Long County Commissioners gathered for a special-called meeting Thursday night to once again discuss financial woes as well as the possibility of legal action by Sheriff Craig Nobles.
The meeting was standing room only with citizens, but Nobles was not present to defend his positions, which include demands for jail invoices due to other counties and a new ‘wish list’ to be funded with a $300,000 line of credit. Instead, he opted to attend the annual law enforcement dinner in Glennville.
County Manager Shane Richardson said the county recently received a request to pay an outstanding invoice due to Tattnall County for inmate housing in the amount of $50,000. The county is currently seven months behind in paying Tattnall to house an allotment of Long County’s inmates.
“We don’t have that on hand right now due to the fact, well, everybody in here knows our situation. We’re able to pay the bills, but anything additional is just not, it’s not there right now,” he shared about the reason for the special meeting.
Richardson said the jail budget for FY 2026 was adopted at $1.1 million, but the budget did not account for the fact that the jail would not (and has not) become operational. He also told commissioners that some of the sheriff’s office line items were ‘out of whack’ and some 200% over the budget amount. As a result, the budget is not what was projected and over the course of the fiscal year, it has not been amended.
Tax Revenue Coming In
Richardson said rumors that some $3.5 million is sitting in the Tax Commissioner’s office are not true.
“We get advances as it comes in…That $3.5 million, the rumor, it’s already come and split out to the city and everything,” noting that many of the expenses due have been paid from the county’s share. “There is no money in some nest egg down the road. Up here, we’re barely hanging on.”
County Manager Announced Budget Freeze on April 14
Richardson said on April 14, he sent out an email regarding a 30-day budget freeze, but noted in his email that the freeze was ‘not intended to withhold any funding from constitutional officers and their operating budget.’
“We protect that because they have a right, it’s a state statute that is there. They have a certain amount of money in their budget to operate and we can’t get into the business of stopping that,” Richardson said.
Instead, Richardson said his desire was to see cooperation across all departments as the county continues to face financial hardships. At the time of the meeting, the county had approximately $280,000 in the bank with the upcoming payroll expected at ~$220,000. Additionally, the county has a $250,000 payment due at the end of April and the Tax Anticipation Note in the amount of $2.3 million is due in May.
“It doesn’t mean we’re not going to get it, it just means if it’s not there right now, I have to calculate based on what I have at the time,” Richardson said. “So if I tell you I can’t give you a $50,000 check right now because it’s going to cause furloughs, maybe tomorrow it’s a different story. There might be something significant that comes in.”
Richardson said it would be a different situation if the issue was an emergency, but he did not believe the jail payment was an emergency at the time.
“I don’t think it’s worth furloughing 28 people, including myself and this entire office. This office will close down for two weeks, period. These folks are tired of being told they don’t have a job, they’re tired of hearing it over and over because constitutional officers will not give in and it’s not fair to them and they’re going to start walking,” he continued.
Sheriff Hijacks Staff Meeting for County Employees
Richardson said he called a staff meeting ahead of the county commission meeting to discuss the possibilities of furloughs and the pending financial demands from the Sheriff’s Office, stating he wasn’t going to allow staff to be blindsided. The meeting was only with staff employed by the county commission office.
“As soon as I started that meeting, this is not constitutional officer employees because they don’t have to suffer, my departments have to suffer, and the sheriff comes in here and derails that meeting. He hijacked the meeting, he took all of my employees and started yelling and hollering and going against everything I was trying to do. I went in my office and he called me a coward, he called me everything in the world. I’m not gonna come out here and act like an idiot and argue with the sheriff. And I’m also not gonna go across the street in an orange suit. He’s got the upper hand. So that’s where we were.”
Demands for Money from the Sheriff’s Office
On the agenda was a line item for a report from Sheriff Craig Nobles, but due to his absence, a report was not made.
Richardson put on the projector a list of demands from the sheriff’s office provided to county commissioners Thursday. He said none of the items on the ‘wish list’ have been formally requested by the Sheriff’s Office prior to the demand letter.
The Sheriff’s Office recommended that the county take out a $300,000 Tax Anticipation Note to obtain the items the office is requesting, in addition to the jail costs owed to other counties.
Among the items on the list: 4 bulletproof vests for $4,500 and 3 cars to be equipped at $30,000 each. SPLOST funds are depleted, meaning all of the vehicle outfitting would come from the General Fund.
“If you need bulletproof vests, don’t wait until the last minute to tell us,” Richardson said. “If we haven’t gotten a single report yet about needing this stuff.”
Expenditures on Deck
Richardson said he feels good about the monthly operational demands based on what is coming in on the revenue side. He said the county continues to audit and slash each and every department.
“What I don’t feel good about are these unpredictable hills that we’re facing. I can’t balance tax revenue coming in and these important things we have to pay, ACCG and those kinds of things, that’s non-negotiable. I’ve been told ‘don’t worry about that stuff, worry about this stuff.’ That’s not an option. You have to pay the insurance.”
Richardson said constitutional officers aren’t required to turn in procurement forms, but it would be nice if they would do so the county commission office can keep track and know what’s coming down the pipeline.
Status of Other Counties Housing Long County Inmates
Richardson said he spoke with Tattnall County Sheriff Kyle Sapp who said Tattnall County was happy to continue housing Long County inmates. He said there was an immediate need for medical and inmate housing totaling roughly $10,000 and the county paid that to Tattnall County within 24 hours of the need being made known. He also contacted Appling and McIntosh counties regarding inmate housing and neither reported a problem.
“They were more than nice, no problem whatsoever. It’s not like they have no place to go,” Richardson said. “But the narrative is ‘They’re gonna drop off rapists down the road cause they can’t do nothin’ else.’ Even with the money that we owe them, they’re not concerned. It’s all about the narrative with certain folks.”
Richardson told commissioners that furloughing 28 employees, including the entire road department and all but one employee for the elections office, the county would still be short $9,000 for the $50,000 payment.
Vote by Commissioners
Ultimately commissioners voted to decline paying the $50,000 at the current time. Commissioner James Craft made the motion, and the measure passed 4-0. The vote was met with applause by a majority of those in attendance.
Commissioner Jon Boy Reddish recused himself from the vote due to him having a family member who would be impacted by a furlough.
