Warner Robins Council appoints new interim General Administration Director

WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — In late 2022, Warner Robins Mayor and Council elected to make several changes to their employee classification plan, one of them creating the General Administration Department. During their Monday meeting, Council appointed an interim director to lead the department until they can find an individual to fill the role permanently.

Effective Monday, Lawrence Spurgeon will take on the new role.

“I’ve got a little bit of experience in everything, not just in law enforcement, so I hope to bring that to the table,” Spurgeon said. “I’m really here just to learn — the first part of me coming in will be me evaluating everything.”

Spurgeon told The Journal that he is the former director of public safety for the city of Fort Valley, where he specialized in managing the city’s code enforcement, the police department and fire department.

According to Patrick, however, Spurgeon has been “adamant and aggressive” in learning public administration.

“When he retired from the city of Fort Valley, from leading the public safety for that city for quite some time, he wanted to move his career into doing things more administratively,” Patrick said. “I think this will be a really good opportunity for him.”

Patrick also told The Journal that Spurgeon comes highly recommended by several individuals, and members of council have also “[sung] his praises.”

“We felt like the time was right, as we continue to take care of business this year,” Patrick said. “We’ve got a lot of training to do, [making] sure we are putting in best practices and changing up some things. We have to have someone that’s strong to lead that department to do the changes we need.”

As the director of general administration, Spurgeon will cover six essential divisions for the city:

– Taxation

– Procurement

– Customer Service

– Maintenance

– The Convention and Visitors Bureau

– IT

Spurgeon was appointed by a 5-1 vote. Councilman Clifford Holmes, who voted against Spurgeon’s appointment, said during the meeting that it’s because he believes Council should wait and think on the appointment until the next meeting.

Unlike the position of interim police chief, the interim director of general administration can seek to be hired for the full position. It is possible that Spurgeon could be chosen to fulfill this role as it’s permanent director.

The agenda and supporting documents for this meeting can be found at the city’s website, or by going to wrga.gov/agendacenter. Mayor and council’s meeting are typically scheduled on the first and third Monday of each month, exclusive of federally practiced holidays.

The next meeting will be held on Monday, Feb. 20. Pre-council will begin at 4:30 p.m. in the Carolyn Robbins Room at City Hall. The regular council meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the council chambers of the same building.

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