It was a chance to hobnob with elected officials from around the state and to get to know one another better. But as with most anything the Augusta Commission does as a group, it came at a price to taxpayers.
The one bargain nine commissioners and four city staffers (and four Augusta legislators) got the night of Jan. 10 was a free meal.
Mayor Garnett Johnson footed the bill for dinner in a private room at Atlanta’s Capital Grille, with the exception of the one media member present.
Johnson said the bill came to around $1,000. An open records request showed no city spending at the Capital Grille that evening.
Johnson, who took office this year, invited the group with him to Atlanta the night before the Georgia Chamber of Commerce’s annual Eggs and Issues breakfast. The event draws elected officials from around the state and business leaders together and serves as a kickoff to the legislative session.
“I think it was very worthwhile for us, to start to get a better understanding of one another and the personalities we’re working with,” Johnson said.
Excluding dinner, taxpayers’ tab for the overnight trip was $7,836, according to the records request.
The amount includes $2,625 for registration for the chamber event. Hotel stays at the Omni CNN Center came to $4,145. Each room night was $249 plus $47 in taxes.
Additional expenses included parking. It was $60 for the city van plus $60 each for commissioners Sean Frantom, Tony Lewis, Alvin Mason and Stacy Pulliam; $55 for General Counsel Wayne Brown, $60 for interim Administrator Takiyah Douse and $120 for Johnson. The only commissioner to not participate was Wayne Guilfoyle.
Brown warned the commissioners at dinner they were not to conduct city business. He also said no photos were allowed.
Johnson campaigned on reducing the burden of the mayor’s office on taxpayers and recently paid for his own flight to Washington, D.C., for a mayor’s conference.
Though he was term-limited and leaving office, former Mayor Hardie Davis left office with a sparsely-attended December soiree for which catering cost $5,492.
