The former chief of police in the City of Guyton has landed a new gig as Chief of Police.
According to records obtained by TheGeorgiaVirtue.com, James Breletic was hired by the City of Oglethorpe in Macon County in November 2024. Breletic left the City of Guyton January 2024 after the slate of incumbents were ousted during the 2023 election cycle. Breletic’s time in Guyton was fogged by a steady stream of headlines regarding his leadership practices, his hiring decisions, response times, whether or not the city was a 24/7 police department, working relationships with other agencies, and accurate reporting of data, among other things. He cited “online abuse,” “harassment from social media platforms,” a “hostile work environment,” and a “propagation of falsehoods betrayed on myself and the Guyton Police officers” as his reasons for leaving his post.
City of Oglethorpe
The City of Oglethorpe, located in Macon County, is a small town which entails a mere 2.05 square miles. Population wise, the city has 953 people, according to 2023 Census data, a 28% decrease since 2010. TheGeorgiaVirtue.com sought records pertaining to the city’s operations and found that the police department operates at a loss that is more than 8 ½ times greater than the revenue generated annually.
In 2023, the police department budgeted collecting $65,000 in fines and budgeted spending $501,104.
In 2024, the police department budgeted collecting $40,000 in fines and budgeted spending $497,915.
In 2025, the police department budgeted collecting $65,000 in fines and budgeted spending $566,700.
The budget of $566,700 equates to $594.65 per person.
The FY 2025 budget for the police department indicates that $268,000 of the PD budget is salary. The second largest expense is health insurance, followed by ‘equipment rental’ and liability insurance.
According to budgets made available online, the city subsidizes the police department with money collected for water and sewer services.
Breletic’s Application
Breletic’s job application for the middle Georgia city listed a Marietta home location with a mailing address in Guyton, and a phone number from Valdosta.
Breletic’s application, which is not filled out in its entirety, makes nominal references to the city of Gutyon. He attached his resume and POST record to the handwritten application, however, and it also lacks references to experience and accomplishments in Guyton.
Specific Reason for Leaving [GUYTON PD]: CHANGE OF ___________.This answer was incomplete.
On the question of what his starting pay was in Guyton PD: Breletic wrote ‘?’
Have you ever been suspended, demoted, dismissed, or asked to resign from any job? SEE POST RECORD + LETTER ATTACHED
The application asked for three references who are not related and who are NOT previous employers. Breletic listed an individual from Valdosta, one from Lake Park, and former Guyton Mayor Russ Deen.
The attached resume said of his work at Guyton PD:
“Responsible for the entire police department which included budgeting, payroll, training, Court services, police department, investigations, and equipment. Additional responsibilities included security and safety of water plant, City hall, and Court wall [sic] in progress.”
Breletic’s resume also touts 21 years in law school at Concord University of Law, though no degree was obtained.
Hiring & Work to Date
The documents provided in the Open Records Request by the City of Oglethorpe do not indicate that city officials made any attempt to contact previous employers of Breletic before making the hiring decision.
City Council meeting minutes and an oath signed by Breletic indicate he was hired in November 2024. December 2024 council meeting minutes state that Breletic’s transition is “going well, just a few hiccups.” The same minutes stated Breletic hired a female officer two weeks after his own hiring and they were working on getting the computers and internet working at the police department.
A January 2025 council meeting summary notes that Breletic requested the city purchase handheld radios because 911 was reaching out to him on his cell phone.
The following month, Breletic launched his tenure with an initiative to update the police department’s policy manual. Breletic did the same in the City of Guyton, a venture that took more than three years, and operated the department in its entirety without one for that same time period.
