Woodbine is at the center of a growing dispute over its finances, and the outcome could determine whether our county seat keeps its charter.

The city has not completed a state-required financial audit in five years. That failure makes Woodbine ineligible for grants that fund road upkeep and other municipal projects. State Sen. Mike Hodges, R-St. Simons Island, says the city is not alone, estimating as many as 120 Georgia cities are out of compliance with yearly audit requirements. He warns the legislature is losing patience. If problems go unfixed, the state has the power to revoke a city's charter and turn it into unincorporated county property. "There is definitely a problem in Woodbine," Hodges said. "I want them to solve it. If they don't do it, they will suffer the consequences."

State Rep. Steven Sainz, R-St. Marys, has proposed legislation to amend the city's charter in response. Sainz says he contacted city officials on January 31 when he learned the audits had not been done and never received an official written response from the administration. He says he later learned the city had only recently begun engaging an auditing firm to complete up to five years of audits, while also hiring an Atlanta lobbying firm at a cost of thousands of taxpayer dollars. "They have also hired a lobbying firm at the cost of thousands of dollars to taxpayers, instead of picking up the phone and talking to our delegation directly," Sainz said.

The proposed changes are significant. Sainz's first draft would let the mayor vote on all matters before the City Council rather than only to break a tie. It would place department directors under the mayor's supervision, allow the mayor to suspend or remove them, and give the mayor authority to select, oversee, and if needed fire the city administrator in certain circumstances. Sainz says attorneys reviewed the charter, approved in 1996, and found ambiguity that created confusion over who is responsible for legally required actions. "Doing nothing is not an option," he said, pointing to another public entity in his district that failed to keep up with audits and ultimately saw financial misconduct that cost taxpayers millions.

Hodges and Sainz are not fully aligned on the fix. Hodges would rather see local officials find their own solution and get professional help to improve governance. "The plain fact is we don't agree on the best way forward," Hodges said. "Steven wants to change the charter. I didn't want to fix it for them."

City leaders are divided over who is to blame. Mayor Kizzi Knight says the failure to complete audits "rests with the city administrator" and that she has given ample time for a response without one. City Administrator Samantha Young says the city fell behind after COVID-19 and the death of a city clerk in 2021, noting Woodbine has had four city clerks in the last 18 months. Knight calls the missing audits "extremely serious and cannot be minimized." "The audit represents accountability, financial responsibility and the trust that citizens place in their government," she said.

A town hall meeting on the issue is set for 6 p.m. on August 5 at the Woodbine Lions Club. Council members Louise Mitchell and Rick Baird called the meeting. Some residents have raised concerns that a quorum of elected officials was told they could not attend because it is being held in a private building, but Hodges says nothing stops the mayor and council from attending as long as they post proper notice. Knight says she plans to be there. "I will be there ready to listen and ready to answer what I can," she said, adding that she welcomes the full council so citizens can hear from all their representatives.