Oliver joins City Council

By
MARY ANN ANDERSON
The Hazlehurst City Council met last Thursday night for its first meeting of the year, with Ward 2’s Elizabeth Oliver being the one new face on the council. She replaced Steve Land, who previously represented Ward 2, but chose not to run for reelection. Returning to the city’s governing body are Mayor John Ramay, Ward 1’s Dywane Johnson, Ward 3’s Chris Jones, and Ward 4’s Landon Chavis. Johnson was not present for the meeting.
Among the first orders of business, the council appointed departmental liaisons for the upcoming year: Johnson will oversee water and sewer; Oliver will serve over the police department; Jones will handle fire and rescue; and Chavis will monitor streets. Per the city charter, the council also reapproved Smith and Smith, Attorneys and Counsellors at Law, LLC, as the city’s legal firm and rehired City Clerk Vernice Thompson. The selection of mayor pro-tem was tabled until the February session.
The council, led by Chavis, at length discussed a proposed hiring incentive program for prospective police officers.
The Police Department is short four officers, and both Chavis and Police Chief James Mock outlined ongoing challenges in attracting new hires, despite what Chavis described as “very, very competitive wages.”
“In the last six months, we’ve paid $75,000 in overtime in the Police Department,” Chavis said. “We can’t sustain that. We have officers who are burnt to the end of their wicks.”
He proposed a $3,000 sign-on bonus for a one-year contract and $5,000 for a three-year contract. Officers who resign or are terminated before their contract ends would be required to reimburse the city. Chavis added that filling the four vacancies could save $115,000 in overtime in next year’s budget.
Mayor Ramay suggested tabling the proposal until the February meeting to allow time for review and documentation, but Chavis and Mock emphasized the urgency of implementing the program within the next two to three weeks.
The council scheduled a called meeting for Thursday, Jan. 22, at 10 a.m. to further discuss and vote on the proposal.
Another matter that took the lion’s share — or more aptly, the dog’s share — of the meeting was the Hazlehurst Animal Shelter.
Police Chief James Mock was the first to speak about the shelter, as his department, along with the street department, is responsible for its day-to-day operations. He gave a long list of the shelter’s accomplishments, including painting and repairing leaks, and commended Officer Sylvester Brown, Michael Brantley of Public Works, and many others, including members of Voices of Hazlehurst Animal Shelter. He also pleased the council by announcing that Googe’s Heating and Air will donate a heating and air conditioning unit for the shelter.
“We’ve done a lot, but we still have a long way to go to get it where it needs to be,” Mock concluded. “We’re figuring it out as we go. It’s a work in progress.”
Chavis then presented an operations policy and manual for the shelter outlining its purpose, activities, job duties, ordinances, and dog adoption procedures. The policy passed unanimously.
Later, during the citizens’ comments section, Janet Erin Corcoran of Voices of Hazlehurst Animal Shelter gave an overview of the shelter’s 2025 statistics and shared that the group had been contacted by Who Let The Dogs Out?, a Virginia-based organization whose mission is to raise awareness and resources for animal shelters nationwide. Who Let The Dogs Out? will work with the city to help secure supplies and funding for the shelter.
In other action, the council ….
…. listened as Eon Van Wyk, chief financial officer of CKH Group of Atlanta, the city’s auditing firm, delivered a detailed report on the audit ending June 30, 2025. Van Wyk concluded on a light note, saying, “No one is in trouble. We’re not losing money. All your money is safe. No one is losing their jobs.”
…. approved December’s departmental reports, water and sewer adjustments, and check register.
…. heard from James Lanier of Ryland Environmental, a Dublin-based waste management group that recently contracted with the city. Lanier reported that collections are going “nicely,” with only a few bumps along the way, and added that the affiliation has been “one of the smoothest start-ups we’ve ever done.”
…. tabled until February a discussion on whether to accept an offer from CSX Transportation to donate its depot, now located on Tallahassee Street, to the city, along with an additional monetary contribution of $50,000 to $100,000 from the railroad for relocation and set-up assistance.
…. discussed the need for a council member to attend a February 2 meeting on developing state transportation improvement programs.
…. went into a closed session to discuss unspecified contracts, later returning to regular session to announce that no action was taken.