Burke County sheriff keeps fighting for control of his budget

WAYNESBORO, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Burke County Sheriff Alfonzo Williams isn’t giving up his fight to get control his agency’s budget away from county commissioners.

He says he inherently has power to maintain control of his payroll, and commissioners have no inherent power to exclude him from it.

As a result, he said this week he’s filed a brief with the Georgia Court of Appeals.

In November 2021, he’d sought an order directing the commissioners to turn over the control of payroll istration to his office. The commissioners filed a counterclaim seeking an order directing the sheriff to comply with county purchasing procedures.

The Burke County Superior Court denied both petitions for mandamus and entered a declaratory judgment on Jan. 25.

“We believe The Superior Court committed reversible error by denying our petition and declaring that it is ‘within the Board of Commissioners’ sound discretion to continue istering payroll’ ” for Burke County Sheriff’s Office employees, Williams said.

Williams said under Georgia law:

Sheriffs have inherently broad powers except as limited by statutes, which are strictly construed against infringing on those powers.
The commission has no inherent powers, and power must be specifically granted by statutes, which are strictly construed against such power.
Sheriffs operate independent of commission control and authority, subject only to budgetary limitations.

“The Sheriff’s right to control the payroll for his employees is founded in the common law and Georgia Constitution, which makes clear that the Sheriff’s powers are inherently broad, while the Commission’s powers are inherently limited,” Williams said. “The Commission is not entitled to dictate how funds allocated to the Sheriff are to be used. Yet, by requiring control over the payroll of the Sheriff’s employees, the Commission is able to do just that.”