Burke County commissioners ask Kemp to investigate sheriff
WAYNESBORO, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Burke County commissioners want the governor to investigate Alfonzo Williams, the sheriff who’s been butting heads with them for years and who wants to arrest them.
Meanwhile, a report from deputies is shedding light on a clash between Williams and a political critic he also wants to have arrested over some text messages she sent him.
In the past few days, Williams has sought arrest warrants for both the commissioners and Traci Hollingsworth, a woman who’s launched a recall effort against him. He accuses her of harassing communications.
Burke County sheriff targets a key critic for arrest
Arrest warrant for critic Traci Hollingsworth, who’s leading a recall effort against Alfonzo Williams, is one of the latest developments emerging in the battle.
Evans Martin, chairman of the commissioners, sent a letter to Gov. Brian Kemp on May 16 asking the governor to appoint a committee to investigate whether Williams should be removed from office. Martin cites Williams’ threats to arrest commissioners and the county manager over budget conflicts.
On June 5, commissioners wrote two more letters to Kemp asking for his office to step in and launch an investigation of the “malicious, partial, oppressive, and tyrannical action of Sheriff Williams.”
The county also called for a meeting with the governor, state Sen. Max Burns and Rep. L.C. Miles.
Williams says the conflicts keep him from performing his duties as a constitutional officer, while Martin says it’s unacceptable to issue arrest threats against other officials who are only trying to do their jobs.
Martin’s letter confirms Williams had consulted with the magistrate court to get arrest warrants against some of the commissioners.
The budget has been the focus of a yearslong conflict between commissioners and Williams. He’s taken them to court once and is doing it again. He’s also appealed to Kemp for help.
Commissioners say he needs to spend within his means and within the law, and Williams says commissioners don’t have as much authority over his budget as they think they do.
An audit covering last fiscal year seems to side with commissioners, noting Williams’ expenditures were “significantly” over budget.
Presented to commissioners Tuesday night, the audit report lists the Burke County Sheriff’s Office as its only “finding.”
“We noted that there were not sufficient budgetary controls over the Sheriff’s Office’s budget,” independent financial firm Lanier, Deal & Proctor wrote. “The Sheriff’s Office has chosen to not use the County’s internal controls related to budgetary controls. Any internal controls that may have been implemented within the Sheriff’s Office have not prevented significant overages within the Sheriff’s department.”
The audit lists this cause: “Sheriff Williams refuses to follow the County’s budget policies and fails to have a policy that provides effective compensating controls.”
The auditors state:
“While constitutional officers have control of and final responsibility for the use of their budget once funds have been appropriated by the Board of Commissioners, proper internal controls over spending are still necessary in order to ensure the accuracy and appropriateness of all expenditures, as well as proper stewardship over public funds. Those controls should include transaction approval and also budgetary controls. The Sheriff should either follow the County’s internal control policies over budgetary control or implement their own internal controls to meet budgetary objectives.”
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Martin’s letter makes a similar assertion.
“The Sheriff has long misinterpreted the discretion afforded to elected constitutional county officers over the spending of the funds allocated to them in their budgets to mean that county governing authorities must simply turn such funds over to elected constitutional county officers and then have no further control over the same or their s,” Martin wrote to Kemp.
Commissioners, on the other hand, believe they’re supposed to honor elected officials’ spending decisions as long as there are enough unobligated funds in the corresponding line items. Further, commissioners believe they should have to honor elected officials’ right to move funds within line items of their budget, Martin wrote.
Williams clearly knows “the proper means to assert his interpretation of the law” is to file for a court action, since he’s done that, Martin states.
In fact, the recent flare-up seems to have started around the same time Williams filed a court motion stating his intent to launch a mandamus action suing county commissioners over his budget.
It’s something he also did back in November 2021 and was denied.
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Williams “is now resorting to making threats to arrest of the Board of Commissioners and its staff in an attempt to impose his interpretation upon them,” Martin wrote.
Martin claims the arrest threat followed a letter to Williams in which he “merely suggested” how the sheriff might be able to pay a certain debt by moving funds between budget line items.
That sparked a response from the sheriff accusing Martin of “criminal misconduct” that the sheriff said he wouldn’t allow any longer.
Martin noted that the sheriff later emailed Waldrop and Chief Financial Officer Michael Wiseman telling them to make several financial transactions on which he and commissioners had clashed. Martin annotated the list with comments on why he thinks Williams’ requests are contrary to law.
“Recognize that your illegal activities have placed our deputies, inmates, and this community in danger and we cannot adequately protect them at a safe level that is consistent with the mandates of my constitutional office of sheriff,” Williams told officials, according to Martin’s .
Martin said Williams’ email also stated:
“Recall that I referred you to the legal section of the [Handbook for Georgia County Commissioners] which states that the acts which you are committing are criminal offenses and I am informing you that failure to reverse them immediately will result in the consequences set forth in said handbook.”
This is “without a doubt an explicit threat to arrest the County Manager and the Chief Financial Officer if they do not comply with his orders,” Martin wrote.
READ THE LETTER:
Martin claims that “Ironically, it is the very offense that he has alleged against myself and the other of the Board of Commissioners and its staff that the Sheriff himself has now committed.”
Martin says Williams’ actions are examples of “oppression or tyrannical partiality,” cites laws he considers applicable and says Williams would have to be removed from office if convicted of them.
“I cannot sit idly by while of the Board of Commissioners and its staff are being threatened with unlawful arrest,” Martin wrote. “Accordingly, I am asking that you appoint a committee to conduct an investigation of above-described misconduct of the Sheriff.”
Removal would be an ironic twist for Williams, who himself served on a appointed by Kemp to investigate Clayton County’s then-sheriff, Victor Hill, for excessive force against inmates. Hill was convicted, sentenced to federal prison and released early in March 2024.
Now he’s running for Congress.
Clash with a political critic
Meanwhile, Williams also obtained an arrest warrant against Hollingsworth over some text messages she sent him and that he considers harassment.
It happened on May 22, when she allegedly sent one message and then retracted it, then sent another message with the intent to intimidate and harass Williams, according to an incident report from deputies.
According to the incident report, the message allegedly stated:
“You know who this is, Traci MF Hollingsworth. You are the biggest POS I have ever met. I just want you to know that I have had a hand in EVERYTHING from your residency hearing for election in 2016, until now. Your friends arent your friends and the FBI knows it all. Have fun in prison. Your time is coming. Try and fight this recall I’m about to unleash on your ass. After the last election, I’m pretty sure there are more than ‘me and the 12 against you.’ May the odds not ever be in your favor.”
Williams obtained an arrest warrant on one count of harassing communications and even issued a “be on the lookout” alert for her on Facebook.
According to the incident report, a deputy called Hollingsworth and told her about the outstanding warrant, and she said she needed to make arrangements to turn herself in.
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