Monday night, Greensboro City Council is expected to hire Autron Hayes as its new city manager. Hayes has been the city manager of Sylvester, a city of about 6,100 people in southwest Georgia. He will be paid $105,000 annually.
Hayes told the Lake Oconee News this week that he has worked in local government for 24 years. He was city manager in Sylvester from 2016 to 2018, when he left because of disagreements with the then-mayor. For two years, he was the director of public works in Barrow County. In 2020, the city of Sylvester rehired Hayes to return as city manager. Current mayor Harold Proctor is a big fan.
“You’re getting a gem in Mr. Hayes,” Proctor told the Lake Oconee News. “You can find people that know the job, but it’s hard to find a person that’s going to be part of the community.”
Proctor says Hayes is a “forward thinker” and credits him with bringing broadband to the city and leading a major project to renovate the city hall.
Hayes has a Master of Public Administration degree from Valdosta State University. His professional affiliations include the Georgia Municipal Association Legislative Policy Council, the Board of Directors of the Georgia City/ County Management Association, and the Government Finance Officers Association.
Hayes says it has been his plan for a year to leave Sylvester when his 17-year-old son Adrian graduates from Worth County High School this month. Hayes is a single parent with a second son, A.J., who is 20.
Hayes turned in his resignation in April, hoping to find a job near his family in the Conyers area. He said he applied for the Greensboro job even though he had been getting inquiries from other places.
“There are other jobs out there,” he said. “As a matter of fact, one was the state of Georgia. There’s a county in North Carolina. Other places that wanted me to come.”
He says he likes working with people in communities and collaborating with businesses, and he is excited that Greensboro wants him. Except for one thing.
“I hate that I didn’t get unanimous support,” he said. “I hate that. I try to work for all the people.”
The back story
Greensboro has been without a city manager for four months since Jarvis Sims resigned under pressure in December.
Sources tell the Lake Oconee News that over the weeks, two candidates—Hayes and former Georgia Department of Revenue Commissioner David Curry—emerged from the search, but the city council could not agree on a favorite.
In March, Mayor Corey Williams nominated David Curry to become city manager, but the city council rejected the nomination on a 3-2 vote. The mayor seemed surprised.
Since then, the council has remained split, with members David Neal and Jontavius Smith supporting Curry and members Chris Moore, Cynthia Rivers, and Morris Miller supporting Hayes.
Finally, at the last city council meeting on May 6, Williams, who has been handling city manager responsibilities since January, nominated Hayes for the position. The preliminary vote was 3-2 in favor of Hayes, with Neal and Smith voting no.
City council members were contacted by the Lake Oconee News this week to comment on their support or opposition to Hayes.
In a lengthy email, Chris Moore said Hayes’ credentials and experience are “too relevant and accomplished to overlook.”
“Mr. Hayes manages 112 employees,” Moore continued, “in a city that provides electricity, gas, water, sewer, telecommunications, police, fire, code enforcement, Main Street, finance, administration, sanitation, stormwater, economic development, public works, and planning and zoning.”
Moore said that he personally made an unannounced visit to Sylvester, which is about 17 miles east of Albany.
“Early on, it was abundantly clear,” Moore wrote, “that Sylvester had experienced a cultural change for the better. Everyone we spoke with had high praises for our future city manager. Merchants, city employees, and citizens all spoke in high regard of Mr. Hayes.”
As of press time, Miller and Rivers had not responded to emails requesting comment.
City council member Jontavius Smith told the Lake Oconee News that he did not have enough information to vote in favor of Hayes. He added that he was out of town when other council members interviewed Hayes and did not reach out to him.
“To be honest, I wasn’t going to interview anyone and deal with anybody and look at the paperwork until I see something that I took seriously,” he said.
“The sad thing about it to me,” Smith continued, “is that I was going to bring Mr. Curry in, who’s the former state revenue commissioner. That could have brought in a lot of connections and a lot of benefits to the community. Because of that connection, we already had many people ready to partner with the community.”
David Neal, also a supporter of Curry, said he was out of town when Hayes was interviewed. He said he was caught off guard when the mayor nominated Hayes at the last meeting and did not have a chance to call him.
“If he were to walk up right now, I wouldn’t know him,” Neal told the Lake Oconee News. “I understood we were going to reopen the job position.”
Both Neal and Smith say they will, of course, work with whoever is the new city manager.
Following a two-week waiting period required by Georgia’s open meeting law, the city council will confirm the decision to hire Autron Hayes on Monday, assuming councilmembers Rivers, Miller, and Moore maintain their support.