“It was the worst of times, it was the best of times.” That line was written by Charles Dickens in the literary classic, “A Tale of Two Cities.” That quote could very well be a current definition of the tale of two Augustas.
The worst of times could very well indeed be because of some very inept city department directors, the officials that protect them and the citizens who keep electing them to office.
The best of times could very well be the Augusta that still has a chance to be the “Garden City” once again.
Augusta is my home and it will always be my home. Unlike some past, as well as current commissioners, I don’t play ostrich with my head buried in the ground so I can’t see or hear any negatives.
If the problems and true issues are not addressed, then the status quo remains the same and nothing gets fixed. Oops, maybe the word to use should be “improved.” There’s enough “fixing” going on in Augusta as it is.
The latest highly questionable issue is the bid for the Parks and Recreation Department audit. First, there is a bid that was approved in committee and placed on the agenda for the commission to approve and, at the last moment, it appears a “bait and switch” occurred.
A late bid that wasn’t really late through any fault of the vendor, according to the Procurement Department, was then substituted and approved because it was half the price as the first approved bid.
Really? Let us take a little look at this not-so-well hidden sleight-of-hand.
As told to commissioners, the Procurement Director, Geri Sams, was out of town for training classes. She received a phone call telling her that they had discovered a bid that had been received and evidently laid to the side.
In error, they did not open and score the newly discovered bid until after the bid had already been approved for another vendor in committee.
The bid was for nearly half of what the awarded bid was for, therefore the citizens should be overjoyed with the new bid. Right?
Not so fast there Merlin.
First, the discovered bid was purported to have been attempted to be delivered before the Municipal building offices opened. This is very questionable as the couriers who deliver to the building know the delivery hours.
Second, the time stamp on the package is being withheld. When Commissioner Wayne Guilfoyle asked if he and Commissioner Al Mason could come to her office and see the envelope with the time stamp, Sams informed him that would be in violation of the process.
The city attorney Wayne Brown backed up Sams’ statement, which was very odd indeed. Not allowing commissioners to see the time stamp on the outside of an envelope that is part of a public document is ridiculous and shady, in my estimation.
The third problem is the price that is quoted. Yes, it’s half as much as the original awarded bid; but, it is also for one half the amount of work hours that it will take to complete a thorough deep investigation into the Parks and Rec Department’s finances, contracts and expenditures. Therefore, it is half the chance of finding any misuses of funds.
The lower bid has that same old Atlanta connection to Augusta politics we see so much of; the lower bidder has offices in Atlanta.
If you remember a while back, I commented that the audit isn’t a done deal. Too many factors and issues could and most likely would come into play and the reason being is that the administrator, finance director, procurement director and a couple of more city department directors do not want an audit of any kind.
Sams sounded like Representative Nancy Pelosi talking about Obama’s Affordable Care Act, the only way to know what’s in it is to pass it. The only way the commission can look at the bids is to pass the one presented to them.
Well, how about voting No on the one being forced and voting Yes for the original bid and then go tip-toeing through the bids before they get misplaced in the office shredder.
Remember that the Sias documents for the money he spent on the Jamestown Community Center went missing and hasn’t turned up yet.
The Fleetwood Mac song, ” Sweet Little Lies” keeps playing in my head.
The only way to get to the bottom of this is for the commission to vote No to the late bid and Yes on the original bid proposal.
The next department that should be in for an in-depth audit would and should be the Engineering Department with the Stormwater Fee program included.
In my opinion, there are some department directors that should never have been hired and an audit is a good way to cull that herd.
There are currently some department directors that need to be given their golden parachutes and shown the door. They are ineffective and cost the taxpayers money. But we all know they are protected by the powers that control our city.
Let us discuss the golden parachutes of the well-paid city directors.
When I was elected to the District 10 seat on the commission, I became a member of a committee to review and rewrite some of the policies in the policies and procedures manual. New policies were effective in November of 2019.
Of course, the votes were not there with the commission to abolish the liberal severance packages, but they were cut back to a workable solution everyone could agree on. Anyone can go to the Augusta web page and pull the details and reasons up and view those amended policies.
Maurice McDowell was allowed to resign and collect the parachute paycheck when there was just cause to terminate him. However, Human Resources Director Anita Rookard could find no disciplinary notes or corrective actions in his employee file.
The blame should be placed squarely on the shoulders of the Interim Administrator Takiyah Douse, as well as Rookard. McDowell’s shenanigans were well known, but they were never documented.
Just to show clearly how the severance can be very costly to Augusta’s taxpayers just think about this: Most of the city department directors make well over the $100,000 mark. Many make around the $150,000 mark while a few make close to the $175,000 mark.
Add to the salary amount another 30% of the salary for benefits that include health, retirement, holiday and vacation days as well as sick days. The benefits are also paid with the severance package.
So a $100,000 employee is actually paid $130,000 yearly and therefore the six month golden parachute cost the taxpayers around $65,000.00
Folks, as always, you just can’t make this stuff up.
