The Augusta Commission is expected to narrow the scope of an ongoing audit of the Recreation and Parks department Tuesday to focus in on areas of greater concern.
Audit firm UHY Advisors is about halfway through the audit’s 90-day timeline and has found that examining every transaction associated with recreation facility utilities – water, gas, phone – is exspending significant resources on typically low-risk areasa, Managing Director Jack Reagan told commissioners last week.
The commission ordered the audit shortly after former Director Maurice McDowell’s sudden departure Feb. 14, 2024 amid various allegations, but did not approve an audit firm until May of this year.
The audit’s scope was broad and included all transactions at most Recreation facilities as well as spending on vendors, contracts, lawn care, consultants, jazz and travel during 2021-2023.
Looking at approximately 14,000 transactions so far, Reagan said about 5,500 of them have been utilities spending that does not appear problematic. He asked the commission to exclude utilities from the audit’s deepest scope. The Finance Committee recommended approval last week and it goes to the full commission for approval Tuesday.
In other action
In other action Tuesday, the commission is set to approve Dorinda Anin-Amponsah’s request to open a six-client personal care home at 3602 Abbey Road in the Barton Chapel area. Neighbors have been highly opposed to the project at prior meetings.
Commissioner Stacy Pulliam placed on the regular meeting agenda five proposals for actions she seeks from city leadership, including:
- Having Administrator Tameka Allen direct all department directors to evaluate each vendor contract for compliance, performance and financial feasibility
- For Allen who presented a new evaluation form for directors last week to develop evaluation metrics for department directors within 90 days
- For the Commission to vote on the Augusta Charter Review Committee’s recommendations prior to them being sent to the legislative delegation. The resolution establishing the committee process omitted this step
- For Allen to develop a structured application and review process for nonprofit organizations seeking city funding. The groups are currently being asked to reduce their requests for the 2026 budget
- For Richmond County Correctional Institute to determine the cost of having state inmate mobile construction teams build a replacement prison for the institute
The commission is expected to vote on Mayor Garnett Johnson’s recommended appointees for the Richmond County Opioid Settlement Advisory Board, who include:
- Dr. Marshall Bedder
- Jessie Cunningham
- Dr. Lily Henson
- Dr. Ralph Turner
- Caroline Yort
Four speakers are on the agenda to address the commission. They include Lovetta Ford, interim director of the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center and Pieter Friedrich, a freelance South-Asia affairs journalist.
Friedrich spoke to 19 Georgia local governments last month about the harm inherent in Georgia Senate Bill 375, he has reported. The bill seeks to insert a definition of “hinduphobia” into state legal frameworks. Friedrich is critical of Hindu nationalism and claims the bill is intended to stifle free speech.
