Rightsizing plan for Augusta moves out of committee
The Augusta Commission Administrative Services committee this week approved the administrator's rightsizing plan as a working document.
The proposal from Takiyah Douse, interim administrator for the Augusta consolidated government, totaled more than $10 million either in savings or new revenue, although some proposals are still tentative pending a compensation study. The proposal was prepared in response to the end of federal funds provided due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which will be running out.
The committee had previously heard a presentation on the proposal and taken no action in July. On Tuesday, several commissioners expressed disappointment that so much of the plan was based on projections of revenue growth and not hard cuts to departments.
“It’s different from what I would have thought would have been given," Commissioner Wayne Guilfoyle said. "I would have separated the hard costs from the soft costs, and find hard dollars."
Others felt more positively about it. "I thought it was a pretty nice plan," said Commissioner Jordan Johnson.
Commissioner Brandon Garrett noted the total of the money saved was fairly low, without the projected revenue.
“Within the timeframe that this body allotted me, I presented a solid plan," Douse said.
“Oh, it’s a hell of a start," Garrett responded. "… It’s a great place to start and I appreciate it, and I can see the work that went in to this. But ... it worries me. I’m working on budgets now at work for next year and it’s really hard to anticipate what next year is going to look like.”
Commissioner Sean Frantom asked Douse if she considered the plan a working document, and she said it was. After some further discussion, Johnson finally moved to approve the plan. It passed the committee 4-0.
Also this week, commissioners heard from Augusta Judicial Circuit Court Administrator Nolan Martin about ongoing electrical issues at the court.
“We’ve had strobe lighting, we’ve had no lighting, but more importantly we’ve had burnt bulbs. We’ve had lights catch fire," Martin told the commissioners.
Interim Central Services Director Ron Lampkin said the issues were with the underlying electrical systems in the court and that staff are trying to find and fix them.
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Rightsizing plan proposals as presented in July
Create a centralized Grounds Maintenance Division combining resources from Central Services, Parks & Recreation and Engineering and Environmental Services (no estimate);
Implement Advanced Metering Infrastructure to reduce high-turnover meter reading staff through attrition over five years ($450,000 in savings annually);
Reduce automatic dispatch of fire trucks to low-priority medical calls as Central EMS rolls out ($255,000 in savings annually) and reduce responses of fire ambulance calls ($45,000 in savings annually) alongside other proposed changes;
Community cat trap-neuter-release program to save money on cat food and euthanasia ($15,000 in savings annually) and a flat fee for surrendered animals ($30,000 increase annually);
Workforce and staffing position control ($1.6 million in savings annually);
Increased tax revenue through economic growth ($5 million increase annually) and charging credit card fees to customers ($500,000 in savings annually);
Sale of home and community development properties that are no longer needed ($125,000 in revenue over five years) and underutilized property ($1.7 million in potential revenue), and divesting from five parks ($145,000 in savings annually);
Sharing underutilized vehicles and increasing regular maintenance ($30,000 in savings annually);
Health insurance restructuring ($300,000 in savings annually);
Merging two 311 call software platforms ($20,000 in savings annually); and,
Percentage-based budget cuts to departments (no estimate).
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Augusta rightsizing plan moves forward
