On the evening of Nov. 5, 2024, if you listened closely you could hear the ghost of Gomer Pyle proclaiming, “Surprise, Surprise, Surprise.” No one was really surprised that the presidential race would have a clear and precise winner, but not a landslide victory.
Congratulations go out to President-elect Donald Trump.
Now I will not attempt to try to explain anything about the election. I am truly burned out from all of the commercials and expert analysis from all news casters and each party’s political experts. Truth of the matter is, each voter had their own reason for voting the way they did; so, there are approximately 148-plus million reasons why Trump is headed back to the White House.
This past commission meeting was held on Election Day, and it was an embarrassment.
First of all, there are two commissioners out for medical or mental and personal reasons. This leaves Augusta eight active commissioners to perform the city business.
Since last Tuesday was also Election Day, the almost sure bet was that Commissioner Jordon Johnson wasn’t going to be there, him being the Augusta Democratic Party chairman. So, that left seven. Nope, wrong. Commissioner Stacy Pulliam was absent as well. That left six.
Everything looked fine on the dais, then, lo and behold, Commissioner Bobby Williams got up and left. That left five warm bodies and no quorum. Meeting canceled.
When is enough going to be enough?
Augusta needs to find a remedy to cure all of the pay for no service. Just look at all of the months Sammie Sias was paid while being suspended. Look at the timeline of Commissioner Alvin Mason’s absence. Now, Commissioner Branden Garrett.
While I can sympathize with Commissioners’ Mason and Garrett, they should not be receiving a paycheck from Augusta.
If Augusta hires a new information officer, it should be Commissioner Sean Frantom. He has been the play-by-play point of reference for all of the information regarding the clean-up efforts. Frantom is what’s known as a true public servant.
When he relinquishes his District 7 seat at the end of the year, believe me when I say his political career will not end. Sean Frantom is the caliber of person we need in an elected seat.
While I personally voted against hiring Antonio Burden because of the way the process was conducted, once he was hired I stated that I would work with him. As chairman of the Public Safety Committee, I worked closely with Chief Burden. We discussed many issues and topics. As time went by, I learned of his knowledge, dedication, experience and honesty. I enjoyed working with him, and I still have a friendly and honest relationship with him.
So, kudos to Chief Burden and his entire staff of excellent firefighters. They always perform beyond expectation, but during Hurricane Helene, the performance was above and beyond the level anyone could imagine.
A couple of commission meetings ago, there was a gentleman who spoke before the commission, and the topic was Augusta’s transit system. He thought that it would be a good idea to replace the contract bus drivers with city employees, reasoning that city employees could receive more benefits. Yep, only reason, money.
Now folks, the Transit Authority pays a contractor to supply drivers to Augusta. That means that they make sure they are trained, have proper license and pays them all salary and benefits. The contractor takes care of all grievances and settlements. So, that sounds to be a pretty good system to me. I think more city departments like the Engineering Department and Parks and Recreation should be contracted out.
Speaking of Parks and Recreation, will there be money for the forensic audit that was voted yes? That really needs to happen and happen soon.
One commissioner told me that to pay for an audit to try and catch fraudulent deeds was a waste of time, and that most of the people that were doing the wrong things most likely are no longer with the city. Okay, so when a bank robber leaves the bank then the robber should not be sought. After all, they have already left the bank. Yep, that’s the thought of a now seated Augusta commissioner.
Congratulations to all of the school board winning candidates. I have to say that there was a great group of candidates with novel ideas. So, here is hoping the schools move forward and show great improvement. Our children need a good, fundamental foundation to build a life on.
It is almost time to see the final budget and the SPLOST 9 package. Should be interesting. Just remember, the SPLOST is used for building, not to maintain. Maintenance expenses come from the other taxes we all pay.
Folks, as always, you just can’t make this stuff up.
