FORT VALLEY, Ga. — It was a busy afternoon for Fort Valley's City Council.
A special meeting was called to discuss a contract for an Interim City Administrator after releasing the previous administrator at their last meeting.
People in the community like Marcus Agostino showed up to express their concerns because of reports about Jonathan Harris' background.
"I'm sorry, I just would not want to have someone without a good background taking care of my money," Agostino said.
People in the community said they have questions about Jonathan Harris' background after seeing an investigative report by WSB-TV in Atlanta.
The report said Harris served time at Central State Prison for a probation violation. He was on probation for multiple crimes WSB says he committed in 2016.
They include impersonating an officer, simple battery and a felony charge of robbery by force. He got first-offender status for the felony charge, but when it comes to his background, Harris is confident.
"I have nothing to hide," Harris said to the public.
Marcus Agostino said he believes people should get a chance to redeem themselves, but not in a position of power.
"Don't get me wrong: I believe in second chances, but second chances are okay if you're not about to get into someone's seat that's handling a couple of million dollars a year worth of checks that you've got to sign," Agostino said.
Once Harris started operating as the city administrator, Gosier said he quickly made a big change.
"Less than 72 hours and has presented the chief of police with an ultimatum. From my understanding the chief of police has resigned," Gosier said.
The mayor and council member okayed it despite the mayor, Jeffrey Lundy, voicing concerns on Facebook. They approved making assistant police chief, DJ Flores, as their interim police chief.
Many in the audience thought Harris made his last change after the city council voted 4-3 to deny his contract.
"Today I was very happy to see that some of our new council, they now know they need to stand for we the people," Agostino said.
However, after about an hour, the council came back from executive session and changed their minds.
Councilmember Fred Van Hartesveldt made the motion.
"I move that Mr. Harris' employment be approved pending submission of a satisfactory background check and discussion of various contract terms under the review of the city attorney," Van Hartesveldt said.
The motion was passed unanimously and Gosier said the community was shocked and confused.
"It's disheartening to know that we have elected officials that don't care enough to research and try to find someone that would be a better fit for us," Gosier said.
Harris declined to comment about the meeting. There will be another special meeting to discuss his contract at a later date.