NICHOLSON—The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is looking through records in the city of Nicholson related to the alleged improper spending of Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) money.
Mike Ayers, GBI Special Agent in Charge, said the investigation started Wednesday morning around 10:00 a.m.
"We began the execution of a search warrant at city hall to look at the financial records," said Ayers.
This stems from an investigation about a month-and-a-half ago into the roughly $10,000 expenditure for road paving; the GBI was called to investigate at the request of Jackson County Sheriff Janus Mangum and District Attorney Brad Smith.
The paving was to a "street or driveway," which Ayers confirmed was related to Mayor Ronnie Maxwell; at issue is whether this road is publicly or privately owned.
Ayers said at this point, it is too early to pin down an exact time frame for the investigation.
"Each investigation takes on a life of its own. At this time I couldn't even begin to guess how long it'll take to go through all the records," said Ayers.
For now, agents don't believe this will affect the city's day-to-day operations as they investigate.
"We're taking steps to ensure that we don't take anything that would put any undue stress on their part. And once we look through the records, they'll be returned," said Ayers.
For now, he said, the GBI is in the fact gathering stage.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2015/8/329049/gbi-investigates-potential-misuse-of-splost-money-in-nicholson