At a south Augusta town hall meeting Monday residents spoke openly of deep-seated doubts they have about the ongoing charter review process.
The meeting at Henry Brigham Center wasn’t an official hearing of the Augusta Charter Review Committee, but two of its members, Angela Bakos and Lonnie Wimberly, attended. Both said they were not speaking on behalf of the 11-member committee.
The committee has met for about four months without formal recommendations. Last week, a subcommittee considered moving the Richmond County Marshal’s Office under the Richmond County Sheriff and putting the mayor over a city manager and the budget, but took no action.
Committee members have disagreed about when they will finish the task. The Augusta Commission approved giving the group through March 2026, while Mayor Garnett Johnson signed off on a plan to wrap up in time for the 2026 legislative session.
Bakos and Wimberly said a December finish is unlikely.
“The Carl Vinson Institute told us in the beginning it would take 12-18 months,” Bakos said. “We did not begin until April.”
The city is paying the UGA-based institute about $320,000 to facilitate the process.
About 70 people attended. Gayla Keesee, co-president of the League of Women Voters of the CSRA, criticized the committee for dysfunction and undue influence from those who appointed them.
“The same dysfunction I see happening on the committee is happening on the commission,” Keesee said.
Wimberly said he’d had little contact with the commissioner who appointed him, Francine Scott.
“There is a lot of vitriol between members,” Wimberly said, especially among “ones that want us to go iinfln a particular way.”
Wimberly said the committee’s consideration of a “strong mayor” form of government has drawn unwanted attention.
“They’ve got prominent individuals saying ‘that’s not what we want,’” Wimberly said.
District 5 resident and former state Rep. George Brown, involved in three of Augusta’s consolidation efforts, said the committee ought to be disbanded and that the city is wasting taxpayer money on the Vinson contract.
He painted a bleak picture of a power-grab enabled by Republican state legislators. He compared the situation to last year’s passage of a bill and referendum giving Johnson a vote on all commission actions, which bypassed most of the Richmond County legislative delegation.
“Anything this committee signs off is going to pass, because they don’t need none of our representatives,” Brown said.
Businessman J.R. Riles said Johnson already operates like a strong mayor with support from “the majority of the white commissioners,” but added, “he is for his self.”
The commission excluded current and former elected officials from serving on the committee but several have spoken out frequently at meetings including Monday. Former Commissioner Bill Fennoy, who spoke at a prior session, reiterated that commission elections should be partisan and noted that the entire four-person Vinson team is white.
Former Commissioner Ben Hasan said when it approved creating the committee, the commission believed it would get to vote on the revised charter.
He said the African-American community is reluctant to criticize Johnson because he is Black. “We’re fearful of challenging one another,” he said. Augusta needs a strong manager, not a strong mayor: “A strong mayor breeds corruption,” Hasan said.
Another speaker, who did not identify herself, said the changed charter “sounds like it’s a done deal,” and asked, “how do we stop the process?”
Former commission candidate Juanita Burney said she had the same doubts about the charter review as she did about the mayor’s vote.
“My position is that this process did not start right, and if it didn’t start right, it’s not going to end right,” Burney said.
Former commission candidate Betty Reece said the “way out” includes a recall or next year’s elections.
Wimberly, a retired Army sergeant major, said he is “woke” and stressed that those attempting to change the charter need to be able to articulate what is wrong with it.
“If you don’t know government, how are you going to stand there and say how it can be reformed?” Wimberly said.
Former Commissioner Moses Todd said he hopes younger people will join in the struggle. He suggested reminding the Republican members of Augusta’s legislative delegation – Rep. Mark Newton and Sen. Max Burns – of concerns the public has with the process.
“If they’re not called out, they’re going to do it again,” Todd said.
Rev. James Williams encouraged the public to attend the committee’s meetings. The group has rescheduled frequently but generally meets at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. every other Thursday at Augusta Municipal Building.
