The city of Augusta has been without a permanent city administrator for more than a year, and squabbling between commissioners has ground the search for a new administrator to a halt.
Former Administrator Odie Donald Sr. resigned in February 2022 after serving for two years.
In January, the Augusta Commission voted to start the process and even set timelines, but the process halted when a bloc of commissioners insisted that the qualifications for the job be lowered to allow Interim Administrator Takiyah Douse to apply for the permanent position.
The city invited two facilitators from the Carl Vinson Institute of Government in early May to hold a workshop, but some commissioners were not enthusiastic about switching over to a county manager instead of remaining an administrator form of government.
A county manager would have the power to hire and fire department heads.
Currently, the administrator does not have the power to hire and fire and can only give department directors direction with the advice and consent of the commission. This has led to accusations of commissioners “meddling” in the day-to-day operations of the government.
Mayor Garnett Johnson said department heads can undermine the administrator because they know they have six commission votes of support.
Commissioner Bobby Williams said even if the structure changes, certain commissioners will attempt to control the manager as the tendency to meddle is strong.
“It does not even get back to the directors. You’ve got workers calling the commissioners to try to control what’s going on,” he said. “It goes right by the administrator sometimes.”
Johnson says that, according to the Chamber of Commerce, a super majority on the commission (eight votes) is not necessary and that the city could agree to hire a manager with a simple majority; however, Johnson concedes that the six votes are not there, and the commission has proven they will not allow him to break a tie.
There has been speculation that some commissioners are attempting to “run out the clock” so that Douse meets the current length of service qualifications and can apply for the permanent job.
Johnson discounts the theory, citing directly from the city charter.
“They seem to forget that it is my job to propose candidates, up to three at a time,” Johnson said.
According to Johnson, the city is crunched for time, as budget negotiations begin next month. Because the city used American Recovery Act funds to give across-the-board pay raises to city employees, the commission may have to either raise taxes or cut services.
“If we are not going to change the position to a manager instead of an administrator, and if we’re not going to change the qualifications, then we need to move on and start the process,” Johnson said.
(Susan McCord contributed to this article.)
Scott Hudson is the Senior Investigative Reporter and Editorial Page Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
