Burke County Sheriff Alfonzo Williams remains defiant amidst criticism that he spends lavishly and also spends a hefty amount of time away from his job traveling to promote himself and his books — all on the taxpayers’ dime.
Williams countered that most of the spending being criticized comes from funds that have been “donated” and should not be considered county funds.
“These are donations; they are not taxpayer funds,” Williams said.
Records obtained from the county as well as the Sheriff’s Office show Williams takes an average of one trip per month. Over the past nine months, Williams has spent $20,363 on travel expenses. While some of the travel has been directly tied to his official duties, such as attending graduate ceremonies for deputies, the majority of the trips have for speaking engagements where Williams provides lectures on leadership.
Burke County Manager Merv Waldrop says while it is great for the county to have a sheriff who is in demand, the county should not be stuck with the bill.
“If (Williams) is invited to speak and promote himself and his books, then the group issuing the invitation should be paying for the trip and not the county,” Waldrop said.
Credit card records also show where Williams spent $5,906 at the Augusta Marriott at the Convention Center in April. According to Williams, the money was spent on a retreat for his staff to revise the Sheriff’s Office policy manual.
“We took the time to look over every sentence — every comma and period — to get that manual updated,” Williams said.
However, Waldrop points to that line item on the credit card and says it is proof the sheriff is a spendthrift who claims to always be trying to find ways to save money, but in reality spends lavishly and has tried to hide some of the spending by separating his office from the county and hiring his own accountant.
“Why would he spend that amount of money to come to Augusta when we have plenty of conference facilities right here and people would be able to stay at home and not in a hotel room?” Waldrop asked.
According to county records, Williams non-travel-related dining tab is north of $4,500, including a $1,000 dinner at the Fish Eye Grill where the average entree is between $22 and $33.
During the holidays in 2021, Williams paid out $8,534 in catering for the annual Thanksgiving and Christmas parties. According to Williams, all county employees were invited to the Thanksgiving party which featured $4,835 in cakes and sweets by Tasty Creations. In December 2021, Williams also paid $869 for 70 buffet trays at Burke Perk Bake Shop and Bistro.
Over the same reporting period, Williams credit card shows $3,085 spent at Walmart, not including the roughly $550 spent at Walmart for the annual turkey giveaway. The turkey giveaway was largely sponsored by Ingevity Georgia, which helped provide over $8,000 in turkeys and hams to families all over Burke County for Thanksgiving.
According to Waldrop, the sheriff has never turned over the receipts for any of his credit card purchases. Meanwhile, Williams says that the Walmart expenditures can be explained easily.
“When you see $182 in groceries, those aren’t my private groceries. That’s where we held a barbecue in one of the housing projects, or like when Headstart called us up and asked if we could help by purchasing bottled water and ice,” Williams said. “In those cases, I authorized the approval of the credit card to be used.”
At the heart of the issue is the source of the funding and whether the money that has been spent for travel and dining can be considered county money.
Georgia Power has provided $500,000 in funding in the past and recently provided another $375,000 in private funding to the Sheriff’s Office. According to Williams, the funding is a donation; therefore, it is not subject to accounting or oversight by the county.
Waldrop begs to differ and says the contract with Georgia Power is very clear as to how the funds were to be spent and does not give the sheriff carte blanche to spend the money how he sees fit.
The contract does specify that the money is to be used to add deputies on Highway 23 going into Plant Vogtle, to present traffic safety marketing to the public and to purchase needed equipment such as cameras and radar. Highway 23, or River Road, has been the scene of scores of traffic fatalities over the years.
By all accounts, Williams’ administration has been successful in curbing traffic fatalities on what was once called among locals “the highway of death.”
Yet, a close reading of the contract between Georgia Power and the Sheriff’s Office shows no language that allows Williams to spend at his discretion outside of the scope of traffic patrols. The contract does have a “good faith” clause, meaning that both parties will work in good faith to carry out the provisions of the contract.
A good faith clause also means that should Georgia Power determine the sheriff used the money for anything other than the stated provisions, the company can ask for its money back and it will be the Sheriff’s Office, not Williams personally, who would be the responsible party.
On the issue of whether the funds in question are considered a donation to the Sheriff’s Office or considered a donation to the county as a whole, case law in Georgia is clear.
According to Lawson v. Lincoln County, which was cited by Superior Court Judge Jesse Stone in the lawsuit between Williams and the Burke County Commission, any monies received from any source are deemed as funds provided to the county and are governed by state law like any other funding source.
Stone has ruled against Williams and the matter is now under appeal.
Williams makes no bones about the fact that he is angling to become the next president of the Georgia Sheriff’s Association and has ambitions to become the organization’s national leader someday. Williams admits that his travels are part and parcel to achieving those goals, which opens up an entire new conversation as to why Williams thinks that it is proper for him to use county money to promote his personal ambitions, according to Waldrop.
“Look, we have a good sheriff. I think we have a great sheriff, but he has made a mistake, and he needs to own up to it. This isn’t about politics, this is about transparency and accountability,” Waldrop said.
Scott Hudson is the senior reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
