COVINGTON, Ga. — One mainstay in the Newton County Board of Commissioners meetings over the last year was missing from this past Tuesday’s bimonthly meeting.

Jarvis Sims, who served as interim county manager since last March, ended his time in that position Monday, March 6, after his contract expired. 

A total of 25 applicants have sought the position overseeing most of the Newton County government, said Bryan Fazio, Newton County public relations director.

However, while there had been some discussion as to if Sims would be considered for the permanent role, it is unclear if he was in the number of candidates recently interviewed by the BOC for the permanent position. 

Fazio confirmed Sims’ departure from the position and said not to expect much difference in how the county is run while the county manager position is vacant.

“Newton County is seeking a full time county manager,” Fazio said. “The department heads will continue to run their departments.” 

Sims began his stint as interim county manager on March 7, 2022. Sims hit the ground running leading the day-to-day operations of most of Newton County government.

Among his first duties was preparing the 2023 budget for presentation to the Newton County Board of Commissioners. 

He’s also walked the BOC through several controversial matters over the last year.

No doubt, the Board and the county will be looking for stability with whomever its next county manager appointment will be, as the position has seen its fair share of topsy-turvy moments over the last few years.  

Lloyd Kerr was hired as interim county manager in early 2016 and promoted to the permanent position later that year as the county changed its charter to make the county manager the top administrative officer in the government.

Then, in 2019, the Board unanimously voted to renew Kerr’s contract in 2019 for three years but chose not to renew it for another three years.

An ante litem notice sent to Newton County in January 2022 stated that, in social media videos and conversations with other public officials, Commissioners Alana Sanders, Demond Mason and J.C. Henderson made “clear they harbored racial animus in opposing Mr. Kerr holding the position of county manager and voting to non-renew his employment contract.” 

All have publicly denied the claims.

An ante litem notice detailing specific claims is required to be sent to a governmental agency before a lawsuit is filed against that agency in Georgia. 

Newton County government’s liability insurer, Charter Oak Fire Insurance Co., then chose to pay a settlement of $575,000 to Kerr in August 2022 and subsequently dropped its coverage of the government because of what it said were excessive claims.

Sims’ presence provided some needed stability to the county’s operation during and after that legal firestorm.