The Administrative Services Committee on Jan. 9 will take up the issue of finding a permanent replacement for former city administrator Odie Donald who resigned in January 2022.
Takiyah Douse has served as interim administrator for the past year, and the agenda item to begin the search was a hold-over from last year. It was not placed on the agenda by any one commissioner.
According to the Augusta/Richmond county charter, Mayor Garnett Johnson holds the cards when it comes to deciding who the finalists will be.
The Monday agenda specifically calls for a discussion to change the job requirements to allow for only six months of experience, which would, in effect allow for Douse to apply for the permanent position.
Mayor Pro Tem Brandon Garrett says that he is open to all possibilities and wants the process to be deliberate and straightforward.
“We need someone who will be invested for a time. If that person is here and within the government, then great. If that person is an applicant from somewhere else and can commit to stabilizing and rightsizing our government, then that is great, too,” Garrett said.
It seems to be the consensus from the commission to avoid hiring another person like Donald, someone who never bought property or had a confirmed residence in Augusta, used American Rescue Plan funding to give possibly unsustainable raises to city employees, claiming the raises were “baked into” the budget, and who then left Augusta to pursue a job in Atlanta, leaving the city holding the tab.
District 3 Commissioner Catherine McKnight says the commission should take into account the mistake of hiring Donald when moving forward. McKnight wants to make it clear she was not on the commission when Donald was hired.
“It was best for Augusta that he moved on to Atlanta or wherever. He got a huge salary to come in and then just leave. He wasn’t good for Augusta. We can’t afford another Odie Donald,” McKnight said.
The majority of the commission want to follow the city charter, which calls for the mayor to propose three candidates for the job.
District 7 Commissioner Sean Frantom says he favors a change of the charter that would allow for a city manager with far more power to run the city government as opposed to the administrator role that is severely limited by the six votes of the commission.
However, Frantom says he fully supports the mayor when it comes to guiding the process and submitting the candidates for the job.
“This mayor is working hand in hand with the commission to make this city better,” Frantom said.
McKnight agreed and said that the commission should take a step back and allow Johnson to take the lead when it comes to finding the right person for the job.
“(Johnson) is a man of great character and has the business sense we all value. I believe he will find a strong administrator that has the right qualifications for the position,” McKnight said.
District 10 Commissioner Wayne Guilfoyle says that the process is a matter of law, and the commission needs to abide by the law.
“I’ve seen it happen before where the commission circumvented the law, but we can’t allow that to happen again. It is the mayor’s responsibility to nominate three candidates, and we should not circumvent that,” Guilfoyle said.
As for Johnson, he is holding his cards close to his chest. While there has been speculation about possible candidates, the mayor says he understands that the final selection of candidates is his decision to make, and he is not releasing the names of a potential city administrator just yet.
“I know this is my responsibility, and I take it very seriously. Right now I am talking to community stakeholders and getting their input. But I promise that this entire process will be open and transparent, and I know the commission will follow my lead when it comes to finding the right person for the job,” Johnson said.
