Ahead of work session, Augusta Mayor sees opportunities, priorities following billion-dollar budget proposal

AUGUSTA, Ga. –
City leaders plan to meet Thursday for a budget work session following the 1.15 billion-dollar budget proposal they heard last week.  FOX54’S Lauren Young spoke with the mayor who says the 5.5% increase to the budget is the opposite of what he asked department heads to model.

We first spoke with Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson several weeks ago about expenditures of the county’s departments and what he expected to be done to address increasing costs. Now, he says this billion-dollar-government—certainly isn’t functioning like one. “I asked my colleagues to consider asking department heads to model a five and a ten percent budget reduction,” said Mayor Johnson.

Local businessman-turned-mayor, Johnson, says he hoped this request would help decision-makers identify inefficiencies and soften the blow of the ever-increasing costs of doing business for the taxpayer. When it came up for action on the floor, the mayor says his colleagues on the commission did not ask departments to take on the request. “They said ‘thanks but no thanks.’ They received it as information. As you know, we’re a mayor/commission form of government where six votes gets anything done,” said Mayor Johnson.

The mayor still without a vote on the commission’s decisions, and thus, without a say, has only the ability to make suggestions.
Still, this businessman believes over a billion dollars for one year of operation of the Richmond County government is.
“It’s still too big for the city of Augusta. Until we deliver on some of the most basic, foundational purposes, we owe it to the taxpayers—fiscal accountability and responsibility—I will always lead an effort to create opportunities to save money for our taxpayers,” said Mayor Johnson.

Just last week, interim city administrator Takiyah Douse told FOX54, “There are some areas where currently our expenses outweigh our revenues.”
Taxpayers in other Georgia municipalities are footing the bill for much less costly local governments. Slightly larger Columbus-Muscogee County spent about a third of Augusta-Richmond County’s budget in 2023. Athens-Clarke County over the last two years, is also a fraction of Augusta’s. Savannah comes in at under half of Augusta’s budgeted expenses.

Augusta-Richmond County, over a year and a half into its search for a city administrator, has this line in the job advertisement, identifying a billion-dollar budget.
“People are fixated on saying Augusta now has a billion-dollar budget. In my opinion, that’s not anything to brag about,” said Mayor Johnson.
For Mayor Garnett Johnson, claiming leadership of a billion-dollar government should not be a point of pride considering the condition of the county.
“I would be one of the first champions here saying, ‘hoorah, hoorah, we have a billion-dollar government. The streets are paved, we have lights that work.’ Right now, we don’t have that in Augusta-Richmond County. We have challenges,” said Mayor Johnson.

Some of those shortcomings the mayor says he sees are in safety, upkeep, and cleanliness of Augusta-Richmond County. He tells me he’s pleased with increases to the sheriff’s budget to promote hiring and retention of deputies, but he says his administration has quite a way to go before he’ll be proud to represent a billion-dollar government.