Augusta Mayor Hardie Davis Jr. continues to ignore city policy when it comes to spending public money.
Most recently, he has hired temporary employees, paid interns and political consultants in his office without going through either the Human Resources Department or the Procurement Department.
Much of Davis’ staff resigned shortly after ethics’ complaints filed in 2021 led to a full investigation by the Georgia Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission.
According to procurement rules, any purchase or contract for more than $5,000 must go through the bidding process. Also, the Procurement Department must receive authorization from the Augusta Commission to solicit sealed bids.
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Mayor’s Office check records show that a man named Myles Delont Graves was paid $6,825 from the My Brother’s Keeper account over three months beginning in November 2021. In records found online, Graves is described as a “mayor’s fellow,” which, according to the city’s website, is supposed to be an unpaid internship program for college students.
A background check on Graves shows that he is a college student, but little else is known about him.
Despite multiple Open Records Act requests, Davis continues to refuse to provide any documentation as to why Graves was chosen for the position or what tasks he performed. The only response to the records request came in the form of a blank application for the Mayor’s Fellow program. No form 1099, a type of tax form, was provided to document what the mayor’s office paid Graves.
Davis has also kept his former campaign manager, Tonia Gibbons, on the payroll as a consultant. Gibbons formed a company called Farr More and Associates, and the money is paid directly from the mayor’s checking account to her corporation.
An analysis of the records shows that, at first, Gibbons received relatively small amounts with the first payment to her in the current fiscal year being made on March 18 for $1,150. Over time, however, the payments have ballooned to include the most recent payment of $7,186 on June 23.
According to the city’s official check registry, in the span of three months and 10 days this year, Gibbons has been paid $19,086, which is three times more than the amount that city policy states should go through the procurement process.
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Gibbons’ invoices for her consulting work are not itemized with a cost per task performed. Instead, they list several tasks and bill for a lump sum.
Davis has also spent $10,065 with Express Services, a temporary employment agency. All the individual checks to the agency have the same date of issue when the invoices show the service has been used since February.
Invoices for temps by augustapress on Scribd
While both Graves and Gibbons work for the mayor without any form of contract, a temp agency must secure a contract before providing its services. The mayor of Augusta does not have the authority to circumvent the Human Resources Department and enter into separate employment contracts without the Augusta Commission’s approval, and even then, given the amount of money being spent, the Procurement Department would be tasked with putting the contract out for bid.
Because Davis did not follow city policy, the city is paying $24.40 an hour plus overtime for office help.
District 3 Commissioner Catherine McKnight says that hearing about even more financial shenanigans out of the mayor’s office makes her blood boil.
“Here we go again. When you hear these numbers, it raises a big red flag. Something needs to be done. We don’t need to tolerate this; this is not how our city should be operating,” McKnight said.
District 10 Commissioner John Clarke agrees and says that the failure of the Augusta Commission to hold the mayor accountable only emboldens him and makes him feel untouchable.
“Seems like within the confines of 534 Telfair Street, there is free rein for (Davis) to spend the taxpayers’ money however he wishes. We failed to have a deep internal audit, so therefore the misuse of funds will continue without any repercussions until the day he leaves office,” Clarke said.
Scott Hudson is the senior reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
