There is no question that the pandemic has changed even the most minute aspects of life, but as society begins the process of opening back up, the Augusta Commission needs to act as a leader and go back to face-to-face meetings.
In many businesses, owners have found that having employees work from home and telecommute is actually a more productive way to operate. Demand for office space has gone down as companies adjust to the new normal of holding zoom meetings instead of meeting face to face.
However, what makes sense in private enterprise does not always translate over into government. Generally, private businesses will use technology to innovate while the government typically uses technology to be lazy.
That seems to be what is happening on the Augusta Commission.
The bottom line is that the pandemic appears to be running its course. University Hospital’s most recent figures have them with 17 patients hospitalized for Covid-19. While the CDC still considers Richmond County to be at a high risk level, the numbers are much lower than they were in January.
Naturally, this good news is not the time to be complacent. People who are at risk of infection need to maintain what have become the standard COVID-19 prevention measures: wearing a mask and social distancing.
School children have been back in class for months with no severe outbreaks. Restaurants are back open serving food, people are going back to the bars in Downtown Augusta and there has been no spike in infection.
A recent controversy arose when a dance contest was held in a gym with packed attendance and no social distancing, but even that contest didn’t apparently become a super-spreader event as no one in attendance has been reported hospitalized.
Rather than make a firm decision to bring back public meetings, the Augusta Commission, asked City Administrator Odie Donald to revamp and release his COVID-19 report, which still calls for fining individuals and businesses for not following strict guidelines.
The U.S. Constitution allows for citizens to petition their government, and that means they should be allowed to stand before elected officials, not be piped in on a government controlled stream.
The Constitution also calls for freedom of the press, which means someone needs to be around to eavesdrop when commissioners go into executive session to make sure they are following the law. At this point, commissioners can meet privately, and the press has no way of challenging them.
The Commission can have plexiglass barriers in place to shield them from any sneezing in the audience, which at this point would be more likely from pollen than coronavirus. All proper measures are in place to protect everyone.
Moreover, as more people get vaccinated, the threat of transmission continues to drop. This will only improve thanks to Gov. Brian Kemp’s announcement Tuesday that all Georgians 16 and over now qualify for COVID-19 vaccinations.
It does not make sense for Commissioners to continue to conduct meetings from their bunkers, It shows poor leadership.
Augustans are going back to their pre-pandemic lives. They continue to go grocery shopping and enjoy a night of dining out. They wear masks and tote hand sanitizer wherever they go. The Augusta government needs to set a good example, if not for the economy, but to prove they are continuing the business of the people without fear of the super-unknown.
It is time for the Augusta Commission to stop hiding behind their computers and open their meetings back up fully to the public.
