Hawthorne Welcher, the embattled head of Augusta’s Housing and Community Development department, tendered his resignation Friday.
In an email viewed by The Augusta Press, Administrator Tameka Allen informed commissioners Friday that Welcher had resigned, effective either immediately or at any “respective time required.”
Welcher has been off the job since April 2, when Allen placed him on leave with pay pending the outcome of an internal audit.
His resignation follows a Monday visit by FBI agents to the city Finance department. The FBI would not confirm the reason for the visit, but the department would possess records of spending cited when Welcher was placed on leave.
The decision to place him on leave came a few days after Welcher revealed the U.S. Treasury was demanding the department return $6.5 million in rental assistance grant funds.
According to the personnel action, Welcher had known about the refund demand since Nov. 8, but did not notify superiors about it until March 21.
In addition, “these funds were apparently utilized by your department to fund other functions within the department,” it said.
The Augusta Commission voted April 1 to refund the $6.5 million to Treasury using general fund dollars. The motion attributed the refund to the funds being unspent by a deadline.
Correspondence obtained by The Augusta Press revealed Welcher’s department did not have enough available funds to pay the refund.
