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City Council committee acknowledges two unintentional mistakes on conflict of interestAn investigative committee of Statesboro City Council, advised by City Attorney Cain Smith, has found that two council members erred when they failed to recuse themselves from two unrelated matters during the Jan. 28 meeting but that their actions – or an action and quick reversal in one instance and inaction in the other – were “unintentional and inconsequential.” The committee’s written findings also assign blame to Smith for giving one council member incorrect advice and commit the city’s attorney anew to “review every agenda moving forward for possible conflict of interest issues and continue to advise Mayor and Council on conflicts.” The mayor and council and staff members also are to review both the ethics section of the Statesboro Code of Ordinances and the recusal process at their annual strategy retreat, to be held March 14-15 in Augusta. Smith said this will be done to make sure that all of the officials are familiar with the rules, not with any thoughts of changing them.February 26, 2025 -
Bulloch commissioners update meeting rules, put public comments time before voting itemsFrom now on, citizens who wish to speak to the Bulloch County Board of Commissioners about a topic on their regular meeting agenda may sign up and do so during the general public comments time early in the meeting. That opportunity will now occur before the “consent agenda,” “old business” and “new business” portions of the meeting, so members of the public may have some input on topics before commissioners vote.February 19, 2025 -
County’s proposed budget changes reflect $16.8 million added spendingAs part of their Tuesday, Feb. 18 meeting, Bulloch County commissioners were expected to approve budget amendments with added expenditures totaling more than $10 million in the county government’s general fund, as well as $5.6 million and almost $1.2 million in two different sales tax funds. This regular, public meeting was set to begin at 8:30 a.m. in the North Main Annex Community Room, the commissioners’ usual meeting place. Local governments frequently adopt budget amendments, often to reassign unexpected revenue or money saved in certain departments to cover new or higher than expected costs for other items. But the amendments to the Fiscal Year 2025 budgets reflect larger than typical added costs.February 18, 2025 -
Statesboro Mayor’s ‘State of City’ and Bulloch County’s ‘Town Hall’ to overlap Tues., Feb. 25As of this report, the Statesboro city and Bulloch County governments both have events intended to inform and interact with the public scheduled, with a half-hour overlap, for the evening of Tuesday, Feb. 25. A “Town Hall Meeting” of the Bulloch County Board of Commissioners has recently been announced for 6 p.m.-7:30 p.m. that day in the Jones Love Cultural Center at Luetta Moore Park, 585 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Meanwhile, Statesboro Mayor Jonathan McCollar’s 2025 “State of the City” address has long been set for 7 p.m. Feb. 25, and will be held in the Emma Kelly Theater, 35 East Main St.February 12, 2025 -
Statesboro suspends massage parlor license 2 weeks because of prostitution-related arrestsStatesboro City Council, by a 3-2 vote Tuesday, suspended the massage parlor license of Lisa’s Therapeutic Massage for two weeks, awaiting a possible further decision by the council. The hearing was held as part of the council’s regular semimonthly council meeting after the city attorney issued a “notice of intention to revoke” the license because of two prostitution-related arrests last fall. Reportedly acting on citizen’s complaints that staff members at the business on Brannen Street were performing sexual acts in exchange for money under the guise of doing massages, officers with the Statesboro Police Department’s Impact Team conducted an undercover operation.February 5, 2025 -
Full updated story: Statesboro-Bulloch Chamber of Commerce celebrates with annual Meeting and AwardsAmid the festive trappings of a “Passport to Progress … Multicultural Celebration,” the Statesboro-Bulloch Chamber of Commerce saluted its best and most innovative businesses, employee-positive workplaces and influential leaders and mentors Tuesday evening.January 16, 2025 -
Now, a city election year, with Statesboro mayor’s office upStatesboro resident voters who think they catch a break after 2024 probably have another think coming. 2025 is a city election year with the mayor’s office and two council seats due for votes. In fact, City Council formally set the qualifying fees for candidates during its first meeting of the year, 9 a.m. Tuesday. After the meeting, all three incumbents with terms expiring this year said they will run again. Council’s vote was a legally required formality. The qualifying fees are prescribed by state law as 3% of the annual salary of an office. So the fees are $560 for candidates for mayor and $330 for candidates for City Council in District 1 and District 4, as stated in the resolution, which was approved 5-0, on a motion from District 1 Councilwoman Tangie Reese Johnson seconded by District 4 Councilman John Riggs.January 8, 2025 -
Bulloch commissioners approve well mitigation program at pivotal timeBy a 5-1 vote Tuesday morning, the Bulloch County Board of Commissioners approved an agreement with Bryan County to establish the Groundwater Sustainability Program. It will compensate owners of private deep wells if they go dry or lose pressure because of four high-volume wells the two counties will use to supply water to Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America.December 18, 2024 -
Agribusiness Council president: Tough year for Georgia farmers, with limited help on the wayTouting the value of agriculture as "Georgia's number-one industry" but acknowledging a tough weather year, Georgia Agribusiness Council President Will Bentley, speaking recently in Bulloch County, cited numbers indicating that Hurricane Helene alone wiped out roughly 10% of the state's 2024 crop value.December 11, 2024 -
City approves GDOT agreement for Creek on Blue Mile but will seek new engineering groupAfter an action of Statesboro City Council last week, the city will continue working with the Georgia Department of Transportation on bridges and walkways for the Creek on the Blue Mile project. But City Manager Charles Penny announced that the city will break from the engineering and design firm Freese and Nichols — with which the city has spent more than $2 million on preliminary work toward this project over the last five years — and advertise for a new engineering team. Since federal funding has become involved through the Georgia DOT, requirements for the federal process added to the design work, and Freese and Nichols and their subcontractors initially asked for about $4 million more, Penny said.December 10, 2024