Despite public scrutiny of Mayor Hardie Davis’ credit card spending and the My Brother’s Keeper fund, some Augusta commissioners want a line item in next year’s budget that gives them the power to spend up to $1 million dollars a year in each of their districts.
The proposal comes as the city is set to receive a windfall $84 million payout over the next two years from the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Under this Act, the money must be spent by 2024.
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On July 1, the commission voted down a proposal to audit spending by employees and elected officials. At the same meeting, they voted to accept the fiscal year 2022 budget workshop summary that included regular budget items as well as how to use the ARPA funding.
That workshop, which occurred on May 26, included the mayor, commissioners and representatives of the Georgia Municipal Association.
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The workshop summary has a wish list of priorities, such as making $30,000 the lowest annual salary for all city employees, adding a mental health unit to the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, creating a chief financial officer position, producing a master plan for riverfront development and a host of other infrastructure-related items.
Along with hammering out a comprehensive list of spending items, commissioners discussed the possibility of allocating a specific amount of money for commissioners to use at their discretion, including a plan that would give each commissioner $1 million to use in their districts.
Commissioners did not consider any oversight of how that money would be spent. The ARPA funding comes with strict requirements on how the city may use those federal funds.
District 10 Commissioner John Clarke says that giving each commissioner a $1 million dollar blank check is a recipe for disaster.
“This is just malfeasance waiting to happen. With no oversight, how would we know if commissioners aren’t funneling money to their friends or even paying people’s rent?” Clarke said.
Clarke points out that commissioners already have a mechanism for addressing needs in their districts such as sewage problems and potholes. According to Clarke, commissioners only have to bring the issues in their districts before the entire body and get funding allocations by a majority vote.
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According to Clarke, the fact that there was no discussion on oversight paves the way for there to be no official policy, which is why the Mayor’s Office spending is under scrutiny.
“That whole My Brother’s Keeper mess is a prime example. The city gave the mayor an allocation and then just took him at his word that he was spending the money on at-risk youth,” Clarke said.
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Clarke said that he knows that if the majority of commissioners want to give themselves the allocation, they will do it, but he says he will not accept a dime.
“I wouldn’t accept it with a 10 foot pole. I won’t accept it, and I will fight against it. These people seem to think that tax money is their money. They don’t understand that eventually you can’t spend tax money from a prison cell,” Clarke said.
Sean Frantom also offered a word of caution against spending with no oversight.
“If this passes, I am going to ask for input from the people of my district on how the money should be spent,” he said. “I can’t force other commissioners to do the same, but that’s what I am going to do,” Frantom said.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com.
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