AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Augusta Commission members held a budget workshop session Thursday, and there was much discussion about the Housing and Community Development Department.

That’s the department that left the city on the hook to pay back millions in federal grant money.

The city got more than $6 million in grant money during the COVID pandemic, supposedly to help people who were in danger of eviction.

The city never spent the money for that purpose, so the government demanded it back.

The department didn’t have the money on hand, so the city had to repay it, and then some, from the general fund – $6.3 million of the original grant money and $2.1 million in penalties.

The scandal led to the exit of Housing and Community Director Hawthorne Welcher and sparked an audit of the department.

“The community is highly concerned, just like we are about the fact that we’ve had this many levels of issue. And there doesn’t look like there has been any accountability with it,” Augusta Commission member Don Clark said.

“As of a week ago, still receiving liability issues out of the inadequacies coming from the department. The last pot of money for the emergency rental assistance, we had to pay out some more additional funds,” he said.

On Oct. 28, commissioners in closed executive session approved the payment of up to $32,237.32 from contingency funds for rental assistance previously approved by the Housing and Community Development Department.

This means leaders agreed to take the money from their emergency fund and use it to help people with their rent as part of a program the department had already put in place.

Mayor Garnett Johnson said at the time this was an effort to address letters that were sent out, falsely leading people to believe they were getting some emergency funds.

“ Despite all the great things that it has achieved in the past, the last 12 months have really damaged the public’s trust in Housing and Community Development,” City Administrator Tameka Allen said.

“ I would like to see us refocus this department on its core mission,” she said. “That is implementing its core grant programs as efficiently and effectively as possible. From a financial perspective, we need to live within our means, spending grants appropriately and reducing Housing and Community Development’s dependence on the general fund.”

Commissioners learned at the budget session Thursday that the department owns 64 rental properties compared to the 12 it owned a few years ago.

Allen admitted she only recently learned the current number was 64.

A department staff member said: ”Back before COVID, we found out that we had additional program income and we had a lot of individuals requesting houses, decent safe housing. So our director at that time chose to take that program income and purchase homes to put low- to moderate-income people in.”

The staffer said the department can adjust the rents according to incomes.

The staffer said the homes are managed by a private company, but commissioners admitted they have little oversight of how rents, tenants or repairs are handled.

Commissioners said they need a breakdown of the rental program (who’s in the houses, what rent comes in and how it’s advertised) as well as clarity on how the city monitors the property management company.

“The more I dig, the more I find,” Allen said.

Allen recommended setting a target to reduce general fund subsidy of the department by about $500,000, including five positions in administration and support, as well as other cuts.

Commissioner Jordan Johnson wanted to be sure these cuts wouldn’t gut redevelopment projects.

Allen said she plans to keep the redevelopment sector, the supervisor, and at least one coordinator so those bigger capital projects can keep moving.

She said the department needs a reset after a year of lost community trust and costly mistakes.

She says the goal is to get the department back to its core U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development programs and fix financial controls once the ongoing audit is complete.

She says the audit is on track to be completed within the next 45 days

Copyright 2025 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Steven Kendrick, Augusta’s chief deputy tax commissioner, is set to kick off his campaign for mayor of Augusta on Saturday.

The public event will start at 12 p.m. at the South Augusta Tag Office, 3463A Peach Orchard Road.

According to a press release, the location was chosen due to the time Kendrick spent working in the department.

“When I walked into this office years ago, I didn’t just see lines of people — I saw opportunity,” Kendrick said.

“We modernized government, improved customer service, and made life easier for families. If we could do that here, imagine what we can do for all of Augusta. That’s what progress looks like — bringing government back to the people.”

The press release states Kendrick’s campaign “Build. Grow. Unite. Lead.” explains his vision for Augusta.

Kendrick resigned from his position as Richmond County Tax Commissioner so he could focus on his run for mayor in 2022.

He was defeated by Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson, who took office in January 2023, in a runoff election.

Copyright 2025 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF)- Augusta will host a conference called the Startup Champions Network Fall Summit this week.

More than one hundred startup community leaders from across the country and Canada will be in attendance.

But it’s more than a conference; it’s an opportunity to showcase the depth and diversity of Augusta’s innovation ecosystem.

Each year big and small cities are chosen to show how their businesses and small startups succeed.

Since 2012, theClubhou.se has helped launch and grow thousands of startup businesses in Augusta.

And that is why this year the summit is coming to Augusta to see its success.

“We’re spending two and a half days basically talking about what does it look like to build a startup ecosystem? And because we’ve been doing this in Augusta for over 12 years, we want to share with them some of the stories and some of the startups that have come out of our community,” said Grace Belangia, Co-Founder of Make Startups.

The Startup Champions Network Chairman of the Board, said he has learned a lot since being here in Augusta.

“I’ve been here less than 12 hours, but I learned a lot and understand what’s going on. I’ve seen all of the revitalization going on in downtown because of the storm. All this stuff is building up, went to walk down mainstreet, saw some of the local businesses and you just want to see how we can increase the energy and activity that’s going on here,” said Mark Lawrence.

This conference is from today until Friday, 8am to1pm at TheClubhouse.se.

Click here to purchase your tickets.