Georgia State Sen. Harold Jones (D-Augusta) started work on Jan. 2 as a “compliance officer” for the city’s State Court, but he doesn’t want to talk about his new job, and neither do most of those who know about the recent appointment.
In a phone interview Jones refused to answer basic questions on what his new job entailed, what his pay was and if his new position related to the judicial branch conflicted with his elected role with the legislative branch.
The Augusta Legal Department denied the first open records request for information about Jones’ employment. That department claimed the city is not the “custodian of the records.”
City employees have confirmed that the city is in fact the custodian of many of the requested records and have no explanation as to why the city attorney chose to deny the request.
The city legal department through the open records office denied a second request for the records, citing a memo from Chief Superior Court Judge Danny Craig as the reason Jones’ employment records could not be released. Those officials claimed Craig’s memo from last June declared that the judicial branch was immune from open records requests, but the city refused to release the memo to prove its claim. They were not even willing to release ads or other records to show that the city advertised position as required in hiring procedures.
Craig, however, was more than willing to release his memo to the public. He clarified that judicial immunity from open records requests only applies to communications relating to pending cases and that court employment records are subject to public inspection, just like any other city department.
“I don’t have anything to say about this. You need to talk to my boss,” Jones said repeatedly.
According to Chief State Court Judge Kellie McIntyre, who makes the hiring decisions, Jones is paid somewhere in the neighborhood of $85,000 to $90,000 a year for a job where he does not actually have to show up to work. He only has to submit invoices to be paid.
It is unclear as to why invoices would need to be submitted if Jones is an employee in a salaried role.
However, McIntyre was vague about Jones’ job description, stating only that Jones makes sure that the accountability courts are in compliance with grant funding requirements. McIntyre did admit that Jones is not required to actually report to work in person.
“I have added some duties to what he is doing in getting Matterhorn together, which is a mediation-type program that would address traffic charges online,” McIntyre said.
According to McIntyre, the Matterhorn system would allow online payment for traffic or parking tickets. The court has tried to get the Matterhorn system up and running since 2020, but everything slowed down due to the Covid pandemic, she said.
Former Augusta Commissioner Jerry Brigham says that while McIntyre has the right to hire whomever she wants to work for her office, he has a problem with the secrecy surrounding the hiring and says the matter reeks of nepotism.
Jones is a former solicitor general for Richmond County, so he is well known to those who work in the court system.
“He’s a lawyer that can’t make it in the private sector, so he needs a government job to support him,” Brigham said.
Augusta Mayor Pro Tem Brandon Garrett says that the commission has very little oversight over hiring of constitutional officers such as judges or the sheriff once a budget is established, but he added that the commission needs to be paying attention.
Garrett says he trusts McIntyre’s judgment on hiring staff.
“Judge McIntyre has always been an open book when we have asked questions or needed help in understanding certain matters, and I have faith that will be the case moving forward,” Garrett said.
