COVINGTON, Ga. — Newton County commissioners selected a former Georgia city official for the position of interim county manager Monday.
The Board of Commissioners voted to name former Augusta deputy city administrator Jarvis R. Sims for the job overseeing the day-to-day operations of the Newton County government.
Commissioners voted 4-0 with one abstention for Sims for the position.
The Board chose Sims over Washington deputy mayor Lucinda Babers, who has worked as Washington's deputy mayor for operations and infrastructure since March 2019 and serves as first vice chair of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) Board of Directors.
The county manager is responsible for submitting the annual budget to the Board and overseeing day-to-day operations of the parts of county government not supervised by constitutional officers — the sheriff, probate judge, tax commissioner and Superior Court clerk.
In addition to deputy administrator, Sims served as Augusta’s interim administrator for more than 18 months.
Sims earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, a master's degree in business administration from Mercer University and an online certification in government digital transformation from Harvard University, according to the Chronicle.
He also was a finalist for city manager of Forest Park in Clayton County and served as manager of capital projects and the public safety administrator for the city of East Point.
County Attorney Patrick Jaugstetter and Chairman Marcello Banes interviewed six of the original 19 applicants for the position before determining who they believed were best candidates to participate in a final round of interviews for commissioners to determine at least one finalist.
District 3 Commissioner Alana Sanders, the lone abstaining board member, said she did so because she objected to the hiring process.
She said the county charter does not prohibit commissioners from taking part in interviews prior to a finalist being named.
Sims will replace Lloyd Kerr after commissioners voted 3-2 in November not to renew his contract after it expired Jan. 1 after five years in the position.
Board members did not disclose a salary for Sims. Kerr earned $135,000.
