FORT VALLEY, Ga. — Fort Valley once again has an interim city administrator after a close council vote.
Two weeks ago, the council fired previous interim administrator Jonathan Harris over crimes uncovered in his background check. He had only been on the job for about a month. On Thursday, after about eight minutes of discussion and a 4-3 vote, the council named Gary Lee, their development director, as the new interim administrator.
"He was the assistant to our previous administrator, so again, he is very familiar with the job," Councilwoman Laronda Eason said.
However, according to an executive order from Mayor Jeffrey Lundy in January, Lee's only role with the city was as economic development director.
Eason was one of four 'yes' votes. She says appointing Lee to the position was a way to move forward.
"If we go ahead and put someone in place now, we can, in a couple months, go ahead and put someone permanent in place," she said.
The decision to fire Harris came up again in Thursday's vote as Mayor Pro Tem Fred van Hartesveldt questioned Lee's own legal troubles.
Before serving as Fort Valley development director, Lee had the same role in Warner Robins for 14 years. Five years ago, he was charged with falsely reporting a crime at Warner Robins City Hall. He allegedly denied signing a document in his city personnel file, then accused another employee of putting it there.
"My guess is there was nothing to it. But the optics are terrible," van Hartesveldt said.
He says he doesn't have anything against Lee's skills or qualifications, but van Hartesveldt voted no because he felt the council rushed to a decision. He says not vetting a candidate didn't work out last time.
"We recently made a mistake in not doing that. And you can't say, 'Oh, this is someone we know and like,' and ignore that," van Hartesveldt said.
After the April 4 vote terminating Harris, the council asked the Georgia Municipal Association for a list of qualified candidates. Mayor Lundy said during the meeting they received the list, but criticized council for not taking it into consideration when appointing Lee.
There's no word on how long Lee will serve in the new role, but council members say it is not permanent.