Bringing safe drinking water to Juliette, purchasing new fire trucks for Monroe County Emergency Services (MCES), consistently maintaining or lowering the county’s millage rate, and transitioning the Monroe County government to a full-time county manager were among Monroe County’s top achievements during the past eight years while longtime Commission Chairman Greg Tapley has been at the helm.
Tapley will leave office on Dec. 31, 2024 after two terms as chairman, a tenure that began on Jan. 1, 2017. In 2020, Tapley was believed to be the first Monroe County chairman ever elected to a second term, breaking a decades-long “curse,” a feat of which he is particularly pleased. The chairman is the sole commissioner who is elected countywide in Monroe County.
“A lot of times different areas of the county would get mad because another area got something, so the chairman is always a target in the middle,” Tapley said. “I got lucky in that situation in that I had done a good job the first four years and was elected to another four and had done a good job representing everybody. The ‘Cursebreaker.’ I broke the curse, so I was proud of that.”
As chairman, Tapley is responsible for running the twice-monthly meetings, keeping the agenda moving and maintaining order both on the Board and with members of the public. Tapley was frequently lauded by his fellow commissioners for maintaining calm in a sometimes chaotic environment, particularly during contentious zoning disputes. Tapley said he’s proud that he was able to keep meetings on topic and usually finished in a timely manner.
“People talk about me conducting a good meeting, being in charge of that, but I don’t relish being in charge,” Tapley said. “I try to let conversation and dialogue happen as it needs to, but I’ve grown in the ability to make sure we keep things on track, to focus. And for someone who is kind of self-diagnosed ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder), for me to help keep things focused is definitely something I’ve grown into, to help us focus on the task at hand.”
From the start of his tenure, Tapley frequently referred to Monroe County as a “team.” Tapley, who enjoyed being called “Coach” by Code Enforcement Officer Dep. Jeff Wilson, said while he’s always thought of himself as a team player, he learned quickly how important it was to find common ground with his fellow commissioners, each of whom saw issues from different viewpoints.
“They’re all strong-minded individuals,” Tapley said of his “teammates” on the Board. “You don’t get into this position by being weak-minded. Being able to listen is important. . . I take everyone at face value. I respect the fact that each of them got elected by their peers, by their constituents. So it’s important to listen and to understand where each of them are coming from and take all that together and try to come to consensus. It doesn’t mean that everybody’s going to agree. It just means that we all get to some type of forward progress to solve a problem as best we can with the five of us. And most of the time, if you look back at the records, sure there’s times where people disagree, but there’s so many unanimous votes.”
Tapley said the fate of Monroe County Hospital in 2017 was the first major issue he faced during his term in office. Tapley said the voters decided via countywide referendum that they didn’t want the financially strapped Monroe County Hospital to close, so Monroe County Commissioners issued a one-time millage hike to save the hospital.
Tapley said, “The right thing to do was to let the people decide. And they did. I’m glad that we still have a county hospital here and they’re turning things around.”
Other key issues that soon followed included: how to streamline the county’s government into one run by a full-time county manager, how to get high-speed internet to citizens all throughout Monroe County, how to replace aging equipment at Monroe County Emergency Services (MCES), how to run county water lines to Juliette in the most cost-efficient manner, how to provide adequate services for county citizens without necessitating a property tax increase, and how to adjust the county’s health insurance model to better manage rising healthcare costs.
Tapley said he relished the opportunity to work on answers to those pressing issues that affected Monroe County citizens.
“For eight years I’ve enjoyed coming up here each day and helping solve problems,” Tapley said. “That’s the main thing that we (Commissioners) have to do. Figure out budgets and personnel and policy and ‘putting out fires.’ Most all of them have been challenges. It’s fun to me to try to solve them and try to come up with solutions that are best for most everybody.”
When Tapley began his first term in 2017, Monroe County was governed almost exclusively by the five part-time Commissioners who oversaw a full-time clerk. Tapley said he wanted Commissioners to stop micro-managing the county government by hiring a full-time county manager. Tapley’s vision came to fruition in fall 2018 when longtime oil executive Jim Hedges was hired as county manager and experienced finance manager Lorri Robinson was hired as finance director.
“We didn’t need five part-time guys micro-managing a $40-50 million budget,” Tapley said. “We needed a strong full-time county manager. We needed a strong, full-time extremely knowledgeable finance director, and because of them we’ve ended up in a great financial position.”
Tapley said his philosophy on hiring is simple: “I’ve always said, ‘Hire the right person for the right position. Give them the right tools and get out of the way.’”
Tapley said one of the biggest ongoing challenges that Monroe County Commissioners faces is the desire for Monroe County to grow, but not in a way that jeopardizes Monroe County’s rural tradition.
“It has to do with this juxtaposition, this internal conflict between development and staying rural, staying small town,” Tapley said. “I fall on the small town side. I want it to be Mayberry. I really do. The biggest challenge is that we’ve got an interstate running through the middle of our yard, the middle of our house. . . So one of the challenges long-term is finding growth that benefits us that doesn’t damage, that doesn’t just rip the fabric of our community apart.”
Tapley said another ongoing challenge for Commissioners is Monroe County’s heavy financial dependency upon Plant Scherer, one of the nation’s largest coal-fired power plants, amidst continued anti-coal sentiment at the federal level.
But perhaps the challenge that Tapley was most vocal about during his Commission tenure was his desire for a fair and accurate local media, which he doesn’t believe Monroe County receives from its legal organ, The Monroe County Reporter. Tapley said there were instances when the local paper reported unfairly on the Commissioners, such as a 2019 article when the Reporter declared the county was having a “buying spree” because it used Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) funds approved by Monroe County voters to purchase needed county equipment.
