Augusta, GA
Augusta moving forward with hearings on property tax law
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – In addition to discussing the need for an emergency management director, several other issues were discussed at Thursday’s Augusta Commission meeting.
Among them:
Floating homestead exemption
The city staff requested that commissioners discuss and approve a path forward on House Bill 581, the state measure to allow the city to opt out of a cap on property tax hikes.
The staff recommended moving forward with public hearing dates on the matter, but said commissioners need to discuss the possibility of opting out. The staff also said there’s an opportunity for an additional sales tax if commissioners opt in. And if the city opts in, some of the tax burden will shift to commercial properties and those who don’t fall under the homestead exemption, according to the interim finance director.
The city administrator said commissioners need to advertise that they intend to opt out in order to hold public meetings to gauge citizens’ views. Making the motion would not mean the city is opting out.
Commissioner Jordan Johnson said he was concerned with advertising the meetings in that way.
Mayor Garnett Johnson reminded commissioners that on the ballot, the measure had language that said “local governments will have the chance to opt out.”
The goal is to decide whether to opt in or out by the last commission meeting in February, which is ahead of the March 1 deadline to decide.
Commissioners decided to advertise the public hearings, although the dates haven’t been set.
Beautification
Commissioners discussed maintenance of beautification and other projects in the city.
Commissioner Tina Slendak raised concerns about recently completed brick crosswalks on 13th Street that have already started coming up.
She said people have complained to her about it.
She said there needs to be more accountability for workers who do jobs like this.
Slendak asked what the process is to deal with situations like this.
Engineering Director Hameed Malik said to contact his department.
Mayor Garnett Johnson questioned why money doesn’t go toward maintenance once projects are completed.
Malik says these projects are under the city’s maintenance plan
“That’s one complaint we get as elected officials,” Johnson said. “We do a good job of beautifying, but then it goes to hell with lack of maintenance.”
City Administrator Tameka Allen said her office is looking at a holistic approach to maintenance in the city, and she hopes to have a plan to commissioners within the next 60 days.
Discuss 600 Broad improvement
Margaret Woodard discussed improvements at 600 Broad, which is supposed to be the home of Accelerate Augusta.
She said the work is almost done, but carpet, tile and other work can’t be done because the roof was damaged by Hurricane Helene. He says the roof work will cost $375,000, of which $175,000 is available.
Allen said there is money allocated in SPLOST 8 to go toward this.
Mayor Garnett Johnson asked if the $200,000 the city pays can get reimbursed, and City Administrator Tameka Allen said she’d work with the central services director on that.
Commissioners decided to grant $200,000 coming out of SPLOST 8 to go toward Accelerate Augusta.
Charter review
There was a motion to amend the charter review resolution to include adding proposed charter changes to a referendum.
Commissioner Tony Lewis said he had someone from his district approach him about speaking on the charter review.
A Virginia Cody spoke about her concerns of citizens not having a say in any changes that come with changing the charter.
“Any changes to this charter will go to the voters, period,” Commissioner Alvin Mason said.
“Everyone is entitled to a voice here and everyone will receive a voice,” Commissioner Don Clark said.
The motion passed unanimously after 30 minutes of discussion.
Copyright 2025 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – A ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday marked the opening of Georgia’s newest behavioral health crisis center.
The new state-of-the-art facility, operated by Serenity Behavioral Health Systems, officially opened at 3421 Mike Padgett Highway.
The center was made possible through a state investment, including nearly $14 million in construction funding and $9.4 million for operations provided by the state.
The center replaces Serenity’s previous 16-bed crisis stabilization unit, which served the community for 17 years with funding support from the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities.
Expanded capacity
The new facility significantly expands crisis response capacity and includes:
- 24 crisis stabilization unit beds.
- 16 temporary 23-hour observation chairs,
- Capacity to serve up to 40 people at once.
- Staff increases from about 200 to 245
“We care. We’re here to help people. We’re here to serve,” said Chuck Williamson, the CEO of Serenity Behavioral Health.
The center will provide short-term stabilization, assessment and treatment services for individuals experiencing behavioral health or substance use crises.
People can seek services voluntarily or be referred through law enforcement, hospitals or the courts. The typical stay is three to five days but can be as long as 10 days.
Meeting community need
Bethany Trapp and Lt. Sean Rhodes say they head into encampments and wooded areas twice a month, connecting people in crisis to help.
“We go out and seek out these individuals that aren’t coming for resources, that may be suffering from a mental health situation,” said Rhodes, a lieutenant with the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office Homeless Outreach Team.
“We actually came across a couple of folks this morning who are in the middle of drug use, who said, ‘I want to get clean,’” said Trapp, program coordinator for CSRA Economic Opportunity Authority’s Marion Barnes Center.
Rhodes said law enforcement is often first on scene, and with emergency rooms and jails serving as the overflow for people in crisis, the need for this expansion goes beyond the new facility.
“This will take a lot of pressure off of the courts, off the jails, off law enforcement. There’s finally a place that’s very much dedicated and specialized in helping people when they have a crisis of those types,” Williamson said.
Part of statewide strategy
The opening of the Augusta Behavioral Health Crisis Center is part of Georgia’s broader strategy to build a stronger, more responsive behavioral health system focused on early intervention, crisis stabilization and long-term recovery support.
In the past five years, the state has started developing five new crisis center locations in Clayton, Fulton, Laurens and Richmond counties.
“This center represents hope for individuals and families experiencing a behavioral health or substance use crisis while also providing critical support to hospitals, law enforcement, and emergency responders throughout the region,” Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Commissioner Kevin Tanner said at Wednesday’s ceremony.
“For the first time, in my lifetime, I see that behavioral health and mental health is being given respect and parity with primary care and physical health care,” Williamson said.
Officials with Serenity Behavioral Health said the timeline to move into the new facility is still being finalized, but they expect the transition to take place in June.
Copyright 2026 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson will host a free Vidalia sweet onion giveaway during this month’s Food Truck Family Friday.
This month’s event will be on Friday at 4104 Windsor Spring Road from 5-9 p.m.
Community members are invited to enjoy an evening of food, music and fellowship while picking up complimentary Georgia-grown Vidalia onions.
“We’re proud to support Georgia’s largest industry and celebrate another Georgia Grown product this spring,” said Johnson.
The event will feature more than 30 food trucks and food vendors, live music and a family-friendly atmosphere.
It is free and open to the public.
Copyright 2026 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Augusta commissioners are being asked to forgive more than $70,000 in fines against the city’s trash contractor, Coastal Waste and Recycling, following missed pickups, cart problems and complaints.
Coastal took over all three of Augusta’s trash collection zones last year. Both the city and the company blamed early problems on the transition.
The city assessed about $144,000 in fines during the first three months. Commissioners are now recommending the city waive more than $70,000 of those penalties from the first month of the contract.
“They went from, you know, one month having like 40 some odd thousand in charges to now I think they’re averaging about 500 some in charges per month and those charges of course are based on if there’s a missed pickup or, or different things like that,” said Don Clark, District 5 commissioner.
Some commissioners pushed back on forgiving the fines, while others said the city shared blame for the rocky start.
The recommendation now moves to the full commission for a final vote next week.
Copyright 2026 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
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