This online news website is owned and operated by Becky Watts. If you enjoy reading Pike County Times, consider buying an advertisement for your business or sending a donation to support the only free online newspaper in Pike County.

Donations can be sent to: The Pike County Times, PO Box 843, Zebulon, Georgia 30295. You can also donate through www.venmo.com/u/pikecountytimes, $pikecountytimes, and PayPal.Me/PikeCountyTimesLLC.

Thanks for supporting Pike County's only free online newspaper!

ZEBULON - The dual role position of County Attorney / County Manager will soon be two separate positions again. The announcement was made in Tuesday night’s regular called County Commission Meeting.

The position of County Manager and County Attorney has been combined for a little over one year. Pike County will no longer be the only county in the State of Georgia with this combined position in county government.

History

On April 9, 2025, Morton was appointed as County Manager for Pike County while retaining his position of County Attorney. The vote was 3-2 with Commissioners James Jenkins and Ken Pullin voting against it.

In that meeting, both commissioners spoke well of Morton and said that the public had spoken well of Morton, but stated that there were a number of reasons for voting against this measure. Reasons against voting for this included Pike County being the only county in the entire state of Georgia having a combined position for County Attorney/Manager, a loss of checks and balances as well as combining what had been separation of duties, roles, responsibilities, and powers of these two positions, and that a majority of citizens did not want to see the positions combined.

Chairman Briar Johnson stated in the meeting that this would be a short-term solution of maybe 3 to 5 years and that it would save the county money even if the county had to hire outside counsel on some items. He said that the county had run smoothly when Morton was the Interim County Manager and hoped that this would be smooth as well.

After the vote to make Morton the County Manager and County Attorney, Pullin made a motion to terminate the 2019 County Attorney contract between Morton and Pike County. The motion failed with a 2-3 vote with Commissioners Ken Pullin and James Jenkins voting in favor, and Commissioners Tim Guy and Tim Daniel, and Chairman Briar Johnson voting against it.

At the time, Morton was also serving as the attorney for the cities of Meansville, Williamson, and Zebulon as well as legal counsel for more than one board and authority in Pike County and as judge for more than one city not located in Pike County. Morton is no longer the sitting attorney for cities in Pike County.

At the time, Morton was also paid $3,000 a month for each month since August of the prior year and an annual payment of $65,000 was put into the 2025-2026 budget for his compensation as the County Manager.

Read “BREAKING NEWS: Morton to Serve as County Manager and County Attorney” by clicking here: www.pikecountytimes.com/secondary/BREAKINGNEWSmorton4.9.25.html

Read “BREAKING NEWS: A Review of County Manager Finalists” by clicking here: www.pikecountytimes.com/secondary/BREAKINGNEWScmfinalistsreview3.17.25.html. This article includes a total breakdown of the amount that Morton is making as County Attorney and his contract for the County Attorney position. [Note from the Editor: Pike County Times is not aware of a contract for the County Manager position.]

Closing

The Pike County Board of Commissioners held a special called meeting on Thursday, July 23, 2026 in which personnel was the topic of discussion. The Commissioners and County Clerk went into the back room while County Attorney / Manager Rob Morton remained at the table at the beginning of the meeting. Morton then went into the back to talk to them when he was summoned during the meeting. No motion was made at the end of the July 23, 2026 meeting.

Morton was sick and could not attend the July 28, 2026 meeting, but Johnson read a statement aloud from the County Manager Report that notified the Pike County Board of Commissioners and the public of Morton’s intentions.

The report read as follows: “As we discussed last week, I do plan to announce the transition from the dual role county manager/county attorney and ask for authorization to solicit applications for the position of County Manager through the end of August.”

In the meeting, Johnson advised that Morton would be serving as the Interim County Manager as the search for a new County Manager was conducted.

The plan was to have the advertisement sent to the local print newspaper by their deadline in order to have it running in the paper for the entire month of August. Commissioners voted 5-0 to run the advertisement for a county manager and to extend that deadline if that is needed.

The advertisement reads as follows:

RECEIVING APPLICATIONS FOR COUNTY MANAGER

The Pike County Board of Commissioners is seeking qualified applicants for the position of County Manager. Pike County has approximately 150 employees and an annual budget of $19 million. The population of Pike County is approximately 20,000. The position of County Manager is appointed by, and reports to, the 5-member Board of Commissioners. 4 of the Commissioners are elected by district, and the Chairman of the Board of Commissioners is elected at-large.

Applicants should have knowledge of quality growth management practices, government finance, human resource management, community planning, and rural public works management; and, applicants must have strong leadership/communication skills. Applicants must be able to develop and implement goals/objectives. The position oversees, manages and supervises all county departments and employees, except for the employees of elected officials or constitutional officers. Duties will include the administration of the day-to-day operations of the county government pursuant to the ordinances, resolutions and policies implemented by the Board of Commissioners.

A degree in Business and/or Public Administration is preferred, but a combination of education, experience and motivation will be considered. County Official certification is also preferred, but a commitment to complete such certification promptly will be considered.

The deadline to submit applications will be Friday, August 28, 2026, which may be extended if necessary. Pike County is an Equal Opportunity Employer. In accordance with Georgia law, the names of the top finalists for the county manager position will be released for public information 14 days prior to the final selection. Prior to the release of names, each finalist will be advised if he/she is one of the final candidates and may decline further consideration for the position, which will remove his/her name from the release of names to the public.

Please submit completed applications (available online) with salary history/resume/references to:
Pike County Board of Commissioners
Attn: Angela Blount, County Clerk
P.O. Box 377
Zebulon, GA 30295
www.pikecoga.gov
email: ablount at pikecoga.gov
Applications may also be hand delivered to the Pike County Administrative offices located at 331 Thomaston Street Zebulon, Georgia.

Thank you to First Bank of Pike for sponsoring Pike County Times’ Breaking News Alerts! First Bank of Pike has been serving customers in Pike County and the surrounding area since 1901 and offers Personal and Business banking with a personal touch. Services include checking, savings, money market, certificates of deposit, and IRA’s. Mobile Banking and Bill Payment services are also available! Click here for more. Please let First Bank of Pike know that you appreciate their sponsorship of Breaking News Alerts on Pike County's only FREE online newspaper!

INFORMATION ABOUT RECEIVING BREAKING NEWS ALERTS CAN BE FOUND, HERE.

Thanks for reading and supporting Pike County Times.com!