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The Tifton City Council issued a statement clarifying that their decision to propose a “release” of City Manager Emily S. Beeman was not due to illegal activity but rather a desire by the majority of the council to pursue a different vision for Tifton’s future. Beeman was placed on administrative leave on July 19 without a public vote, potentially violating Georgia’s Open Meetings Act. Beeman resigned later but claimed she was given no reason for her leave and was forced to consider a resignation agreement. Ultimately, Beeman signed a settlement agreement where the city agreed to pay her salary and insurance costs through March 2025, while both parties waived any legal claims. Questions remain about the legality of the process, as a public vote was not conducted. Mayor Julie Smith expressed regret over the situation and emphasized the need to move forward.
The City of Tifton has never provided any basis for the actions of the three council members, and the actions of the City of Tifton are not the result of any poor job performance, any unethical, immoral, or illegal act, or any justifiable reason. – Emily Beeman, former City Manager, Tifton
We’ve got to get through this, and life will go on. – Mayor Julie Smith
What’s done is done. Any legality issue, you need to talk to Rob. – Vice Mayor Josh Reynolds
The Rest of the Story (tiftongrapevine.com)
Mayor
District 1 Councilman (Vice Mayor)
District 2 Councilman
District 3 Councilman
District 4 Councilman
City Attorney
Every bit of this is suspicious. It seems Reynolds, Franks, and Cromer Jr. waited until the mayor was on a scheduled vacation to enact their “plan”. I’d love to think Julie had no knowledge of what was about to happen.
And what the hell does “a different vision for the future of Tifton” mean? On the surface, this sounds like 3 of the council members got together and decided they didn’t like Beeman, for whatever reasons, and enacted to get rid of her. Why they didn’t follow proper procedure to hold a public vote on the issue is what makes the entire thing seem shady has hell.
Fortunately, Emily managed to get a pretty good deal from everything I’ve seen. It still doesn’t make up for the fact she was ousted from a position of authority within the City and destroyed any future plans she had on staying with the City until retirement. I’m not sure of what the current rules are for becoming vested in the City’s retirement, but it was 10 years when I worked for the City as a Director.
We rarely find our elected officials trustworthy, but when shit like this goes down, it reenforces why we don’t.