Mayor Hardie Davis says investing in Augusta is what makes the city strong, but he doesn’t always put his money where his mouth is.
In his recent State of the City address, Davis emphasized the importance of investing in Augusta. During the pandemic, he asked people to buy locally and even donate to local businesses to help keep them afloat.
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But when the mayor wants a new website, an updated city logo, videos, photographs or someone to develop strategies, write policy statements and community announcements, he doesn’t purchase the services locally, especially since he hired his new Chief of Staff Petula Burks from the Fort Lauderdale area.
Since Burks came aboard the mayor’s staff in the fall, local businesses have gotten short shrift in favor of Florida vendors.
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For example, before Burks arrived on the scene, the Mayor’s Office hired local photography group Red Wolf Inc., for several years to do several thousand dollars-worth of photography, but records show that Davis has moved away from Red Wolf recently and instead hired Fort Lauderdale photography companies. Davis’s office has paid A.J. Shorter Photography $3,075; Sweet Plans LLC, also known as Styling Purpose fashion consultants, $607; and Red Eye Entertainment $662. They are all located in Fort Lauderdale.
When Davis wanted a new web site with a new city logo, once again local vendors were bypassed in favor of another Fort Lauderdale company MediumFour, which was contracted to design the site for $5,000. Davis also paid $8,000 to LC Studios for further web and video design.
MediumFour primarily designed Davis’ Office of Public Engagement website that offers links to a number of professionally produced videos, although the site is presently unfinished.
Davis’ office itself has been transformed into a video production studio. However, visiting the mayor’s soundstage is not easy. First, a citizen has to request a form, submit it 45 days in advance and then wait another 10 days for approval. The full process for getting an appointment with the Mayor’s Office is here: Contact the Mayor.
COPIES OF MAYORS AMAZON ORDERS
The Engagement Office claims to provide transparency by “building a trusting relationship between the city and the community”; however, getting public records from the Mayor’s Office has required the services of an attorney who has threatened legal action.
Many records remain missing or otherwise unaccounted for, despite repeated requests.
So far in this year alone, the Mayor’s Office has spent a total of $17,344.84 on production services from the Florida-based companies. And Davis paid Burks $5,500 from his PayPal account shortly before he hired her as chief of staff.
Burks said she was hired to help the mayor do employee recruiting early in the year. Burks ultimately found herself to be the most qualified person for the job. Burks was hired at the end of September. The $5,500 invoice to Burks is dated Sept. 4 2020 and was processed by Maria Cook, another staffer in the Mayor’s Office, on September 29 after Burks was already working for the Mayor’s Office.
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When questioned about the dates on the invoice Burks stated, “If I were to go into my own records, and I really don’t want to get into this, ugh, my initial invoice came to him to this office the end of July.”
Davis also paid $2,279 to Chism Strategies of Jackson, Miss. That firm specializes in “Advocacy and Elections,” according to the corporate slogan on their website. He also paid LC Studios a further $1,350 to edit a National League of Cities video.
Message Moguls, LLC a communications services company– owned by Lynthia Ross– who is employed by the Richmond County Board of Education, also received several thousand dollars of Augusta taxpayers’ money for its services to the Mayor’s Office.
And when Davis needs to go on CNN or other TV networks to speak about a national political issue, he turns to his former aide from when he was a member of the Georgia Senate, Carla Smith, owner of Georgia Consulting Firm, LLC, in Avondale Estates, GA just outside Atlanta.
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Last year, the Mayor’s Office paid Smith’s Georgia consulting firm $34,425 for her work over seven months. Smith’s company was formed in 2010 but administratively dissolved by the Secretary of State on May 9, 2015. Smith’s LinkedIn profile indicates the company was closed in May of 2016. Smith had the company reactivated with the Secretary of State on May 15, 2020, one day before the first check was paid to the company by the city of Augusta.
Burks also disagreed that the mayor is ultimately responsible for his staff and how they spend money. “I have worked for a ton of elected officials and as staff, we have responsibilities so at the end of the day it is imperative that we get accounting systems in our office that does a better job than what was done before.”
Burks did confirm that they are using the same system as the city finance department. When asked if other city departments have similar problems with receipts and invoices, Burks stated, “Ugh yea, for sure, because what we do is we give everything we have to them.”
Smith’s $2,975 April bill to the mayor-listed items, such as a “Completed Declaration – COVID-19 Relief Fund”; a “Hazard Pay Draft”; a “Hazard Pay Press Release;” a “Draft Letter to Citizens of Augusta”; “National Media Scheduling/Prep – ABC, CNN, GPB, NPR”; “Strategy Sessions, email analysis/review re: COVID-19 response;” and a half-dozen other items.
Davis has, so far, declined to comment on spending by his office.
Sylvia Cooper and Scott Hudson both contributed to this article and can be reached at sylvia@theaugustapress.com and scott@theaugustapress.com.
