Former Augusta Administrator Fred Russell returned to Augusta Municipal Building Thursday with candid advice, encouragement and warnings for the Charter Review Committee.
Speaking in the commission chamber he helped design, Russell weighed in on one of the committee’s biggest potential recommendations. After nearly 30 years with a commission-driven government, the committee is considering whether Augusta needs a strong mayor or strong manager, able to independently hire and fire city directors.
“Let the commission and the mayor appoint a city manager, and let the manager run the government,” he said. “Guess what? If you don’t like what they do, (former commissioner) Marion (Williams) can tell you how to deal with it – you vote to fire them. It comes with the territory.”
Russell warned against undoing last year’s referendum, which he said made the committee’s job easier. “The mayor has received a vote. Don’t take that away,” he said. “A good portion of the community voted to have that happen. It makes the mayor relevant in the conversation. Earlier mayors couldn’t participate.”
Russell, who served Augusta more than a dozen years in a 50-year public service career, urged committee members to embrace their important new role. “Guess what. You will be held responsible for what you get done or don’t get done for the remainder of your life,” he said.
He praised the group, as being selected “because of your leadership, because of your wisdom and vision and hopefully, because you are able to work to a consensus.” Without consensus, he said, “nothing in any political world comes to pass.”
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He also praised the current Augusta Commission for being “bold enough with enough vision to suggest this action take place. In 30 years nobody had the guts.” The initiative was pushed heavily by Mayor Garnett Johnson.
Russell warned members against wasting time. “Y’all are arguing about a lot of stuff that really has nothing to do with the charter,” he said. “The charter is just an outline. The charter is a way to do business. You’re not going to solve all the world’s problems or Richmond County’s problems with the charter.”
He said Augusta mayors have not been chosen for management skill. “I’ve never seen a mayor here elected because they could run the government,” he said. “It requires a lot of expertise that people don’t have.”
The professional manager’s ability to report to the commission and mayor is “a unique skill” of translating “the vision of the commission into the action of the government,” he said. In seeking consensus, the manager is a politician, he said.
Problems arise, however, when others have to play the same game. Hiring and firing department heads should be the manager’s job alone, he said.
“Your engineering director. Your finance director, your HCD director should not have to be a politician. They should be a professional in their skills and what they do. They should have to worry about doing their job and being responsible for that job,” he said. “If you involve anybody else, it becomes political.”
Russell closed with a mix of hope and bluntness. “I have great hope for your success, because the bar is set so low,” he said. The committee could simply recommend a cleaned-up version of the current charter and “you’ve done more than people have in 30 years to make this a better place.”
His words impressed many, including committee member Charlie Coleman. “I think he gave us a lot of knowledge, and he was truthful about how he felt,” Coleman said.
Former Commissioner Ben Hasan said he liked Russell’s emphasis on hiring a manager, the need for the manager to be politically savvy and keeping the mayor’s vote. The vote passed with nearly 75% support last year. Keeping it “shows continuity,” while if it were taken away, “you’ve got to replace it with something.”
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Committee reviews ethics language
The committee spent most of its remaining time going over a five-page set of ethics provisions which member Sheffie Robinson said she and Chair Marcie Wilhelmi spent substantial time compiling. Wilhelmi attended the meeting via telephone.
The provisions call for the creation of an independent ethics panel; a ban on gifts, nepotism and conflicts of interest; required reporting of all financial interests; disclosure of campaign contributions exceeding $250 within seven days; and a 12-month “revolving door” policy for employees and elected officials who leave the government.
The provisions also require “all elected officials” to make themselves regularly available to the public and hold town hall meetings; attend and remain in attendance throughout all meetings except when excused for cause; and a ban on disrupting quorums or votes.
Interim General Counsel Jim Plunkett said several of the provisions or their details were better suited for city ordinances while other portions were covered by existing laws. He suggested the Carl Vinson Institute assist in converting the language to make it more “charteresque.” The city is paying the institute to assist with the charter review process.
Subcommittees canceled
Committee Vice Chairman Clint Bryant, who presided in Wilhelmi’s absence, canceled afternoon meetings of the Finance and Form of Government subcommittees due to “inconsistencies” in public notices for the meetings. He also asked committee members to be cognizant of deadlines for submitting agenda items and the amount of time Clerk of Commission Lena Bonner’s office spends getting the committee agendas together.
Member Angela Bakos noted that despite bylaws stating the committee secretary prepares agendas, committee members are copying Bonner on numerous emails under other procedures to get items in, leading to confusion and a lack of coherence on the agendas.
Member Lonnie Wimberly, who had tabled agenda items be overlooked last month, said he disagreed with anyone making changes to the “motions” he’s submitted for meetings.
Member Roderick Pearson said he thought it was the “clerk of court” who handled meeting agendas, and pressed to know more about why the subcommittee meetings were canceled.
Bryant said the discussion was over and encouraged the group to focus on its task. “We should do all that we can each and every day to make sure that we meet our mission as this committee to revise this charter,” he said.
The League of Women Voters of the CSRA filed a formal objection, obtained by The Augusta Press, earlier Thursday to holding the afternoon subcommittee meetings, stating the subcommittee meeting notices failed to clearly state the date and time of the meetings as required by Georgia law.
While the notices posted on the committee’s website had filenames that appeared to include the dates, one notice had no date on it and the other had a wrong date. In addition, the League took issue with the meetings being advertised at 1:30 p.m. and 1:35 p.m. when in reality, the second meeting only starts after the first ends.
“Posting realistic one-hour windows would not only give the public fair notice but also help members narrow their discussion topics to fit the allotted time. That change would support both transparency and more focused deliberation,” the group’s statement, submitted by Co-President Gayla Keesee, said.
