Augusta commissioners increased their annual travel budgets by $3,000 to $7,500 after Commissioner John Clarke’s motion to deny the increase generated anger and outrage because Clarke had recently asked Mayor Pro Tem Bobby Williams to propose an increase.
Before making a motion to deny the increase Tuesday, Clarke said although he recognized the importance of travel and training, which he takes advantage of, listening to what the taxpayers and citizens say is foremost.
“And I have had more calls than I wish to say about this subject,” he said.
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Then, before Commissioner Catherine McKnight could second Clarke’s motion, Mayor Pro Tem Bobby Williams, who recommended the travel budget increase last week, made a substitute motion and lowered the boom on Clarke and McKnight.
“I want to say something,” Williams said before Mayor Hardie Davis Jr. had acknowledged McKnight’s second to Clarke’s motion.
“I understand,” Davis said. “I understand. The gentleman still has the floor. Commissioner, continue.”
“That’s my motion,” Clarke said.
“I just want to say one thing,” Williams said. “The person that just pulled the item, and the person that just seconded the item are the people who asked me to increase, to do this, and then they turn around and do this. That’s ridiculous! I haven’t received one call. Somebody raise your hand if you had a call.”
No hands were raised.
“It’s ridiculous. Backbiting,” Williams said.
“Are you going to make a motion?” Davis asked, as Williams continued his tirade.
“Everybody just suspend,” Davis said, rapping on the dais.
“You asked me to do this,” Williams said to Clarke. “You’re the main one. My God!”
“Everybody suspend,” Davis said, still rapping the dais. “Everybody suspend. There’s a lot of passion in the room.”
“You asked me to do this!” Williams kept saying, his voice rising several octaves.
“Uh, setup,” said Commissioner Alvin Mason.
“I don’t even know where to start on this one,” Mason said. “When you stop and think what is required to run a billion-dollar government. Hope you hear me. A billion-dollar government, and you come off the streets doing whatever it is you did and think you can run a government efficiently is ridiculous.”
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Any company worth its weight puts professional development at its core, Mason said. And a person off the streets without previous training can’t do it. That happens from going to training. Also, the added $30,000 increase in commissioners’ travel budget out of a billion-dollar budget is miniscule, he said.
“So, for someone to ask that this be put on and then go in this direction, let’s totally understand that you cannot competently, competently operate in this governmental operations without education,” Mason continued. “If you don’t want to go, don’t go. Don’t use it. It’s there if you want it. If you don’t, you have that right. But do not deny someone the right to educate themselves to better prepare and present for this community and their constituents. I’ve not got a single phone call in reference to this miniscule piece of what would be a budgetary item. Not one.
‘Don’t want to be educated? Don’t want to do the best job you possibly can as a commissioner? You might not want to be up here.”
Later, when he was asked whether he set Bobby Williams up, Clarke said, “Nobody tells Bobby Williams what to do. And I pretty well think nobody tells Alvin Mason what to do. So how in the hell did I tell them what to do and they paid attention. They voted against everything else I put up. They just wanted to showboat and put somebody in their place.”
He said he heard from many constituents about the increase being a bad move.
“People came up while me and my son were eating lunch to comment on it,” he said. “I know how upset they are. And I wasn’t asking to deny the entire travel budget, just the increase. You can talk about something, and you study it and change your mind. That’s what intelligent people do. Change.”
McKnight said, “I have every right to change my mind and vote my conscience. Besides, a lot can happen in a week’s time. I don’t recall myself ever saying to Bobby last week, ‘Put the increase on the finance committee agenda.’ He put it on there. I did support it in the finance committee. I like to travel and take courses, but it’s not about me and what I like. It’s about doing what the taxpayers want us to do with their money.”
The vote to increase the budget to $7,500 each was 7-3 with Clarke, McKnight and Commissioner Dennis Williams voting no.
In an unrelated matter, after meeting behind closed doors, commissioners voted 9-0 to authorize transferring $7 million from the solid waste restricted reserve funds to the Deans Bridge Road land fill operations budget.
“It was to keep our landfill operating,” Clarke said. “There are a lot of things that need to be done out there. And they say they don’t have enough money and enough people.”
Sylvia Cooper is a columnist with The Augusta Press. Reach her at sylvia.cooper@theaugustapress.com
