office Facebook page, Johnson advises, “Always consider the source” in reference to a recent FetchYourNews article. That is excellent advice.
The source of the following information is Johnson himself. The sheriff has claimed that a significant population increase has led to an increase in law enforcement activity. However, he provided a report to the county recently that contradicts that claim.
His report shows a decline in citations, traffic stops and arrests over a 10-year period, and more importantly, during his first year in office.
Between 2007 and 2017, citations declined from 2,323 to 914. Traffic stops dropped from 9,254 to 4,473 and arrests declined from 2,273 to 1,494.
Looking only at Johnson’s first year in office, citations dropped significantly from 1,727 in 2016, to 914 last year. Arrests fell from 1,665 to 1,494. Only traffic stops showed an increase from 4,170 in 2016 to 4,473 last year.
Johnson’s claim that the county population has increased significantly, likewise, is not accurate. In rejecting the sheriff’s lawsuit against the county, Senior Superior Court Judge Fred A. Bishop said research shows that Dawson County’s population has only increased by an average of 1 percent per year for the last 10 years.
The first quarter of 2018 will end soon. Hopefully, it is the year in which the sheriff and Board of Commissioners can work out his differences for the sake of all county taxpayers.
Judge rules against sheriff’s lawsuit against county
News March 16, 2018
DAWSONVILLE, Ga. – Senior Superior Court Judge Fred A. Bishop has ruled against Dawson County Sheriff Jeff Johnson in his lawsuit against the Dawson County Board of Commissioners.
Johnson claimed the $8,273,080 budget approved by the commissioners for 2018 is inadequate for him to perform the duties of his office. He requested his budget be set at $8,961,406.
FetchYourNews will have more details as they become available.
Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com
Sheriff’s lawsuit against the county heads to court
News December 27, 2017
County Manager David Headley
DAWSONVILLE, Ga. – The dispute between Dawson County Sheriff Jeff Johnson and the Board of Commissioners over the 2018 budget will move to Senior Superior Court Judge Fred A. Bishop’s courtroom Friday, Jan. 12, at 9:30 a.m.
On Dec. 18, Bishop ordered county commissioners to appear before him to show cause why Johnson’s petition for mandamus “should not be issued as requested and such other relief be granted as the facts of the case may warrant.”
Johnson filed the petition for mandamus claiming the $8,273,080 budget approved by the commissioners for 2018 is inadequate for him to perform the duties of his office. Johnson requested his budget be set at $8,961,406.
Commissioners argue the budget represents a one-year increase of close to $1 million and is the largest increase awarded to any county office in 2018.
In fact, figures released by the county show that the sheriff’s office budget has increased by $2.3 million since 2014. County Manager David Headley said the sheriff’s budget grew by $525,381 in 2015, $348,648 in 2016, $457,632 in 2017 and $985,277 in 2018.
Moreover, a Georgia Department of Community Affairs survey reveals that Dawson County citizens pay more per capita to operate the sheriff’s office and jail than any other county in north Georgia. The survey of 26 counties shows Dawson County citizens pay $273 each, followed by Rabun County where citizens pay $210.
Several county officials have complained the sheriff wastes taxpayer dollars by not following the county’s purchasing policy of awarding bids to the lowest, most competent and qualified bidder.
Headley said the county has repeatedly reached out to the sheriff to offer assistance in matters such as human resources, finance and purchasing, and grants and maintenance.
“We have a well-trained staff and policies in place, which can help with compliance with the law and doing things in the most efficient and economical way,” Headley said. “Our offers have frequently been ignored or declined.”
Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com
Decision on sheriff, county rift continued to Feb. 15
Business January 31, 2018
Judge Fred A. Bishop asked Sheriff Johnson and the county commission to meet again, but if differences can’t be resolved, he will rule on the petition for mandamus by Feb. 15.
DAWSONVILLE, Ga. – The bitter dispute between Dawson County Sheriff Jeff Johnson and the Board of Commissioners will not be resolved until at least Feb 15.
After a two-day hearing in Senior Superior Court Judge Fred A. Bishop’s courtroom, Johnson’s attorney Joey Homans and County Attorney Lynn Frey agreed to have the sheriff and county officials meet again to see if they can resolve their differences.
“It seems to me there ought to be a face-to-face sincere sit down here between the two parties to see if there is some middle ground,” Bishop said. If the two sides do not agree, Bishop said he would render “an appropriate judgment.”
Homans petitioned the court for an order of mandamus to force the county to provide what he calls “a budget sufficient for the sheriff to perform his sworn duties.” In presenting his case Tuesday, Homans accused the county of “abuse of discretion” because commissioners made cuts to the sheriff’s proposed 2018 budget.
Homans rested his case Wednesday morning. Frey then made an opening statement before calling his only witnesses — Chief Financial Officer Vickie Neikirk and Board of Commissioners Chairman Billy Thurmond.
Frey began by stating the sheriff received 29 percent of all available funds in the 2018 budget. He also said Johnson got the largest increase of all general fund budgets and did not receive a cut in the previous year’s budget as Johnson has claimed.
Neikirk confirmed Johnson did receive an increase in his 2018 budget and that he received an increase in every line item but one. She also pointed out that the county’s tax revenue today is considerably lower than it was in 2008, before the recession, when it was about $12 million.
Thurmond testified that funds are tight. It cost the county $1 million to implement an across-the-board salary increase for county employees to address serious retention problems, he said. He also said the county was informed that it would cost an additional $300,000 to insure employees in 2018. Asked why the county didn’t approve the sheriff’s proposed budget, he said, “There wasn’t enough revenue.”
Asked about the positions that are frozen within the sheriff’s office, Thurmond said the sheriff has the authority, as a Constitutional officer, to fill those positions and that money can be moved from his line items to pay for salaries.
In his closing statement, Homans said, the Board of Commissioners abused their discretion in the cuts made to the sheriff’s proposed budget. “They really haven’t presented any evidence other than to say we don’t have the funds,” he said.
However, Frey countered by saying, “There is no reason to believe there has been an abuse of discretion, certainly nothing that would be a basis for mandamus or order to give more money to the sheriff. Mandamus is only available in a case of a clear legal right, and I don’t think he has shown a clear legal right to anything more than what they have given him.”
Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com