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Pike Approves $95K For Magistrate Legal Fees
Greg S. Williams - May 23, 2013 The Pike County Board of Commissioners has approved the payment of $95,000 in legal fees�for Chief Magistrate Marcia Callaway-Ingram. The payment is based on a court order from an August, 2012 decision in Callaway-Ingram's lawsuit against Pike County. That order was recently affirmed by the Supreme Court of Georgia. The decision came Thursday at a special called meeting in Zebulon. Payment�was approved with the understanding that the County insurance carrier will pay half of the amount. Callaway-Ingram filed suit in August, 2011, alleging that county manager Bill Sawyer and the board of commissioners violated Georgia law beginning with the 2010-2011 budget year by reducing her annual salary from $63,139 to $49,182. She also claimed that pay for the associate magistrate was halved to $23,108, effectively rendering it a part time position. She said the changes were made over her objection and without her consent or approval. The reductions were apparently part of a larger budget-cutting effort and a central issue in the case appeared to be whether reducing the salary of a judicial officer in the middle of a single term of office is legal. The complaint asked for an evidentiary hearing, the issuance of a writ of mandamus requiring the county to restore salary funding to 2009 levels, back pay for the period beginning June 1, 2010 and for full funding of the associate magistrate position. She also sought a permanent injunction ordering the county to refrain from interference with her governance of court personnel. The defendants named included Pike County Manager Bill Sawyer and Commissioners Doug Mangham, Carol Bass, Tamra Jarrett, Tommy Powers, and Don Collins. Callaway-Ingram also said the defendants interfered with her ability to hire qualified personnel by withholding numerous applications that were submitted to the county manager�s office. The case was filed in Pike Superior Court on Monday, August 1, 2011 at 2:00pm. It was assigned to Senior Judge Chris Edwards of the Griffin Judicial Circuit. One year later, Senior Judge Stephen E. Boswell sided will Callaway-Ingram against the County. That decision was appealed to the Supreme Court of Georgia, which unanimously upheld the lower court's decision. |
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