WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — It's been 10 days since a grand jury indicted Warner Robins development director Gary Lee, but according to the city's mayor, Lee has not faced any workplace discipline since the indictment came down. The delay is raising questions about Mayor Randy Toms' handling of the Lee situation.
"I'm gonna have a conversation with Gary Lee in the morning and I will make my decisions in the morning after having a discussion with him to find out what is going on," said Toms after Monday night's city council meeting.
Tuesday came and went without any announcement.
Now, days later, there's still no word on what (if any) workplace discipline Gary Lee will face after his indictment.
For months, the Houston County Sheriff's Office investigated Lee's allegations that someone at city hall tampered with documents.
Then, on March 26th, a Houston County grand jury charged Lee with falsely reporting a crime and making a false statement.
While those criminal charges are pending, Toms said serious workplace consequences were possible, but not guaranteed.
The options are numerous: "To terminate, to suspend without pay, or nothing," he said. "I mean, obviously, there are some options in between those things that could be done."
So far, Gary Lee has faced no workplace discipline, even though it's been more than a week since he was indicted.
In other recent cases of alleged employee misconduct, internal discipline has been handed down much quicker.
A magistrate court judge later cleared her of any criminal wrongdoing.
Last August, Gary Lee made statements about another city employee that some people took to be a threat.
Mayor Toms put him on administrative leave a day before police made their report in that incident.
If and when the Mayor does make a decision on how to handle Lee's recent indictment, it still may not be final.
City Attorney Jim Elliott says if Toms decides he wants to fire Lee, he can't make that decision on his own.
The mayor would have to suspend Lee and then ask the city council to terminate him.
"He can suspend a department director, but a final decision of that has to be made by the city council," said Elliott. "They can either reinstate a suspended director or they can terminate a suspended director."
We reached out to all of city council to get their take on the situation.
Keith Lauritsen said he supports not placing Lee on leave for the time being because he doesn't feel like he has enough information from the District Attorney's office or the Houston County Sheriff's Office to make an informed decision.
RELATED: Warner Robins mayor: Gary Lee requested the investigation that ultimately led to his indictment
Larry Curtis and Tim Thomas wouldn't comment on the situation.
As of 8:10 p.m. Friday, councilmembers Carolyn Robbins, Daron Lee, and Clifford Holmes have not returned our requests for comment.
When reached by phone Friday, Gary Lee also declined to comment.