Timothy Balch pressed to pick a job, already

By T.S. Carter |

LANIER COUNTY, Georgia – As of Monday, August 25, Timothy Balch is interim director of Lanier County’s Emergency Management Agency. The hitch is, Balch is also chief of School Police for Lanier County as of two (2) weeks ago.

You can’t do both, the School District told Balch this week, insisting that he choose which job he wants – and pronto.

Balch joined the School Police after serving as the chief deputy of the Lanier County Sheriff’s Office. But Balch took over as Lanier Emergency Management Agency director after Homeland Security booted Tony Galardo from his EMA director post last week because he “did not possess the requisite qualifications”.

If Balch stays as interim EMA chief, he will have Galardo as a deputy of sorts. County commissioners created the job of “specialist” for Galardo after his firing.

If Balch stays with the School District, Lanier County could face a situation of not having a Homeland Security certified director as hurricane season reaches its peak. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is part of Homeland Security, would likely sanction the county should a hurricane come through and it lacked a certified director.

A former Army Ranger with a three-decade law-enforcement career behind him, Balch rose to chief deputy in the Lanier SO. In his one or more years there, Balch also served as an area training officer including on the VSU virtual gun range.

He has served a couple years as a police officer at Valdosta State University.

Before that he had stints at law enforcement agencies across South Georgia, including the Lowndes Sheriff’s Office.