MACON COUNTY, Ga. — Folks say news travels fast in a small town; especially in Macon County. In total, the county has a population of around 12,000 people.
“We've got a lot of good things going on for us,” PC Russell said.
He's a local mechanic.
“It’s a very close community,” said Byron Thompson, an art gallery owner near the Macon County Courthouse.
So, when folks heard that Macon County Commissioners fired County Manager Kelvin Lewis, they were shocked. Tips had come in that Lewis was misusing funds for personal use.
It all went down in the commissioners’ meeting room Thursday evening at their county commission meeting.
“The county commission meeting was an emergency call,” Macon County Commission Chairman Carl Oliver said.
Oliver says they got evidence of Lewis misusing funds. They went into executive session to discuss the evidence and, after they came back into regular session, the commissioners voted.
“The vote was unanimous to terminate the employment of our county manager," Oliver said.
Oliver says Lewis just started his third year on the job and they were satisfied with his work.
“We thought by hiring him we could do good things for Macon County and we went with that," Oliver said.
He says he trusted Lewis.
“Matter of fact, I was hurt," Oliver said. "This is the community's money. This is hard-earned tax dollars.”
The community says they're hurt, too.
“I feel like all the citizens have been violated,” Thompson says.
He’s lived in town for four years and says if money wasn't allegedly taken, he believes it could've been put to good use.
“Items that haven't been addressed that could've been bringing in revenue, like White Water,” he said.
That’s a park that’s currently closed due to storm damage, and the county website said would re-open late this summer.
Russell says he isn't surprised this happened.
“I know how hard it is to make money and for it to be used so ill-wisely, I don’t appreciate it,” he said. “Ultimately, they found the problem and they fixed it. Now we just need to find a better, qualified county manager to put in his position."
Oliver says he wants to send a message from their small town:
“We want to make an example that sends a message that Macon County is the wrong place to do this kind of stuff,” he said.
Oliver says Lewis lived in and commuted from Twiggs County. He says Lewis did not say anything after the vote to terminate him was made.
We were unable to reach Lewis for comment.
Lewis has only been accused by commissioners at this time. Oliver says he's asked the district attorney and Georgia Bureau of Investigations to investigate the purchases.