Augusta respondents stressed prioritizing law enforcement and maintenance in a arecent community budget survey.
Mattie Sue Stevens, assistant Augusta administrator, presented results of the survey last week to Augusta Commission members. This week the city begins formal preparations for the FY 2026 budget, which starts Jan. 1.
The survey was out for six weeks, featured on local news and social media and pushed during public budget hearings. The final count of 771 responses was more than Augusta has seen in former surveys, she said. A recent charter review survey drew about 1,000 responses.
The voluntary responses were not a statistically valid random sample, but respondents were “771 people who cared about Augusta and wanted to make their voice heard,” Stevens said.
Among them, over 70% said they lived in Augusta, while just under 10% said they had businesses in Augusta. Some 41% responded they did not know which commission district they lived in. Among those who did, the most responses came from districts 1, 3 and 7.
Some 46% of survey respondents said public safety, which included the court system, was their top priority, while maintenance and infrastructure was No. 2 for 38%, Stevens said.
About 24% each put maintenance and infrastructure and quality of life and growth as their top priorities, she said. Among other priorities, only 6% said government services was their first choice.
The survey asked respondents what among Augusta services are working well. More than 50% said Augusta Regional Airport. Rounding out the top 5 were law enforcement, Augusta Fire Department, 311 and solid waste collection, which includes the Augusta landfill.
Among write-ins for Augusta provisions working well was the Augusta Canal National Heritage Area, which operates under the Augusta Canal Authority and Augusta Utilities. Stevens said the canal “far and away” received the most write-in responses and had a lot of support as an asset in need of community investment.
Many areas viewed as needing improvement
While some areas were respondent favorites, they simultaneously were viewed as needing improvement, such as law enforcement, she said. Overall first in need of improvement was street and sidewalk repair, with more than 56% of responses.
Law enforcement, parks, grass cutting and economic development rounded out the Top 5 for needs improvement. But another 20% or more respondents said Housing and Community Development, Codes Enforcement and the court system also were in need of improvement.
City maintenance and operations makes up barely a third of tax bills for most homeowners, but respondents did not consider it money well spent. Twenty-six percent in the survey said the overall value they receive for their taxes is “poor,” compared to 24% who said “fair” and 11% who considered them a good value.
To address Augusta’s problems, 50% of respondents said the city should reduce taxes in some areas to increase revenue for other areas, while 31% said services need to increase, even if it means raising taxes and fees.
About 11% wanted their taxes to stay the same, while 4% said cut their taxes and fees no matter what.
Themes emerge in comments
Some 2,500 had specific comments about what Augusta needs and many centered around several themes, Stevens said.
Over 350 were concerns related to public safety and crime. These ranged from people wanting to feel safer downtown and increasing support for law enforcement to the impact of crime on the economy. Some wanted alternatives to traditional law enforcement such as programs for youth, she said.
Beautification of the “Garden City” including its parks and greenspaces was another main theme. Respondents wanted a “more beautiful city” with better maintenance, protection for the tree canopy, less litter and more attention paid to the river, riverwalk, Augusta Canal and other features.
Another theme of leadership and accountability emerged, Stevens said. Comments included “commentary about people not trusting our government,” at least 30 calling for an audit and several raising concerns about transparency, waste and corruption.
Other comments called for a “more unified community vision,” while some said Augusta is on the right track.
A final theme surrounding housing and homelessness had mixed views, Stevens said. Some specified Augusta needs more affordable housing options, while others wanted less affordable housing in their neighborhoods. Others considered homelessness a “public safety issue” to address by moving homeless people out, while some suggested offering more programs, she said.
