ENIGMA, Ga. (WALB) - The city of Enigma’s council is hoping to bring clarity to hiring and firing practices. This comes after allegations that the mayor has continued to hire and fire employees without a vote from the entire council.

These concerns about the city come just a week after Charity Bentley, the former clerk of court, said she was fired when she missed a phone call from Mayor Cecil Giddens, asking for her computer password.

“I was under the impression that they wanted to see change, and they were ready to be positive and move forward to change their past behavior, but that’s not at all what I’ve been seeing or what I continue to see,” Charity Bentley stated. “People signing the checks that’s not allowed to sign the checks, or firing the employees, when he doesn’t have the authority to do so, and then hiring new employees when he doesn’t have the authority to do so.”

At the city council’s last meeting on Feb. 5, the council voted to hire a new clerk of court and signed a resolution requiring two signatures on city checks — either from the mayor, city clerk or mayor pro-tem.

Some say that the most recent checks were signed by a former employee, who doesn’t currently fill any of the required job positions and signed them without the council’s approval.

Councilman Ronald Harbin said, “It’s always been that the clerk and the mayor signs checks and the mayor pro-tem is on the bank account to sign in place of the mayor or in place of the clerk.”

Bentley and Councilman Harbin expressed that the former employee who was assisting the mayor was not rehired with approval from the council.

Harbin said, “It doesn’t matter whether she was working for free or not. She is a fired employee, and city council did not vote to hire her back or even let her come work.”

The city council has called a special meeting at 6 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 13, to discuss who can hire and fire employees, who are supposed to be signing checks and what’s next for the city of Enigma.

Have a news tip or see an error that needs correction? Let us know. Please include the article’s headline in your message.

To stay up to date on all the latest news as it develops, follow WALB on Facebook and X (Twitter). For more South Georgia news, download the WALB News app from the Apple Store or Google Play.

Copyright 2025 WALB. All rights reserved.