Augusta is poised to conduct a nationwide search for an administrator if commissioners can work out a few more details.
With Interim Administrator Takiyah Douse on vacation Thursday, Mayor Garnett Johnson and several commissioners expressed willingness to move forward with a search, however it turns out.
Johnson said he’ll exert the mayoral authority granted by the city’s charter to recommend finalists for the position.
“I am so looking forward to that,” he said. “That’s one of the duties that’s granted to me by our charter, and being able to recommend the highest qualified, most competent person to help run this city, so that we’re doing what we’re tasked to do by our voters and by our residents.”
An external search firm will gather the finalist candidates, Johnson said.
Other commissioners voiced support to approve starting the job search with a Tuesday vote at their regular meeting. But questions arose about the minimum experience required to apply for the job.
“Let’s go ahead and do the search for the new administrator and not prolong this any more,” Commissioner Bobby Williams said.
“I’m prepared to move forward with the search as quickly as we can do it, and get the best qualified administrator that we can, to help this government become the best possible government that it can be,” Commissioner Alvin Mason said.
Augusta hasn’t had a permanent administrator since the March 2022 resignation of Odie Donald II, who lasted only 14 months. Donald followed an 18-month span of interims left by the April 2019 resignation of Janice Allen Jackson after just over four years in the role.
In 2020, a city subcommittee tweaked the job requirements for administrator to require three to five years’ experience as a city manager or administrator. Then-commissioner Sammie Sias made a last-minute push to change it to one to five years.
Despite the change, which was recorded in meeting minutes, the minimum experience requirement was supplemented by related work experience in the final job description.
Nor was the requirement used by the search firm that recruited Donald, who had only two years’ years actual experience as a city manager, in South Fulton, Ga.
Several commissioners voiced support for keeping Augusta in the strong commission-administrator form of government, rather than consolidating power in a position such as manager.
“The administrator is employed at the pleasure of the mayor and commission and performs duties under the direction and supervision of the commission through the mayor,” the job description says.
Other “required minimum qualifications” in the description include holding a master’s degree in business or public administration, or a “closely related field preferred.”
The description has no other specific minimum qualifications or certifications required. It seeks considerable knowledge of public administration, understanding of government departments and proficiency in applying state and federal laws.
