Walnut Grove to consider hire of a City Marshal

By Jim Thompson – The Walton Tribune

The Walnut Grove City Council could vote as soon as its Oct. 8 meeting on hiring a city marshal to serve as the city’s code enforcement officer, to enforce municipal ordinances, and to assist the Walton County Sheriff’s Office in its activities in the city.

Money for the position is in the city’s budget for the current fiscal year, but that does not necessarily mean the council must approve the position. The budget contemplates a $50,000 salary for a city marshal, with an additional $31,800 budgeted for a marshal department — covering medical and retirement benefits, training and education, office supplies and other items — for a total budget of $81,800.

Mayor Stephanie Moncrief and the city council got a first formal look at their Sept. 24 non-voting work session at a proposed ordinance that would establish a city marshal’s office and delineate its responsibilities. The city’s code currently references a marshal but does not set any formal duties or responsibilities for the post, City Administrator Joe Morris told the council.

In a presentation to the council, Morris made it clear that, however a council decision on a marshal’s office might turn out, the Walton County Sheriff’s Office will remain the city’s primary law-enforcement agency.

Under the proposed ordinance for the office, the marshal — who would be armed, Morris said in a brief interview following the meeting — would have arrest powers within the city limits for violations of both city ordinances and state law.

But according to Morris, the city’s primary expectation for a marshal would be municipal code enforcement. Beyond that, the marshal’s duties would include assisting both the municipal court clerk and municipal court operations, serving legal papers, enforcing judicial orders, and delivering municipal citations and notices of violations of city regulations.

The ordinance also sets out minimum qualifications for a city marshal. Under the ordinance, a city marshal will have to be certified by the Georgia Peace Office Standards & Training Council, be at least 19 years old, have a high school or General Educational Development diploma, have no convictions on felony charges or on misdemeanor charges involving moral turpitude, and be of good moral character.