(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Augusta Press.)
An Augusta Commission committee voted to reduce the experience requirement for hiring a city administrator to half that required of a city groundskeeper or truck driver.
The committee approved shortening the current requirement for the administrator from three to five years to six months of experience to allow the current interim administrator Takiyah Douse to apply for the $200,000-a-year job.
Opinion
In comparison, both a $30,035-a-year groundskeeper and a truck driver with a starting salary of $37,571 are required to have a year’s experience, according to job postings on the city of Augusta website.
The experience requirement for an assistant library director is six years in public libraries. A deputy director of Parks and Recreation maintenance is required to have seven years of progressively responsible experience in recreation maintenance, according to the website. And that job has actually been contracted out to a private engineering firm for $7 million because maintenance at recreational facilities was so deplorable, commissioners were embarrassed into taking drastic action.
The only job posted with no experience necessary is for a road and drainage worker, who the posting states would be taught everything he needed to know.
New Mayor Garnett Johnson questioned the wisdom of shortening the experience requirement.
“I think as we advertise the job, we want to make sure we get the most qualified people, regardless of where they live or who they are,” he said. “I think paying someone upwards of $200,000 and diminishing the role to six months of experience is not the direction to move. That’s just my two cents.”
MORE: Column: In with the new mayor and commission, out with the old . . . maybe
Commissioner Wayne Guilfoyle cautioned against lowering the standard for experience.
“This is the most important position we have in Augusta-Richmond County, and we’ve got to follow that leadership that he or she presents to this body,” he said.
Douse, a city employee since 2008, has served on an interim basis since administrator Odie Donald resigned last year.
Commissioners Jordan Johnson, Bobby Williams and at least two others favor shortening the experience requirement that would allow Douse to apply for the job. Johnson said it wouldn’t be fair not to allow her to apply. And Williams said he knew many retired school administrators who weren’t “worth their weight in salt.”
“They couldn’t lead a dog to water, a horse to the grind or whatever, and sometimes you’ve got some people who haven’t been in as long, but are a lot better than the people that have been there for 20 years,” he said. “And that’s just my two cents.”
Being a retired school administrator himself, I’m sure firebrand Williams knows of what he speaks. And I’m sure there are some really fine brain surgeons who haven’t been on the job but six months, but would you want one operating on you?
Well, no unless they’d stayed at a Holiday Inn Express the night before.
Anyhow, it’s pretty clear to me, that with all the talk of a new direction and professionalism on the Augusta Commission, the direction for some is exactly the same as it has always been. And that’s just my two cents.
The Cedar Street Bully Can’t Help It
Speaking of Bobby Williams, sources tell me that before Monday’s committee meetings he was giving Commissioner Catherine McKnight a hard time about attending the groundbreaking for the new Kroger store. Williams reportedly asked her why she went to the groundbreaking in the district he represents, District 5. McKnight said the groundbreaking was in her district, District 3, and proceeded to call up a map showing the district lines. Williams represents one side of Jimmy Dyess Parkway, and McKnight the other side, including the new store site. Kroger sent invitations to McKnight, Mayor Garnett Johnson, and Augusta Economic Development Executive Director Cal Wray among others.
So, it looks like Williams doesn’t know what’s in his district, or in this case, what’s not in his district. And he must have still been rankled about the groundbreaking when the Public Safety Committee which McKnight chairs, convened shortly thereafter because he was still giving McKnight a hard time and wouldn’t allow the proposed Gold Cross ambulance contract to be added for discussion or the company’s Vice President Steven Vincent to speak. And when McKnight proposed consenting seven agenda items, he asked, ‘Who put these on the agenda?” and pulled three of them for discussion. He said he just wanted to know what they were about, only to be reminded that backup information on all three were included in each commissioners’ meeting packets.
MORE: Column: The Augusta Press was a decade in the making
You Think the Ambulance is Slow Coming Now? Just Wait.
And speaking of Gold Cross, it’s time for commissioners to fish or cut bait on the company’s contract and subsidy. But in case they decide to cut bait, they’d better be careful with the knives because if they cut off a finger or two, there might not be an ambulance to come and take them to the hospital.
After being nitpicked to death with costly demands during negotiations and strung along without a contract or subsidy increase for a year-and-a-half, Gold Cross might be forced to leave the Augusta market, says Vice President Steven Vincent.
And for that, you can thank convicted felon, former Commissioner Sammie Sias, who would be laughing all the way to the jailhouse; and former commissioners Ben Hasan and Dennis Williams and those who followed their lead, as well as former Mayor Hardie Davis, obstructionists all.
The memorandum of understanding between the city and Gold Cross expired on Dec. 31, and without a new agreement and subsidy, the ambulance company can’t keep losing money and stay in business, Vincent says.
