Hiring Sen. Harold Jones as a compliance officer with State Court was legal but ethically questionable, sources say.
Since The Augusta Press’ first story on the Jones’ city employment, no elected state official will discuss on the record the ethics of Jones receiving salaries from multiple government offices.
However, Joe Cusak, attorney for the Georgia Transparency and Campaign Commission, is willing to point out what he says most people should consider obvious: while Jones’ multiple government salaries may be legal, it is not ethical.
Cusak said that usually a person cannot serve the executive, legislative and judicial branches at the same time; however, a loophole in the law allows Jones to draw his $85,000 annual salary for his new job while retaining his several other government income streams.
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“There’s an interesting carve out where they’ve created an avenue where they can work for local governments but it is a conflict and against the law to work for a state government branch,” Cusak said.
In other words, Jones, who has previous connections to State Court as an attorney and former Augusta solicitor general, landed a job that was never advertised by the city Human Resources Department, and the arrangement is totally legal under Georgia law.
“When I hear these things, I go, ‘Wow, how is this allowed?’ But it is allowed. It is legal,” Cusak said.
State Sen. Max Burns, chairman of the state ethics committee, says he cannot comment on Jones’ new role in the absence of a formal complaint about the situation.
Burns is also a co-sponsor with Jones on pending legislation to add an additional judge to the Augusta Superior Court Circuit.
According to records released by the city of Augusta, Jones is required to work only five hours a week for his $85,000 State Court salary.
In Jan. 29, in a phone interview, Jones refused to answer basic questions about the responsibilities of his new job, what his pay was and whether his new position in the judicial branch conflicted with his elected role in the legislative branch.
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The Augusta Legal Department at first denied an open records request for information about Jones’ employment. The Human Resources Department claimed the city is not the “custodian of the records.”
Only after it was proven that Jones is indeed a city employee were the employment records released. Those records showed Jones began the job in January and that he is not required to show up physically for work. Instead he submits bi-weekly invoice to receive a paycheck.
State Court Judge Kellie 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 report to work in person.
Meanwhile, Jones’ law firm, Lyons, Jones and Frails LLC, has billed the city of Augusta almost $870,000 since 2017 for legal work.
Scott Hudson is the senior reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
