Augusta’s Charter Review Committee meets Thursday to hear from former mayor Hardie Davis, consider forming an audit department, and hold its first public hearing.
Davis, who served seven years in the Georgia General Assembly before being elected mayor in 2014 and 2018, will speak at 10 a.m. in the commission chamber of the Augusta Municipal Building at 535 Telfair St.
The former mayor famously launched an effort to increase the mayor’s authority during his second month in office. He held a news conference and announced plans to add a veto, contracting, budgeting and auditing power, and direct oversight of city department heads to the mayor’s list of powers.
The Augusta mayor’s duties, which are limited in the current charter, are among the things the Charter Review Committee could recommend changing.
Davis’ 2015 move came as a surprise to the Augusta Commission as well as to the Augusta legislators he needed to draft legislation to change the charter. The legislators cited a lack of information or community input and never pushed a bill.
Previous mayors Larry Sconyers, Bob Young and Deke Copenhaver also sought charter changes. Young and Copenhaver addressed the Charter Review Committee two weeks ago.
The committee released a survey Tuesday to which the public is encouraged to respond.
Also on the 10 a.m. agenda are speakers Moses Todd and James Williams, who are allowed three minutes each to speak. Todd’s six topics include a 1987 federal court order he says prohibits changing the charter to at-large voting, something the committee is considering.
After the speakers, consultants with the Carl Vinson Institute of Government are expected to lead discussions on the topics “strong mayor model” and “administrator versus city manager.”
At 1 p.m. the committee’s Finance Subcommittee is expected to meet. According to the meeting agenda, members will be assigned areas to research.
In addition, the subcommittee is expected to discuss a proposal for a Department of Audits, something recommended by committee member Lee Powell. Powell has introduced a strict auditing policy with an independent office of internal audits headed by a certified accountant.
From 6-8 p.m., the committee has its first public hearing. The format has not been announced, but speakers are expected to get 3 minutes each after a presentation from institute personnel.
All three meetings are being held at Augusta Municipal Building, 535 Telfair St.
