Augusta has released the resumes of two of the three finalists for city administrator.
Mayor Garnett Johnson announced his choice of finalists Monday for the position held since March 2022 by Interim Administrator Takiyah Douse, but Tuesday one withdrew from the search.
The Augusta Press requested all documents associated with the finalists – Augusta CIO Tameka Allen, south Florida transportation administrator Richard Chess and Whitfield County, Ga., administrator Robert Sivick – but Tuesday, Sivick withdrew from the search.
Friday, the city released the resumes and cover letters of Allen and Chess, but said it needed till Tuesday to release the third, whom Johnson has not identified. With a candidate’s withdrawal, the Georgia Open Records Act states the city then “shall release the documents of the next most qualified person under consideration.”
Richard D. Chess
According to his resume, Chess since 2019 has overseen transit operations in Broward County, Fla., which has a population of two million and offers residents fixed-route bus, express bus, shuttles and paratransit service.
The division benefits from a 30-year 1% tax for transportation. Chess said he’s responsible for development and operating a recently-approved program to offer light rail, commuter rail and rapid and high-capacity transit.
Prior to joining Broward, Chess was more involved with trains, as director of finance for the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority from 2014-2019. The authority provides commuter rail in the three counties of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach.
From 2010-2014, Chess served as director of finance and accounting for College Park, Ga., a city of approximately 14,000 in the Atlanta counties of Fulton and Clayton. During his time in College Park, Chess served as interim city manager from 2010-2013.
For the three years prior, Chess was accounting and tax audit director for the city of Scottsdale, Ariz., population 218,000. In that role Chess said he helped close a $65 million budget gap and performed 25 tax audits in two years, adding $5.5 million to revenue collections.
Chess has a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a major in accounting from Dillard University in New Orleans and a master’s in business administration from the University of Phoenix. Dillard is Louisiana’s oldest Historically Black College or University and ranks No. 17 among HCBUs.
Tameka N. Allen
Allen’s career has been almost entirely with Augusta government, which she joined in 1992 after earning associate’s and bachelor’s degrees in computer science from Savannah State University.
The Burke County native cites 31 years of experience in municipal leadership with the city, including 20 years as chief information officer, a title she’s held since 2004.
Under former administrator Fred Russell, Allen served dual roles as deputy administrator and IT director for 10 years. Then when the commission voted Russell out, Allen was appointed interim administrator.
She’d been on the job a few weeks when the Feb. 12, 2014 ice storm hit the city. With assistance from interim deputy administrator Steve Cassell, recovery and cleanup consumed the city for much of the year.
Allen did not apply for Russell’s job and when the commission hired Janice Allen Jackson for the post in late 2014, Allen stayed in the administrator’s office until Jackson hired two new deputy administrators.
During 2014, Allen said she created the $720 million 2015 budget which was balanced for the first time without spending reserves in over five years. The final budget approved by the commission included a tax increase and implementation of a stormwater fee.
As deputy administrator and IT director from 2004-2014, Allen said she developed the revamped 311 customer service division, implemented a city government leadership program and developed Camp Data and a cyber/robotics camp for kids.
Allen’s personnel file in 2014 showed all perfect or near-perfect evaluations throughout her tenure with the city, according to prior reports. As deputy administrator, she oversaw IT, planning and development, housing and community development, procurement, transit and customer services.
Working with Russell, Allen said she gained considerable experience “leading organizations through all facets of strategic analysis and realignments.”
The 2012 reorganization eliminated the city’s public works department and a handful of upper management positions, according to prior reports.
