It’s official. Augusta has a permanent administrator under contract for the first time in more than 32 months.
The Augusta Commission voted 8-0 with three commissioners absent to ink a four-year contract Tuesday with Tameka Allen, the city’s longtime IT director, as the city’s new administrator.
After a closed-door session, the commission set Allen’s salary at $230,000 with a $7,200 annual car allowance.
In other action, the commission approved severance agreements with Finance Director Donna Williams and Procurement Director Geri Sams, giving each of the longtime employees six months’ severance pay and credit for 10 years’ service toward their retirement.
MORE: Augusta votes 7-2 to hire Allen as administrator, three department heads out
The commission also moved forward with a potential revamp of Augusta’s Historic Preservation Commission.
HPC Chairman Leon Maben said the group was caught off guard by Commissioner Sean Frantom’s Sept. 24 agenda item for staff to review and compare its functions with those of other cities.
Speaking on behalf of the HPC, Maben said it, as well as Historic Augusta, wanted to be included in discussions, and the commission agreed.
MORE: Is Augusta’s Historic Preservation board blocking development?
The commission also agreed to spend up to $5.6 million in additional funds on recovery from Hurricane Helene, including $3.1 million for debris removal by 13 on-call contractors and $2.5 million for Central Services and Parks and Recreation cleanup.
The funds are in addition to the $6.85 million the commission already approved for hurricane debris removal and monitoring. With the expectation most will be reimbursed by FEMA, the spending leaves Augusta’s available fund balance at $48.7 million.
The expenses include approximately $1 million each for Central Services building damage and Recreation tree removal.
The on-call contractors will make $900 an hour including 10 Big Dog crews at a cost of $972,000, according to a handout.
