Rincon city manager speaks out following suspension, reinstatement by city council
June 29 is a day Rincon City Manager Jonathan Lynn will never forget.
In front of a packed house during a special called meeting, Lynn stood before city council members and Rincon Mayor Ken Lee to plead his case, and hopefully, return to his job as city manager.
Just nine months into his tenure, Lynn was suspended from the role June 1 amid accusations of excessive absences and misappropriating funds. The news shocked many in the community and dozens of townsfolk attended the meeting to support him.
The saga, which ended with his reinstatement at the meeting's end, is one that still leaves Lynn confused and disappointed.
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Council review started May 31
Lynn thought May 31 would be just like any other workday. But before close of business, he was notified about a “personnel meeting” the following day. Although surprised, he did not think much of it.
The following evening, council members met and during an executive session Lynn was asked to leave the room. It was at that point he began to suspect that he was the subject of the discussion.
His instinct was right.
“I've been in government for a long time,” said Lynn. “At that point, I knew there was something about me they were talking about. You just kind of start doing some scenario planning in your head. When they called me back in, they gave me the notice for termination and immediate suspension.”
Lynn admitted he felt numb during his ride home. A recent performance evaluation lauded his work and came with a pay increase.
“It was hard to process that,” said Lynn.
From there, Lynn requested an appeal hearing.
During his time away from the office, Lynn tried to keep a normal routine. He walked his dog and continued with his daily errands. Still, in the back of his mind, he was not sure if he would ever step foot inside city hall again.
Community members, family rally behind Lynn
Moments before the hearing that would determine if Lynn would resume his role as city manager, he felt anxious.
“You’re not certain as to what to prepare for, so you kind of have to wrap your mind around worst-case scenarios and be ready to maintain a public face, which roles like this prepare you for,” said Lynn. “I had a great support system for those 30 days. My wife was my biggest cheerleader.”
Residents like former City Councilman Kevin Exley went before the panel and spoke to Lynn’s character.
“This is my point guys - eight city managers in 17 years with interims in between,” said Exley. “That is less than two years on average for a city manager. When does this become a problem that is not associated with the city manager? When do we look at the man or the woman in the mirror? You guys that have been here for 15 years or more, you have seen every one of them.”
In his closing statement, Lynn said, “I hope you guys deliberate. I hope you guys see the value in my continuing with the City of Rincon as city manager and continuing to move everything forward. I don’t have to give you guys the list of accomplishments that I sent you guys before my evaluation but it was three pages – things we had gotten done in six and a half months. We uprooted our lives to live here. I told my wife I want to live in Rincon. This is where we want to be.”
In closing, Mayor Lee hinted that they could have gone about things differently.
“I don’t know that we’ve been really fair to Mr. Lynn,” said Lee.
Lynn described that moment as “surreal.”
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“I can go back and I think it's almost like you black out because it's such a moment that you don't expect in whatever way that would have would have panned out,” said Lynn. “You kind of don't know what to think and you barely remember it. But you remember the words.”
'Glad to be back'
Lynn could have moved on rather than appeal but he stood firm on his commitment to the City of Rincon and the community he has come to know and love.
“We uprooted our life to move here,” said Lynn, who came to Rincon from Hogansville, located in West Georgia along Interstate 85. “I had an opportunity to come back to work with the people here that showed up to support me. There was no way I was going to pass that up. I'm glad to be back. Words cannot express the appreciation for the support that I've continued to receive. It is not unnoticed.”
His staff is glad to have him back too. Teri Lee, who works in the planning and zoning department for the city, also went before the council.
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“I really like working for the city,” said Lee during the hearing. “When I first started, others in the city said how much morale had improved when Jonathan started working for the city.”
Getting Rincon Ready
Lynn is committed to move Rincon forward. Some of those projects include the waterline extension project on Old Augusta and ensuring folks in Picket Fences subdivision have adequate emergency exits from their neighborhood.
The city has seen an increase in requests for subdivisions for both single-family homes and townhomes. Sewon, one of major suppliers for the Hyundai EV manufacturing facility located in neighboring Bryan County, is opening a body parts factory in Rincon that will bring an estimated 700 jobs and create demand for housing, education, retail and infrastructure, Lynn said.
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As the city continues to grow, Lynn is mindful of what Rincon should look like in the future.
“We want to make sure that we're being respectful to the people that are already here.”
Latrice Williams is a general assignment reporter covering Bryan and Effingham County. She can be reached at lwilliams6@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: rincon city manager talks reinstatement and future plans for Rincon
