Tift County commissioners discuss holiday schedule change, concerns about homeless camping and move to executive session on real estate

During the June 6 workshop Chairman Tony McBrayer reopened the personnel holiday schedule for discussion and said he would recommend removing Christmas Eve and adding Veterans Day so county employees would retain 11 paid holidays. The board discussed three options — remove Christmas Eve and add Veterans Day, add Veterans Day only, or leave the schedule unchanged — and directed staff to place the matter on the June 12 Regular Session for further deliberation.

Commissioner Melissa Hughes said she had received numerous calls about homeless camping at the Avondale Mills property and asked the board for assistance addressing the situation; no specific action was recorded during the workshop and the matter was not resolved in that session.

The board then moved into executive session to discuss real estate. Commissioner Fred "Buck" Rigdon moved to adjourn into executive session for real estate; Commissioner Donnie Hester seconded and the motion carried 6‑0. Later Commissioner Greg Wood moved to adjourn the executive session; Commissioner Melissa Hughes seconded and the motion carried 6‑0. The workshop was then adjourned.

Why it matters: The holiday‑schedule discussion affects county personnel policy and employee benefits; the homeless‑camping concern involves public safety and property stewardship; the executive session on real estate indicates the board pursued confidential negotiation or acquisition matters outside of open session.

Next steps: The holiday schedule item was placed on the June 12 Regular Session agenda; the record shows no public action on the Avondale Mills camping issue during the workshop.