Mayor Gary E. Jones

This page has meant a lot over the years, and I’m grateful for the support from this community.

As I continue forward, I’ll be sharing all updates, events like this one, and campaign information on my Gary E. Jones for Columbia County Chairman page.

If you haven’t already, I’d appreciate you taking a moment to follow along there so you can stay connected.

Citizens it has been an honor serving as your Mayor for nearly 11 years. So much has been accomplished and much more must be done. The Mayor Pro-Tem, Eric Blair, has been my right hand from day one. He has been such an anchor for me, that words are insufficient to express my gratitude. Eric has assumed the helm. Along with Council members, Richard Bowman, Jacqueline Rivera and Veronica Simpkins, the city will be in excellent hands.

As you may be aware, I had to resign to seek another office within Columbia County. Thank you for the support and prayers over the years and take confidence in knowing that Grovetown’s government is strong. God Bless!

If a person is lucky enough to have been elected to a public office, they should always be transparent, honest, flexible, compassionate, accessible and always return calls. I feel that I’ve been very responsive in these areas. I’ll admit between my full time job and the Mayor’s job, on rare occasions, I may fail to return a call.......but I never have to avoid a constituent or worry about what I told someone, because I tell the truth. When you tell the truth, no matter what it pertains to, the story will never change. I also believe in keeping our citizens updated regularly by way of our Weekly Significant Acts, via Facebook, our Mayor’s Corner Newsletter, our regular posts from our Public Information Officer, live-streaming all meetings and so forth. Too often people get elected and insulate themselves and require that citizens go through hoops to speak to them or arrange a meeting. Others start out with the right intentions and overtime feel that their time is too valuable to help others. This is why I believe in and support term limits. I will make the time to talk with, meet with or whatever else is required to help others. That’s what holding a public office is all about. It’s not about power, arrogance or screening calls. My second term (8 yrs) will expire on December 31, 2023. Because I strongly believe in term limits and have other political aspirations, I fully intend to leave the City of Grovetown in excellent financial shape with a strong team of Directors, supervisors, leads and employees. We are almost there now. It has taken my administration nearly 6 years to make right the wrongs that the City was involved in. I’m very proud of OUR achievements and I’m excited about Grovetown’s continued success and positive image that’s now noticeable to all in the CSRA. Are we perfect? Absolutely not.....but we are willing to listen and make improvements along the way. We will not hide anything. Whatever I decide to do in 2024, I will approach in the same fashion. The Lord has blessed me with small things and bigger things are yet to come.

I’m proud to report to you that at the Grovetown City Council Meeting tonight, a 7.5 % pay increase across the board for all employees was approved. Additionally, the minimum wage was approved to be raised to $15 per hour. I appointed Councilwoman Fisher as the Chair and Councilwoman Martin to serve on a salary study committee. Both of these Council Women worked hard conducting this salary study. Behind the scenes, Mayor Jones, Councilman Blair and Councilwoman Smith were meeting with and speaking with our Finance Director to see how we could fund this action. Our findings were that if we leave the millage rate at 7.62 and not roll it back, the increase in the tax digest would provide us with approximately $350,000 in revenue. We can also use some of the American Rescue Federal funds and we have a contingency source as well. These raises will make the City of Grovetown more attractive and competitive on the job market. Qualified and happy employees, equate to a more professional work force that will be more effective and efficient. This action was a group effort and ALL of your elected officials deserve the credit.

The work force in the Columbia County region is becoming much more competitive daily. Columbia County and Amazon both have a minimum wage established at $15.00 per hour. I recently appointed two council members, Deborah Fisher and Sylvia Martin, to conduct a salary study, with the goal of getting the city of Grovetown in line with the two aforementioned larger employers. As a result of this study, we as elected officials, realize that to retain and recruit quality employees, we must be competitive. The city has found a means to do so without having to raise taxes. We cannot afford to lose qualified, long tenured employees to other employers. We must continue to value our employees, which directly equates to more effective and efficient delivery of services for you. More to come on this at our next City Council Meeting on Monday July 12th during our Work Session beginning at 6 pm. As always, the public is invited to attend or you may choose to view the meeting via live stream on our page. Thank you.

Please see below regarding the City's 2016-2026 Comprehensive Plan. Tomorrow, you're invited to view the drafted plan and give your input. Thank you.

(Posted on behalf of Mayor Jones by Public Information Officer Ashley Campbell)

REMINDER:

The City of Grovetown is in the process of updating its 2016-2026 Comprehensive Plan.

The first opportunity for the public to view and make remarks about the drafted plan will be tomorrow, May 20th, at 5 p.m. in the Grovetown City Hall Council Chambers.

In order to update this plan, it is vitally important to receive input from the citizens of Grovetown.

Click the link below to see a draft version of our new Comprehensive Plan Update.

For more information, call the Department of Planning and Community Development at 706-860-5094 or email at [email protected].

Thank you.

http://www.cityofgrovetown.com/DocumentCenter/View/1770/Grovetown-Comprehensive-Plan-Draft-latest-521?fbclid=IwAR33IFCHMC5dNuQaSzvfHpJLfJf5aLj2JNnYTRNos0Ks8Zgf4nBxOGlN8Y0

I’m proud to report again that the City of Grovetown’s Financial Audit Report was completed with zero findings, also referred to as a clean audit. This is a great accomplishment, seeing how just 5 short years ago, our audits had numerous findings and substantial losses. Additionally, due to the huge embezzlement case, the FBI had possession of many documents, thus preventing the city from receiving any grants. Our financial state is very strong, with six months of Operating capital in reserves. Great job to our Finance Director and staff!

POLITICS.....With today's turmoil and uncertainty, with the decreasing respect for ALL officials, one may ask the question, why would a person jump into the political arena in the first place. I think some do it for money and fringe benefits, some do it for fame and power, some do it for all of the wrong reasons and finally some do it because they truly care and want to make a difference. Thankfully, I am one of the one's who wants to make a difference because I do care. I have subjected myself to public scrutiny and my entire life, good and bad, has been exposed. To those that support me I sincerely thank you. To my critics and doubters, I hope to gain your support. To my enemies and haters, I will do for you just as much as I do for my strongest supporters.....NO HATE or revenge here. I'm in this for the long haul, to improve the quality of life for all of our citizens, regardless as to whether you live in a fine home or a rundown mobile home. I am a Mayor for the people.

UPDATE- Last Wednesday the United States Treasury Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation executed a search warrant at Grovetown's City Hall after a three-month investigation into the city's financial transactions. This is an ongoing criminal investigation, whereas large amounts of money has been stolen and money has been laundered. Numerous city employees have been interviewed and more interviews are forthcoming. These types of investigations into "white collar" crimes are very lengthy and detailed, which means tangible results will not be obvious at this point. The two federal agents working together, without a doubt, are valuable assets to the government and they have done some outstanding work. As the Mayor, I provided evidence that was sufficient enough to launch this investigation, and as such, I have seen the investigative facts as they unfolded just prior to the search warrant. In closing let me add that many changes are going to be coming in the very near future to prevent the city from being victimized again in this manner. Truthfully, you the citizens are victims as equal, if not more than the city. Have faith that I will aggressively seek prosecution and restitution to the fullest extent of the law. Look for updates as they progress and thank you all....not just my supporters, but each and every citizen that has reached out and stood up for what is right. Our city will get through this setback and will become stronger as a result.