One-percent budget cuts heralded by Augusta officials last year may be going by the wayside.
A commission committee recommended Tuesday to rescind most of the cut made to Augusta’s Engineering and Environmental Services department after Director Hameed Malik said it overly impacted operations.
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During regular committee meetings Tuesday, commissioners also postponed discussion to Aug. 27 of moving codes enforcement to under the Richmond County Marshal’s Office.
The unit from Augusta Planning and Development, wearing their assigned body armor, appeared at the meeting.
Commissioner Francine Scott said a discussion with affected departments about the “pros and cons” needs to be held before the commission makes a decision.
A committee also received an Augusta Parks and Recreation strategic plan as information, rather than recommend approval. Some commissioners complained the meeting presentation lacked detail about the plan.
On the 1% cuts, Malik said while department directors were given leeway to choose where to make the cuts, avoiding necessary expenses – such as contracted services – left other budgets, such as training and materials, overly depleted.
“When it comes to the end of the year, we may not have money to pay for the last month to the contractor,” he said.
Finance Director Donna Williams said staff were following the commission’s directive to cut 1% across the board. “It was not limited to operations,” she said. But the directive also provided for a six-month review of its impact, she said.
Seven commissioners and Mayor Garnett Johnson backed making the cut, across the board to all departments and nongovernmental entities receiving local funds.
Commissioner Wayne Guilfoyle said someone should have considered the cut’s impact on contractors, particularly on departments that rely heavily on contract services.
Commissioner Tony Lewis made a motion to approve Malik’s request to eliminate all but 1% cuts on operations and make none at Environmental Services. The commission is expected to look at other departments July 30.
Commissioner Jordan Johnson questioned why Malik was going through the commission rather than follow the chain of command. Malik and Williams said they’d had a lot of dialogue about how to make the cuts prior to Malik taking this route.
Guilfoyle added that he preferred department heads make individual budget requests to the commission, so it can “find out the wants and needs” of each.
