An unexpected seat change and a few close votes marked Thursday’s meeting of the Augusta Charter Review Committee, as members pressed forward on recommendations for a new city manager structure and debated how much authority the committee should exercise.
Committee member Robert France, who was appointed in July by former interim Commissioner Tanya Barnhill-Turnley, said he arrived to find someone else in his seat behind the dais.
France said his committee email had been disconnected and that he’d been “ambushed” with his abrupt removal by former member Lonnie Wimberly. Wimberly appointed Augusta developer Eric Gaines to the seat after defeating Barnhill-Turnley in last week’s special commission election.
Speaking for more than 15 minutes, France questioned Wimberly’s authority to replace him without him resigning, although each of the committee’s 11 members are appointed by a commissioner or the mayor.
“Where is my due process?” he said, noting his 45 years of military and federal service.
A few on the committee clapped but then the group moved forward with regular business of recommending revisions for Augusta’s charter. Thursday the group was also joined by new member Augustus Palmer III, whom Commissioner Francine Scott named to replace Wimberly.
Powers and duties advance
The committee voted 9-2, with members Steve Foushee and Roderick Pearson opposed, to approve a list of powers and duties of the manager, with plans to approve specific verbiage for them later. The powers and duties included, among others:
- To appoint, suspend or remove all city employees, except as otherwise provided by law
- To direct and supervise the administration of all departments, offices and agencies
- To attend all commission meetings with the right to participate but not vote
- To see that all laws, charter provisions and commission acts are executed
- To prepare and submit an annual budget and capital budget to the commission
- To keep the commission apprised of the city’s finances, operations and needs
Manager qualifications pass 6-5
The committee voted 6-5 to approve the qualifications of the city manager, to include a master’s degree in public administration, public affairs or business; four years’ experience in an appointed managerial or administrative position and hold or soon obtain credentials from an organization that accredits professional city and county managers
Charter review timeline set
The committee voted 9-2 for the next charter review committee to be established no later than January 2033 or within seven years of the effective date of the charter or any amendments.
Mayor to present candidates
The committee voted 9-2 for the city’s mayor to recommend up to three candidates for manager to the commission, which may approve a candidate with six votes. The mayor is considered a member of the commission and may be one of the six votes.
Removing the manager requires six commission votes as well, the committee decided by a 9-2 vote. Committee Secretary Angela Bakos argued the decision and others of its significance needed seven votes to pass.
The committee voted 11-0 for the manager to designate an acting city manager to serve in the manager’s temporary absence.
The vote was 10-1 for the manager to present the city budget during the ninth month after the start of the fiscal year and for the commission to approve the budget during the 11th month.
Ban on abstentions, interference pass by consent
The committee approved by consent a list of motions drawn from existing practices or a model city charter. These included residency requirements, the process of filling vacancies and the number of votes needed for a quorum and to pass measures.
The motions also included a ban on abstentions from voting without a stated reason and a prohibition on interfering with the government’s administration.
Dispute over commission approval
Member Sheffie Robinson repeated a call for the commission to vote on the committee’s recommendations before they are sent to the legislature. She, Bakos and others have emphasized the approval was originally required and that the community is demanding it.
Vice Chairman Clint Bryant, who has argued against, said the committee’s role is to recommend changes to the charter while the rest of the process is the commission’s responsibility.
Robinson’s motion failed 4-6-1 with she, Bakos and members Frank Lewis and Lee Powell in favor. Palmer abstained from voting.
“We are going to produce our product; we are going to humbly offer it and what happens to it after that is in the hands of others,” committee Chairman Marcie Wilhelmi added.
Attempt to limit scope fails
Robinson’s motion to restrict the scope of the committee’s activities to recommendations on the form of government, ethics and transparency, finance and budgets, verbiage cleanup and the frequency of charter review also failed, 2-7 with she and Lewis in favor.
Robinson said the committee should limit its activities because Augusta’s needs may be different under the manager form of government.
Others did not want to limit what the committee could do. Consultant Rex Facer with the Carl Vinson Institute of Government said the committee could easily encounter additional matters it needed to address.