“When we (Monroe County Commissioners) do something wrong, I’m glad to admit it. I’m glad to fix it,” Tapley said. “When we do something right, give us a little bit of praise, a little bit of credit for it. But don’t say that we did something wrong when we didn’t. You’ve got a real credibility issue with the local media. It doesn’t represent everyone properly. And so you get a skewed vision of this county and where we stand.”
Tapley said he thinks the continuing debate about LGBTQ+-themed books in the children’s section of the Monroe County Library was a topic the Reporter used to divide Monroe County citizens.
“I think that the library issue is a tempest in a teapot,” Tapley said. “I believe it got started again by the local media just to stir up controversy in our community. . . There’s a process with the library to get a book pulled and be reviewed and then a decision made on where it ought to be or if it ought to stay in the library. There is a process. The local paper ran eight weeks without doing anything as part of the process. . . My problem is the fact that it was all for show. It was all for selling newspapers. It wasn’t to protect kids. And the other part of it is it’s ridiculous to consider shutting down the library. To throw the baby out with the bath water, it’s ridiculous.”
While Tapley had a contentious relationship with the Reporter, he got along well with other elected officials, including his longtime friend/business partner Eric Wilson, who is Forsyth’s two-term mayor. Wilson said he and Tapley always maintained respect for one another even when they were at odds in their positions on issues.
“Greg is smart and processes information well,” Wilson said. “He understands the impacts that his decisions have on the citizens and worked hard to make the right decisions on tough issues. He was very reasonable to work with, and he understands that the citizens of Forsyth are Monroe Countians as well.”
Monroe County District Attorney Jonathan Adams said during Tapley’s tenure there has been tremendous growth in the county’s public safety and improvements in the efficiency of the county’s court system. This includes continued support for accountability courts that offer programs that address drug addiction and mental health in Monroe County.
“Chairman Tapley has been instrumental in ensuring that our judicial system has the necessary personnel and equipment to perform its duties effectively,” Adams said. “His support for the District Attorney’s Office has enabled us to continue our mission of providing swift and fair justice to our community.”
District 2 Commissioner Eddie Rowland, who has served alongside Tapley for nearly all of his eight years in office, said Tapley’s leadership skills were not only evident in his effectiveness at running meetings but also in his countless connections with political figures all over the country.
“I always could depend on him when I needed someone at the state level or the federal level to talk about a grant or a road issue or something like that,” Rowland said. “He’s got those contacts, and that’s very valuable when you’re having to work hand-in-hand with state and federal governments.”
Tapley said he’s always appreciated that state and federal officials have trusted him to provide information that helps them make decisions that affect Monroe County and Georgia. One of those lawmakers who frequently kept in touch with Tapley regarding Monroe County’s needs was Georgia House District 141 Rep. Dale Washburn, who represents the southeast portion of Monroe County.
Washburn said of Tapley: “Chairman Tapley is a leader who worked hard to move Monroe County forward. Monroe County and its future are impressive to the Middle Georgia region.”
Tapley said it is those relationships that he has cultivated that could give him other opportunities in politics sometime down the road. Tapley, who has spoken openly about wishing to succeed current Monroe County Probate Judge Donna Robins should she eventually retire, said he would consider running for a state office but prefers serving Monroe County.
“I like being a medium-sized fish in a small pond. It’s all I care to be,” Tapley said. “I like working on a local level. And otherwise, it’s also been said that it’s sometimes better to be the king maker than the king, so I’ll support different people as they run for different offices. If I can give them advice and help and assistance, I’m glad to do that.”
In the short-term, Tapley said he plans to continue his multi-decade insurance career operating Macon-based Tapley & Associates Insurance while also spending more time with wife Fran and adult son Pierce. Tapley said his family has been supportive of his political career since all the way back in 2006 when he lost an election in his first attempt at running for county commissioner. Tapley said he waited until Pierce was older to run a second time in 2016, knowing the time commitment that the Board of Commissioners entails.
Tapley said, “I can’t say thank you enough to Fran and to Pierce for the support they’ve given, for the patience that they’ve shown with me being gone and enduring some of that, putting up with some of that, while I tried to make things better for Monroe County. Some of the good that’s come to Monroe County because I’ve been involved definitely gets credited to them.”
Tapley said while he was fully prepared for the time commitment required of commissioners, he said his biggest surprise is how much he loved the hard work.
Tapley said, “I liked it when I was able to solve problems that citizens brought, especially when it was things like water, public safety, and things of that nature. I didn’t realize I would enjoy it as much as I did. . . It’s full-time work for part-time pay is what I tell folks. You’re going to earn every penny.”
Tapley’s wholehearted commitment to his job was reflected in the numerous committees and boards on which he served in leadership roles while representing Monroe County. Just a few of these include: the Development Authority of Monroe County, the Middle Georgia Clean Air Coalition, the I-75 Central Corridor Coalition, the Association County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG) Board of Managers, the ACCG Federal Policy Committee, the National Association of Counties (NACo) Agriculture & Rural Affairs Steering Committee, the NACo Rural Action Caucus, and most recently, the Griffin-Spalding Area Regional Airport Authority.
Development Authority of Monroe County President Joyce White said Tapley has been a strong liaison between the Board of Commissioners and the Development Authority during his two years as an Authority member.
White said, “Chairman Tapley and I have worked together over the years when I was in previous positions such as State Director of USDA (United States Department of Agriculture), and he has always been insightful and persistent in putting the needs of Monroe Countians first and finding ways to meet those needs.”
Tapley said although he will be leaving office in a couple of weeks, he’s always willing to aid Monroe County and its citizens.
“I’m very, very honored by the trust they’ve put in me for two terms,” Tapley said. “I’m very thankful for that, and my door is still always open if I can help in any way.”
