Candidates prepare for primary

Burkhalter, Agan vie for Floyd County sheriff slot

The battle to become the next sheriff of Floyd County could almost be considered a family feud, and it will be decided in the May 24 Republican primary.

Both incumbent Tim Burkhalter and challenger Rickey Agan have spent nearly their entire adult lives working at the sheriff’s office — Burkhalter for 31 years and Agan for 29.

In the past, each has said he considered the other almost a brother, but that relationship has soured over the past year.

Burkhalter is completing his third four-year term and said he’s never stopped wanting to be the sheriff.

Agan said that as he worked his way up to lieutenant, he always had it in his mind to wear the star.

Agan was among the candidates in 2004, when Burkhalter ousted longtime Sheriff Tommy Rickman.

He said he put his plans on hold again in 2012, when Burkhalter told him this term would likely be his last.

“We had an agreement that I would never stand in his way until he decided that he would no longer run,” Agan said.

But by the time Burkhalter decided in May 2015 that he would run for a fourth term, Agan was committed to making his own bid.

Since then, the two have parted ways. Agan has taken an accrued- leave vacation from his position in the FCSO until after the primary.

The veteran law enforcement officers do profess significant differences when it comes to management styles.

Burkhalter has followed a chain- of- command model, leaving his command staff to manage the various sections within the agency.

Agan said he would take a more hands-on approach, with direct management of the agency on a daily basis.

Clashing priorities

Burkhalter said he’s right in the middle of a number of projects, including SPLOST- funded renovations to the jail.

“I don’t like to quit on projects, and I’ve still got a passion for the job,” he said.

The medical unit is expanding from four beds to 40, with 20 of the new beds designated for inmates with mental health issues. And Burkhalter said he wants to leave the 33-year-old jail in better condition than it was when he took office.

“I’ve seen it age with me,” he said. “A year in the life of a jail is really like three years, because it’s full of people who are trying to tear it apart,”

Agan said the problem of having a four-bed infirmary for an 800- bed jail should have been ad- dressed decades ago. He asserts that a lot of the internal issues are the result of neglect.

“There is a lot of staff that only sees the sheriff once or twice a year,” Agan said. “Show them that you genuinely care, you provide them with everything they need and you’re there for them.”

The two also go back and forth on budgeting for personnel.

Burkhalter said he remains committed to getting the jail staffing up to safe levels and achieving better pay for officers. Last year he threatened to sue the Floyd County Commission over funding, but the entities crafted an uneasy truce.

Agan said money spent to send the sheriff and chief deputy to the FBI National Academy in Virginia could have been used to fund positions at the jail. He also questioned the expense of joining CALEA, the Commission for Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies.

“It’s geared to larger full- service ( agencies), and we’re not full-service because we have the county police,” Agan said.

The agency’s responsibilities are another bone of contention.

Burkhalter touted a number of outside programs his officers have been involved in. He said he also wants to establish a new church security program and a women’s firearm course.

Agan said he would prefer to see the sheriff’s office stick to its constitutionally mandated duties of court security, jail operations and serving warrants

Both said they want to work with the County Commission to try to rein in the budget while providing the maximum service to residents. How Floyd Countians define the nature of that service will go a long way toward determining the winner of the primary.

The winner gets a pass in the November general election since no one qualified to run for sheriff on the Democratic side.