Treutlen County Board of Commissioners Appoints New County Manager
In a closed executive session on March 2, Treutlen County Commissioners confirmed the hiring of Joseph Glenn as new County Manager. Glenn, who has currently been serving as Deputy Director of the Treutlen County Emergency Management Agency, replaced the previous county manager, T.J. Hudson, who resigned in January. Glenn’s hire became effective as of the date of his appointment March 2, 2026.
At that meeting Commission Chairman Phil Jennings clarified the purpose of the recent county road ordinance prohibiting reducing the operation of heavy vehicles on county roads. The Chairman stated he had received calls from people that were confused about the wording of the ordinance. Jennings stated the ordinance was aimed at prohibiting the use of heavy vehicles and equipment with tracks on county roads in an effort to stop road damage and repair expenses incurred by the county. The ordinance, which was proposed by Commissioner Rodney Meeks in 2025, officially passed in the regular monthly board meeting on February 10, 2026, and goes into effect on April 1, 2026.
Chairman Jennings spoke about the recent Soperton-Treutlen Joint Commission Comprehensive meetings held in February and specifically about the plan for the county to expand its access to I-16. He reported the county has three exits and 20 miles of interstate that require the use of county resources, specifically fire and emergency services. Therefore, he felt some of the expenditure could be offset by better utilization of the county’s interstate connected land. Jennings stated that before the county could move forward there would need to be a review of older ordinances that may restrict the use of interstate land.
The Commissioners passed a resolution for the appointment of Donna Young to the county’s Board of Tax Assessors as board chairman. Young was recommended for the position at the February meeting by then chairman Chris Kight.
Another resolution was passed to adopt an amendment to the Community Work Program Section of the Treutlen County Joint Comprehensive Plan of amendments to a Heart of Georgia Altamaha Regional Commission contract. Chad Sharp, Heart of Georgia representative, presented the board with an updated contract amended to better reflect the guidelines set by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs which, according to Sharp, is “very picky” about their standards and the language describing those standards. “All it’s saying is we’re going to adhere to their standards and policies,” commented Board Chairman Phil Jennings.
The board considered a second amendment to its community work program which the county had voted on and implemented a few years back. The work program is operated primarily by the Treutlen County School System. The proposed amendment would update the language present in the new comprehensive plan to reflect the program’s implementation “This is just updating to show that we did start a community work program,” said Jennings. The amendment passed unanimously.
Next on the meeting’s agenda was the unanimous vote to appoint Ken Hughes to fill a newly open seat created by the departure of Izell Stephens, Jr. from the Treutlen County Development Authority Board.
Nine county business license applications were unanimously approved by a blanket motion made by Commissioner Gillis. According to Chairman Jennings, two of the licenses were from new businesses that Ken Hughes had attracted to the county.
The board also discussed the possibility of posting a listing of county businesses on their official website. The idea was presented by Commissioner Meeks and was met by total approval from the board members present.
Commissioner Meeks brought up the need for another Handicap Parking space at the County Courthouse. The need had been brought to his attention by a county resident. Meeks stated as a result he had looked into the situation and believed the county should consider providing the additional parking space. The board felt that the added space would be a good thing and asked that Meeks check into what would be needed to get the parking space added.
Meeks also spoke to what he felt was a need for tracking devices to be placed on county vehicles and equipment. He referenced several calls he had received regarding “wives in cars” as a reason for the increased accountability. Meeks also noted the tracking devices would allow county officials to track down stolen or misplaced equipment. Chairman Jennings said even though he felt the trackers would not prove to be popular with many, “I think if you had the ability to pull it up, see where it was live on a map, you would potentially catch some things that we hear about, or dispel rumors when we hear about things like that, too,” Jennings and other board members expressed their approval of moving forward with the tracking suggestion and asked Meeks and County Clerk Angie Hooks to look into costs and to provide the board with quotes.
The Financial Report showed the following balances as of March 2026: General Fund $1,157,478.62, Certificate of Deposit $417,703.01, Local Maintenance Grant $791,105.77, 2019 SPLOST $387,672.52, 2025 SPLOST $305,695.16, Crime Victims Assistance Fund $250,137.27, Drug Abuse Treatment Education $26,744.89, Federal Drug Seizure Fund $52,943.08, State Drug Seizure $9,974.84, E-911 $437,861.04, Jail Reserve $51,709.03, Treutlen/ Wheeler Landfill, $9,862.50, T-SPLOST $432,077.16 The next meeting of the Treutlen County Board of Commissioners is scheduled for April 6, 2026, at 6 p.m.
