The Augusta-Richmond County Commission will again discuss an audit of all city departments when the body meets on March 30, the last meeting before the Commission takes a break before the Masters Tournament begins.
District 10 Commissioner John Clarke and District 3 Commissioner Catherine McKnight have long favored such an audit, but to date, the majority of the Commission has not been on board, citing the cost of such an endeavor.
Clarke says that he and Mcknight are not asking for a forensic audit, but rather a financial and operating audit across the entire city.
“We aren’t pointing fingers at anyone, but we need to know where money is being spent. This is an effort to save the taxpayer’s money and eliminate waste,” Clarke said.
According to Clarke, the city is steaming close to an iceberg as former City Administrator Odie Donald II pushed through a near billion dollar budget for fiscal year 2022 using a massive infusion of federal funding aimed at easing the effects of the COVID-19pandemic. Clarke says the city is going to be in trouble when that funding runs out at the end of the year.
Clarke says that while he isn’t pointing fingers, some red flags are obvious such as the continuing problems at the landfill despite the millions spent on its operation as well as the recreation department that claims to spend $259,000 annually on Pendleton King Park when the area is 50% wetlands and the gardens are managed by volunteers.
“The government gets property taxes, sales tax, ad valorem taxes, SPLOST, storm water fees and state revenue, yet we can’t seem to find the money to fix potholes and mow the grass. At some point, we have to find out exactly where all this money is going,” Clarke Said.
McKnight agrees and says that the city needs to have an outside set of eyes rather than use the same local company year after year.
“The people are losing trust in the government. I am getting calls and emails all the time with people asking when this government is going to fix things such as streetlights and clogged drains, and I am told there is a lack of funding,” McKnight said.
According to McKnight, the city has a commissioner with a case before federal court and a mayor under scrutiny by the Georgia Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission, and that casts a pall over the entire city. Both of those investigations center around alleged misappropriation of city funds.
Clarke and McKnight have asked for an audit three times in the past to no avail, but both say they are following in the footsteps of former commissioner Marion Williams who was known for continuing to place items on the agenda as new evidence emerged. Many times, Williams was able to finally persuade the full commission to vote in his favor.
“It is clear the people are not happy, and when the people aren’t happy, I’m not happy because I work for the people. If we have to keep putting this on the agenda, we will,” McKnight said.
Scott Hudson is the senior reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
