Rickey Merideth presents himself as a man who loves Columbia County and wants to serve as the next commissioner of District 3, a job that would put him partially in control of the county’s $365 million budget.
However, it appears that Merideth has trouble paying his own bills; in fact, creditors have had to take him to court multiple times and even place garnishments on his wages.
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Merideth also has an arrest record.
Condemn Funds Merideth by augustapress on Scribd
The first sign of trouble to appear were court documents from Gwinnett County, dated January of 2023, showing where Merideth had been sued by the Woodlief Community Association over an outstanding $642 debt.
By the time the matter was settled in court, the amount owed ballooned to over $2,600, and Merideth had his wages garnished to settle the case.
Joe Edge, publisher of The Augusta Press, manages several homeowner’s associations as part of his job as president of Sherman and Hemstreet Real Estate Co., and says that it is extremely rare for an association to have to file for a garnishment.
“That is really the last straw, so to speak. It means that notice after notice has gone ignored, and the only recourse is to file suit,” Edge said.
When first contacted, Meredith claimed to have no knowledge of the lawsuit or the garnishment; however, once confronted with the documentary evidence, he acknowledged that he was still paying on the debt, under the enforcement of the court.
Garnishee's Answer by augustapress on Scribd
Meredith tried to chalk the matter up to a misplaced bill that went unnoticed.
“My grandkids are always playing over here and getting into things. The bill might have ended up in my granddaughter’s backpack for all I know,” Meredith said.
Further investigation uncorked a tsunami of troubling information.
Meredith has been the subject of 17 court cases including a foreclosure, multiple cases of failure to pay rent and supplier contracts and at least one other case, American Builders & Contractors Supply Co Inc vs Merideth, ended with another garnishment.
Other records show that Merideth filed for federal Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in 2001.
In 2004, Meredith was arrested and booked into the Dekalb County Jail on a charge of “failure to appear.”
Merideth Garnishment by augustapress on Scribd
In a follow-up phone call, Meredith mused, “Well, I guess this is probably going to hurt my campaign.”
Meredith is running for the seat on the Columbia County Commission that was vacated by the term-limited Gary Richardson who successfully won a seat in the Georgia General Assembly.
Meredith’s opponent in the May 21 election is Michael Carraway, who has been endorsed by Richardson.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Investigative Reporter and Editorial Page Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
