City prosecutor replaced with Dube





City attorney Chris Dube will now serve as Waynesboro’s solicitor too.

Monday night, city council appointed him prosecuting attorney for Municipal Court.

In January he will replace Augusta lawyer Inga Hicks, who was hired for the position several years ago by former police chief Alfonzo Williams. Dube’s partner, Dalton Dawdy, will be assistant prosecuting attorney.

The decision followed a 3-1 vote with sole opposition from vice-mayor James “Chick” Jones. Councilwoman Brenda Lewis abstained and Portia Washington was absent again, as she has been since losing the Nov. 5 election to Willie Roy Williams.

City administrator Jerry Coalson said Dube’s dual roles will give the city the legal congruity it’s been lacking.

“Waynesboro is the only city I know of with a separate solicitor and city attorney … it’s almost as if you have two attorneys representing you and there’s no continuity between the things they do,” he said. “So when you run into a problem in court and it bleeds over into the liability area of the rest of the city, it’s disjointed.”

Police Chief Augustus Palmer agreed, saying the appointment should save money, too, since two lawyers won’t be billing to corroborate on the same cases.

Since Dube’s Waynesboro office is a stone’s throw from City Hall, the chief said his availability will work nicely with plans to restructure and expand Municipal Court, which is currently held just twice a month.

“We have a packed courtroom … standing room only. We have lines down the hall and outside the door,” Chief Palmer said. “I want to expand court. I want to have more court appearances. I want to have a more efficiently run court.”



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