McCoy administrator appointment to come up for reconsideration

ALBANY — Dougherty County Commission Chairman Christopher Cohilas has announced his intention to bring interim County Administrator Michael McCoy’s permanent appointment to the position of county administrator back up for reconsideration.

Cohilas said in a news release there will be a special called meeting following the regularly scheduled 10 a.m. work session on Monday. Commissioners participating in the vote will be able to vote for or against the naming of McCoy as the county administrator.

The announcement follows an outpouring of public support for McCoy and dissatisfaction with the county’s denial of McCoy as county administrator by the Dougherty County Commission on March 26 after more than a year spent on search processes.

McCoy was named in March as the sole finalist for the position and has been named by Dougherty County as the most qualified candidate following two competitive searches.

“This is very important. Our citizens and county employees deserve to know that local government is stable and that important decisions are in capable and experienced hands. (Former County Administrator) Richard Crowdis trusted and mentored Mike for 19 years,” Cohilas said in the statement. “Mike has proven himself time and time again — whether by establishing partnerships with our Marines at MCLB-Albany, restructuring the county’s insurance, being named Risk Manager of the Year in Georgia, or making sure that citizens who were devastated by two presidentially declared natural disasters received the help that they needed. Mike has risen to the occasion and delivered.

“We have much work that needs to be done because of the tornadoes; particularly in areas such as Radium Springs and east Dougherty County. Mike has been responsible for making sure our citizens received help and services. He has been instrumental in preparing the case to Congress that the citizens of Radium Springs and surrounding areas deserve significant investment to address a devastated housing market. Our employees are underpaid. Turnover is high — and the failure to promote a victorious candidate from within is hurting morale.

“Mike McCoy has won a twice-opened competitive search process. He understands our employees and the needs of our most devastated citizens better than anyone else in the state of Georgia. I can see no legitimate, just or logical reason to deny Mike the position that he has earned.

“The outpouring of support from the public has been overwhelming. I have been inundated with phone calls, text messages, emails, and personal encounters with citizens. Their message has been consistent and overwhelming. They want the county to get back to work, and they want Mike to lead. Because of the delay, Mike has been having to do the work of two men, with no executive staff support. I am hopeful that those who choose to vote on Monday will be willing to support getting our county back to work at full capacity. Our citizens and county employees need it.”

Cohilas and commissioners Lamar Hudgins and Ewell Lyle approved appointment of McCoy on March 26, and commissioners Clinton Johnson, Gloria Gaines, Anthony Jones and John Hayes voted against the appointment.

Attorney Maurice King, who is representing McCoy, sent county officials an Open Records request in February asking for the names of the finalists for the position, stating the county is “skirting along the edge of breaking the law” in its refusal to name the finalists. He added in an ante litem notice he sent to the board that Hayes was attempting to keep McCoy from the position out of retaliation for an encounter involving Hayes and McCoy that took place in Savannah in 2016.

The county later settled a hostile work environment suit threatened by King on McCoy’s behalf for $50,000. In January, King sent an ante litem notice to Cohilas, Crowdis and to the other members of the commission, giving the county official notice of McCoy’s intent to file suit. In the notice, King said he will seek up to $3 million in damages on behalf of his client, contending that McCoy had claims that include the county retaliating against him for engaging in protected activity as a whistleblower.

King said following the March 26 meeting that he believes the vote was tied to the incident between Hayes and his client. On March 28, King sent an amended ante litem notice to Cohilas and County Attorney Spencer Lee accusing Hayes of violating applicable law in regard to the qualifications and/or requirements for selecting a county administrator.

In his amended notice, King said, “Certain commissioners attempted to persuade employees of Dougherty County, Georgia, to violate the Open Records Act. Also, during the process of conspiring to deny Mr. McCoy the county administrator’s position, we believe that the Open Records Act and the Open Meetings Act were violated.”

The attorney also said Hayes and Johnson had no right to vote to deny McCoy the job because they did not attend any interviews involving McCoy.

Jennifer Parks