The City of Augusta hit the road this week to hear from residents about its 2026 budget, including a Wednesday session at Warren Road Community Center.
Administrator Tameka Allen and Interim Finance Director Tim Schroer sought to clarify budget realities, insisting that while Augusta’s total budget tops $1.3 billion, only about $206 million is actually under the control of the Augusta Commission.
“We do not operate on that amount of money,” Allen said, pointing out the total includes restricted funds such as debt service and revenue for the new arena.
Still, dissatisfaction was evident.
“We need to do a better job of selling the city,” said District 7 resident Ollie Washington, who criticized Augusta’s reliance on Facebook for updates.
Washington said local realtors are steering newcomers into the far reaches of Columbia County with claims Augusta is “nothing but drugs and thugs.”
Walton Way landowner Lee Bennett pulled no punches, saying he represented the public’s “anger” over the government’s wasteful spending.
“I would start looking at some big-time employee cuts,” Bennett said, suggesting workers who couldn’t articulate their weekly accomplishments should be let go.
He cited overgrown rights-of-way and fallen limbs left for months as evidence of failure.
Allen acknowledged the criticism. “We have not done a good job” holding staff accountable, although employees of elected officials can’t be, she said.
“We should treat the government like a business,” she added, “because it is.”
Residents also aired concerns about services and spending:
- One woman pointed out that homeless populations on Washington Road seem to disappear only during Masters week.
- Special education teacher Michael Hollis said unqualified employees are promoted to city leadership roles without proper vetting.
- Lee Powell, chair of the Charter Review finance subcommittee, questioned whether large landowners avoid paying stormwater utility fees.
- David Peltier criticized stormwater spending, saying a simple drainage fix near his property has dragged on for over a year.
Former Richmond County Commissioner Tom Tinley raised concerns about a proposed one-mill tax increase in light of widespread increases in property values. He cited near-revolts that took place in years past.
“You might have that again with this millage increase,” Tinley said, “accompanied by these big assessments.”
Augusta ought to implement an additional 1% Local Option Sales Tax to further reduce property taxes, Tinley said. “We’ve outgrown that one penny. We need a second penny,” he said.
He also flagged unfilled law enforcement positions as an opportunity to trim the budget and expressed concern that Augusta hasn’t meaningfully addressed homelessness.
Allen said the budget shortfall stems from “unexpected costs that were not budgeted,” including high employee health insurance claims and the return of unused federal grant funds.
Tinley was unmoved: “People don’t pay taxes in mills. They pay taxes in dollars,” he said. “The same old millage rate is still a property tax increase.”
Allen encouraged residents to continue to provide feedback through the city’s budget survey.
