The city of Augusta has added a total of 500 employees over the last three-and-a-half years and has also experienced a 70% turnover rate in that same time period.
As of mid-August this year, the city reported that it had 2,480 employees. That number incorporates the 306 people, roughly 12% of the workforce, who have either quit or been fired in 2021.
Table. Number of City Employees Who Quit or Were Fired From Their Jobs or Were New Hires, 2018-Present
The Augusta Commission recent decision to increase the minimum wage for city employees to $15 an hour, but multiple employees interviewed after they quit said pay had little to do them deciding to leave their employment with the city. Low morale was the most frequently given reason.
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The list of employees who quit or were fired was acquired via an open records request. That list did not include those who have taken an early retirement option, so the number of people who have left city employment could be higher when those numbers are factored in.
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According to city records, the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office has had the highest number of employees leaving their jobs in 2021. Some 86 employees were either fired or resigned. The majority of those who left were jailers and road patrol officers, but the RCSO also has lost 13 crime investigators, including four members of the Fugitive Task Force.
Of the eight former Sheriff’s Office employees contacted, two say they left for medical reasons, two said they received offers of better jobs and four listed morale as the reason for their departure. However, all four said their low morale was not due to the Sheriff’s Office leadership but rather the public perception that all police officers are somehow bad people.
One source said he lived in fear of the scenario of having to use his service revolver on the job only to be vilified by the public even though he followed the policies to the letter.
“Richmond County just simply does not pay enough for me to risk my reputation or even my life,” said one former deputy, who wished to remain anonymous.
Chief Pat Clayton refused to comment on the matter.
So far, the Parks and Recreation Department has lost 30 employees this year. Three of those employees said they simply had enough of dealing with what they called incompetence by upper management.
Gerry Simard, who was a certified pool operator working for the city, said he quit his job at the Augusta Aquatics Center because management prevented him from properly doing his job and then tried to blame him for issues out of his control. The city closed the Augusta Aquatics Center for repairs as of Sept. 2.
According to Simard, the final straw was when Director Maurice McDowell forbade him from speaking to his own employees.
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“That was ridiculous. After almost eight years, I am told not to speak to the lifeguards that I am supposed to be in charge of. It is the tail wagging the dog. It became the part-timers versus the qualified, full-time trainer,” Simard said.
So far, Simard is only one out of a number of sources from the recreation department willing to go on the record regarding his decision to quit his city job. Others back up Simard’s complaints and vouch for his character and professionalism, but they are afraid to disclose their names because of possible reprisals even though they no longer work for the city.
Several city employees interviewed said they left because they were tired of the fear, intimidation and favoritism they have experienced since September 2020. They said that they worked in an atmosphere where they saw their hard working colleagues purged for no apparent reason, and they feared they would be next.
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Multiple employees across several city departments appear to have decided not to risk losing their benefits and insurance by being fired and instead retired early.
The amount of attrition is not as high in other city departments.
So far this year, the Augusta Fire Department reported 20 separations with one fire prevention officer and 19 firefighters having departed as of August 23. However, that number is drastically down from the 106 firefighters that quit in 2019/2020, the year leading up to embattled Fire Chief Chris James’ retirement.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com.
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