Habersham County Commissioner Jimmy Tench has resigned. He submitted his letter of resignation to the county commission office on Wednesday, Now Georgia confirmed. In the brief, one-sentence letter, Tench wrote: “Please accept this letter as my formal resignation from the Board of Commissioners, effective February 13, 2026, for medical reasons.
Tench served as commission chair in 2025. He is in his second term, which expires at the end of this year.
Health and liability concerns
Commissioner Tench has faced health challenges over the past year and missed several county commission meetings as a result. His resignation also comes weeks after questions were raised about potential legal liability tied to his decision to publicly share what appeared to be privileged information during a recent county commission meeting.
At the January 20, 2026, meeting, Tench read aloud a series of emails and correspondence outlining a scattered, often confusing, set of concerns that appeared to allege past misconduct within county operations. Among the topics he referenced were internal discussions about selecting an interim county manager, questions about employee training and board communications, claims of high employee turnover, and allegations regarding the handling of the county tax digest and use of outside consultants. Tench said former longtime county appraiser Joan Church was “fired,” contrary to the official line that she resigned.
During his 15-minute discourse, Commissioner Tench also addressed a push by the former county manager to seek changes to local sales tax authority through state legislation. He additionally alleged the county could face liability related to the sale and boundary adjustments of the Smithville property, which he described as “improper.” The property is located next to his property in Alto.
Tench previously expressed strong displeasure with the commission’s decision to allow a transfer station to be built near his property.
Some of the correspondence Commissioner Tench read appeared to involve internal or potentially privileged matters, prompting concerns that his actions could expose him and the county to legal risk.
Next steps
Now Georgia attempted to contact Commissioner Tench multiple times by phone and email, but has not received a response.
Reached for comment, Habersham County Manager Tim Sims said he was attending class on Wednesday and had not yet seen Tench’s resignation letter. He is withholding comment until he does.
“I will also have to research what the procedures are for filling the seat since it’s so close to the election cycle,” Sims said.
Tench is the second high-profile resignation from Habersham County government this week. On February 3, Now Georgia broke the news that Habersham County Public Works Director Jerry Baggett had resigned. His last day on the job is February 11.
