Augusta Commissioners, still smarting from the mayor getting elected, getting invited to the White House and getting an equal vote on the commission, have decided to retaliate by hitting Garnett Johnson in the wallet and forcing him to pay for doing his job.
MORE: Augusta mayor’s expense reimbursement critiqued, general counsel search slowed
Opinion
Roughly $45,000 of the 2024 Mayor’s Office budget remains in limbo as commissioners on the Finance Committee refused to reimburse Mayor Garnett Johnson for expenses he incurred on the city’s behalf from January to June.
The issue before the committee on July 30 was not whether the charges were valid but whether the initial payments made on the mayor’s personal American Express card and bank debit card followed city policy.
Huh?
Johnson made it a campaign promise not to accept a city credit card. Instead, he has kept a running, itemized tally of expenses on his personal accounts and submitted those to the Finance Department, along with receipts.
According to Finance Director Donna Williams, in the past, Johnson has been reimbursed $45,000 on his personal cards, so a precedent has already been set.
On this last occasion, however, Williams told commissioners that she found some accounting errors in the itemized statements and therefore decided not to reimburse Johnson unless the commission compelled her to, playing right into the hands of the so-called Gang of Five.
Williams said that because the expenses were not made on a city “P-card,” a city-issued credit card or Sam’s Club card, then the expenses were not valid. General Counsel Wayne Brown backed the director up on that assertion, stating “the city is not obligated to pay for expenses not made on a city-issued card.”
This is coming from the same attorney who advised the commission that, basically, the Open Records Law and the Open Meeting Law are both really just suggestions.
While Williams claimed the city didn’t have to reimburse Johnson, Williams also conceded that nothing in the city code forced him to accept a city issued credit card.
This is coming from the same finance director who signed off on former Parks and Recreation Director Maurice McDowell’s wild hotel room romps with city employees to the tune of $26,210. As long as McDowell used a “P-card” for his dalliances, then it was perfectly fine.
District Six Commissioner Tony Lewis insisted that the mayor was not only subverting the process but enriching himself at the expense of the city by claiming any rewards or cash-back offered on the card.
“I have several credit cards in my wallet, and they come with rewards, so if the mayor is using his card to do city business, then he is getting the rewards and not the city,” Lewis said.
Meanwhile, District 10 Commissioner Wayne Guilfoyle defended Johnson, reminding the commission that former Mayor Hardie Davis Jr. never turned in itemized statements or receipts and no one ever questioned him, even though it was later proven that Davis used his city issued credit card for personal use.
When pressed for an answer whether Davis ever turned in any receipts, Williams stammered: “Yes, he did, well, eventually.” However, multiple past investigations by The Augusta Press showed that, when forced, Davis only turned in a few receipts adding up to a couple of weeks-worth of spending. Trust me. I know. I did the research.
District One Commissioner Jordan Johnson prefaced his statements on the record by stating that he was not attacking the mayor personally, but then he attacked the mayor personally for “not following city policy” and said the mayor should not be reimbursed.
The mayor reminded commissioners that he has been a good steward of the public’s money, first by asking for a cut in the mayor’s budget, along with every other department and stating that he never makes frivolous expenses.
Johnson did spend $600 on candy for the MLK Jr. parade, and the irony of that is, had he not made sure the kids in the crowd got candy, these same people would likely be calling him a racist.
“We started with a $554,000 budget last year, and even after the cuts, we still managed to reduce spending another 22%. That comes to $127,315 from last year’s budget that went back into the general fund,” Johnson said.
District Three Commissioner Catherine McKnight bristled at what she viewed as personal politics over good government.
“The mayor is an honest man, and I just can’t sit here and watch him get put down when he is doing what is right,” McKnight said.
Commissioner Johnson’s motion to table the matter until the next committee meeting on Aug. 13 passed, and gives staff the time to make policy proposals. This, of course, will mean the mayor’s personal funds will be held up for at least another month.
Perhaps when the mayor finally gets reimbursed, he will charge the commission the interest accrued on his credit card as well.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Investigative Reporter and Editorial Page Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
