Augusta commissioners are set to increase their annual travel budgets from $4,500 each to $7,500 because they can attend only two state conferences and one national conference with the current allocation.
Finance committee members voted unanimously for the increase Tuesday, which will cost taxpayers an additional $30,000 a year. The full commission will vote on the increase next week.
Mayor Pro Tem Bobby Williams, who placed the commission travel item on the agenda, said he attended one state conference in Savannah and one national conference last year. He wanted to go to a second national conference that was ultimately canceled but was told he did not have enough money left in his travel budget.
“My suggestion today surrounds a commissioner’s ability to go to the conferences that are on whatever is going on around the world and locally,” Williams said. “Many times we have classes that we want to take. You’ve gotta go and learn in order to bring back to be able to apply what you’ve learned. I don’t think you can sit here in Augusta, Georgia, and learn the things that you need to learn just sitting here.”
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Williams questioned City Clerk Lena Bonner how much it would cost for him to attend two national conferences and one in Savannah.
“I’d probably need about $7,000, Ms. Bonner?” he asked.
“Thereabouts, yes sir,” Bonner replied.
Williams proposed $7,000, but another commissioner raised that to $7,500 each.
Commissioner Alvin Mason said the suggestion for the increase was a good one because, during his previous commission travels, such meetings had helped him identify problems, as well as some solutions.
“My question would be though, where would those dollars come from?” he asked.
“Contingency,” City Administrator Odie Donald said. “We increased contingency, so we’ll be able to cover that.”
“Fantastic. Alrighty then, sign me up,” Mason said.
Commissioners Ben Hasan asked Williams whether he minded for Bonner to check those numbers “to make sure they would get him to where he wanted to go.”
Hasan also questioned whether commissioners could be reimbursed on mileage at the federal rate rather than the state rate, and Donald said the travel budget policy was being updated to bring the city up-to-date.
The committee approved the increase 4-0.
Sylvia Cooper is a Columnist with The Augusta Press. Reach her at sylvia.cooper@theaugustapress.com
