News 12 First at 5, December 3, 2008

THOMSON, Ga.---The McDuffie County commission voted today not to fire their finance director, Jimmy Whitaker -- but in a 3 to 2 vote, it couldn't have been closer.

Whitaker was being investigated on allegations of sexual harassment and hostile work environment. The board decided those allegations weren't true but they did decide Whitaker did do some things wrong.

One of those things had to do with an internet phishing scam that got the best of the finance director and resulted in $3,800 in lost taxpayer money. Another involved Whitaker having a shotgun at his desk on government property, in front of the county manager. But the board majority decided those incidents didn't warrant termination.

This all started back in October when some employees say Whitaker lost his temper and they say they felt threatened. Soon after, four years worth of grievances, including sexual harassment, were brought against the finance director. That's when commissioners got involved.

After an investigation, the 3-2 vote on December 3rd attempted to resolve the matter. The vote did go along racial lines and came down to a tie breaker vote by Chairman Charlie Newton, who is related to the finance director by a distant marriage.

Don Norton, the county manager and the finance director will both be reprimanded in their personnel files for not telling the board about the missing $3,800 for over a year, but not on the sexual harassment claims.

Newton hopes all of this is put behind them and says things will be going back to business as usual.

"We did not feel, the commissioners that voted not to terminate, that either one of those, while they are things that the employee needs to be disciplined for, did not rise to level of termination," says Commission Chairman Charlie Newton, who voted not to terminate Whitaker.

"I have to represent the people in this community and I don't want it to be said that I'm down here doing something wrong, or illegal," says Commissioner Sammie Wilson, who voted to terminate Whitaker based on the missing money and gun incident.

Commissioner Sammie Wilson also tells News 12 he doesn't think this is all over. He thinks that one employee may pursue a lawsuit.

We did try to get a comment from Jimmy Whitaker, but were turned down.

The chairman also said if the employees inside the finance department had followed their policy and reported each incident over the last four years, then this might have ended differently.