How a rejected $40K settlement cost Colquitt County taxpayers nearly half a million dollars
Colquitt County taxpayers paid $576,408.69 after rejecting a $40,000 settlement in a pension dispute.Summary
In 2000, Colquitt County amended its retirement plan to include the county attorney, and William “Bill” McCalley began receiving pension benefits after retiring in 2006. In 2019 the county stopped his payments, claiming he was an independent contractor, leading McCalley to file a breach‑of‑contract and civil‑rights lawsuit. After a 2023 settlement offer of $40,000 was accepted, the Board of Commissioners refused to ratify it, forcing the case to continue. Judge C. Dane Perkins entered a $436,278.37 judgment plus $45,584.09 in daily interest, resulting in a total payout of $481,887.46 funded from the Capital Projects Fund, while defense fees added $94,521.23, bringing the taxpayer cost to $576,408.69. As County Chairman Denver Braswell stated, “We had to discontinue his retirement payment because there was no doubt it violated IRS rules and law, not to mention the plan document itself that governs the county’s retirement plan.”
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