At a regular meeting of the Bulloch County Board of Commissioners, residents used the public-comment period to press the commission for more information about a recently closed Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) inquiry and to defend themselves against suggestions of improper conduct.

Resident Jessica Salaji told the board she had reviewed hours of interviews and county statements about the GBI investigation and said the county’s public explanation left outstanding questions. “Something doesn't smell right to me,” Salaji said. She criticized the board's August 21 press release wording, repeating the release's phrasing that the county “cooperated fully with the investigation with, quote, limited information about the exact nature,” and asked why the board accepted that “no provable criminal intent was discovered” without further explanation from officials who had not seen the full case file.

Salaji said county records she reviewed were difficult for investigators to interpret and that employees told the GBI the county’s processes had already been changed, telling the GBI they had “never sent over supporting documentation or invoices because no one ever asked.” Salaji said that, in her view, the lack of documentation and departmental checks created a cultural problem that warranted public review rather than dismissal.

Business owner Roy Thompson, who identified his long history in the community and his company Statesboro Floor Covering, responded to accusations reported to have come up during interviews. Thompson invited a forensic audit and said records would show limited county spending at his company: “I probably has spent less than, I guess, in 23 years, dollars 300 of the county's money,” he said. He denied any bribery claims, telling commissioners, “we have never been bribed by any of them.”

The board moved shortly afterward into an executive session under OCGA 50-14-2.1 to discuss potential litigation; the chair said the board likely would return to take action after that session.

Why it matters: Public trust in county procurement and record-keeping affects oversight of local spending and officials’ accountability. Callers urged clearer documentation of past transactions and explained why residents and journalists sought more detail about the GBI probe rather than treating the matter as closed.

Provenance:

- topicintro: block_id:block_14 local_start:0 local_end:211 evidence_excerpt:"Good morning. I wanna talk a little bit about something that I published regarding this board over the last week, stemming from the now closed GBI investigation. It ain't illegal. Might be a little unethical. I don't know if that's illegal, but I don't know what the hell is going on." reason_code:topicintro

- topfinish: block_id:block_31 local_start:0 local_end:177 evidence_excerpt:"I do not know. I didn't know I was being recorded. I certainly wouldn't have said it. Now" reason_code:topicfinish