Effingham County commissioners unanimously agreed to accept the resignations of County Administrator David Crawley and his wife, County Clerk Patrice Crawley, Tuesday.
Commissioners gave no reason for the resignations and provided no details about the separation agreement that they agreed to accept, after an hour-long closed-door session.
Commissioners Steve Mason and Reggie Loper said they didn’t see any reason for the resignations but they, along with the others, agreed to accept them.
“They’re fed up,” Commission Chairman Wendall Kessler said of the Crawleys during a break in the meeting Tuesday night. He said he would say more “at the appropriate time” but declined to say when that might be.
Mason said the resignations were due to a vendetta by several of his fellow commissioners. “This was not because of the (county’s financial) audit,” Mason said.
Commissioners Vera Jones, Forrest Floyd and Phil Kieffer have said to reporters in recent days that the county’s financial audit found problems with how the county was operating. Floyd said he had lost faith in the Crawleys.
The three said they had expected to receive the Crawleys’ resignations at the county’s last meeting, which was canceled for lack of a quorum.
About 70 people attended the commission meeting but no one from the public was allowed to comment about the Crawleys. The audience included a number of people from the community, some from other city councils who supported the couple.
Kessler said the audit must be completed before it will be released to the public. They also set workshop for 2 p.m. May 28 to craft management's responses to the audit. Jones said the workshop would be public.
The audit is due to the state by the end of June.
“Management has to do it (answer the audit) and we’re management,” Mason said.
Commissioners also agreed unanimously Tuesday to appoint Karen Arnold as interim county clerk.
Terms of the separation, such as any severance pay, were not released. Kessler said they would be available later through the state’s open records act.
David Crawley, who has been county administrator for five years, made $90,000 a year. Patrice Crawley made $50,500 a year. She has been county administrator for seven years.
Commissioners voted 4-1, with Loper opposing, to hire Caines, Hodges and Co. to do an audit of Keep Effingham Beautiful.
Loper said since the county's financial audit is so late, he can't see giving the firm even more work.
The division on the commission was apparent later in the meeting when Jones, during a discussion about money for Olde Effingham Days, said public funds can’t be used for private purposes.
Kessler said he would repay the $2,500 from his personal account if commissioners felt the board’s earlier decision to expend the funds was wrong.
Jones rolled her eyes. “We want to make sure you’re satisfied, Vera,” Loper said. A woman in the audience called out, “Oh yes,” in agreement.