“This is not anything new,” he said. “We started communicating with Administrator Odie Donald a year-and-a-half ago that we could not sustain with the economy the way it is with lower revenues. Everything we do is costing more. In 2022, we spent over a million dollars more on diesel. When we signed the memorandum of understanding, diesel was $2.48 a gallon. It’s been up to $5.50 a gallon, although it’s down a little now.”
Last year, Gold Cross bought 35,000 gallons of diesel a month.
“So, when gas has gone up $2.50 a gallon, we’ve spent $87,500 a month more on diesel,” he said.
Auto and workers compensation insurances also increased by $1.5 million last year.
“We’ve been shouting from the mountaintop,” Vincent said. “The cost of everything we do has gone up. Not just the big stuff, but everything – utilities, biohazard waste, property taxes – while our revenues have decreased.”
The percentage of people who don’t pay anything for ambulance service has increased to 51 percent in 2022 from 27 percent in 2019.
“Over 11,000 people we transported to the hospital last year didn’t pay a dime,” he said. “No business can sustain that. We’ve told the administrator and commissioners the time is now. We don’t have time to wait.
“Gold Cross is subsidizing Richmond County. We are taking care of the non-paying residents. They’re using us for a ride downtown.”
Recently, a woman called with breathing problems. When Gold Cross arrived, she said, “It’s too hot. I don’t know how to use my thermostat. Can you turn it down,” Vincent said.
“The previous mayor compared us to Burger King,” he continued. “If you don’t pay Burger King, you don’t get a hamburger. If you don’t pay us, you still get a ride. We’re nowhere similar to Burger King.”
A proposed new contract with a $1.95 million subsidy is on Tuesday’s Commission meeting agenda.
“Tuesday is a pretty significant day for them to come to a resolution,” Vincent said.
Not a Joke
And speaking of the previous mayor Hardie Davis, some folks thought I was joking when I wrote last week that he wanted the city to furnish office space, computers and supplies for him and his staff until March 1.
I told you then it was true, that you couldn’t make this stuff up. It was not a joke. It’s actually sad. He didn’t want to leave the mayor’s office either when his term expired Dec. 31. He issued an executive order on the continuation process. And he said publicly that he was mayor until Jan. 3, 2023, although his term ended at midnight, Dec. 31, 2022.
He also ordered that his email account access and phone service remain active until March 1.
The phone was cut off and email messages were transferred to the current mayor’s office Jan. 5.
MORE: Why Scott Hudson never got an A
The Biden Grime Family
(President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden enters the Biden’s living room at the White House.)
Hunter: Hey, Big Guy! Got your ass in a crack. Ha! Ha! Now with those classified documents they’re finding all over the place you know how I feel being hammered away at 24/7 about that stupid laptop. The laptop from hell, they call it. And for once, they got it right.
Joe: Not the same thing. You documented your crimes with crack and teenage girls. I had a slip of memory. Not the same things at all. You could go to prison. I didn’t do anything wrong. It was kind of like borrowing a book from the library and forgetting to take it back.
Hunter: Three books. Like borrowing three books.
Joe: Doesn’t matter. I’m old, see. A lot of people will understand, and fortunately most people in government are old, too. They’ll understand. Look at the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, any damned court you want to look at. Heh! Heh! While you, on the other hand, broke numerous federal laws. No comparison. And you could end up in jail. Actually, you would be in jail now except for me, Big Guy, with my power and control of the main stream media and social networks.
Hunter: Right. Too bad you lost Twitter. That Elon Musk is exposing you and them for censoring the news, and people are paying attention.
Joe: Not for long. You know the attention span of the American public is almost as short as mine. So, OK, why are you here? To get me to squash another investigation or news story about how much money you made in Ukraine and China?
Hunter: How much money we made, Big Guy. Don’t forget the cut you got from my being on that Burisma board and the money you made from my consulting for the Chinese Communists when you were vice president.
Joe: OK. OK. You made your point. But answer my question. Why are you here? Not to talk about classified documents, I hope. As I said, I have a memory problem.
Hunter: You didn’t think it was a memory problem when they found classified documents at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago.
Joe: Whose side are you on anyway? I’ve explained how those documents were locked in the garage with my beloved 1967 Corvette although I didn’t remember they were in there or how they got there. Now the ones at the Penn Center, I vaguely remember looking something up about Ukraine when I was trying to get you a seat on that board. Trying to find out who to put the screws to. But the ones in Wilmington – beats me. That’s just between you and me. Not to go outside this room.
Hunter: Yeah, I know. It would get us both in big trouble if you did start remembering things.
Joe: Right. So why did you come over here tonight?
Hunter: I was in the mood to paint another $50,000 picture and couldn’t find my paint brushes. Then I remembered I left them in your basement.
Joe: I’ll go down with you. I just remembered where I put some more classified documents, and I want to try to think up a good excuse for having them before the lawyers come snooping around when somebody rats me out.
Hunter: Right, Big Guy. Smart move.
The End
Sylvia Cooper is a columnist with The Augusta Press. Reach her at sylvia.cooper@theaugustapress.com
