Budget OK'd with more for sheriff

The Augusta Commission approved a 2019 budget Tuesday that includes an additional $680,000 sought by Richmond County Sheriff Richard Roundtree for deputy salaries.

The commission also learned more about the job status of Human Resources Director Gwendolyn Conner, who began work in April. City Administrator Janice Allen Jackson said Conner has been placed on paid administrative leave.

Roundtree said the additional funds that did not initially appear in Jackson's spending plan will make deputy salaries competitive with area agencies and make them less likely to need second jobs such as special-duty assignments.

"It makes us competitive but we are still not the highest paid," Roundtree said. "It's been a six-year process. When I took office, the starting pay was about $32,000. Now it's about $40,000."

The budget includes four additional resource officers to patrol downtown Augusta, bringing the total assigned to the sheriff's new riverfront substation to eight.

"With the growth of cyber, the depot project and hotels, it makes people want to come and invest downtown because they know that we're serious about protecting them," Roundtree said.

The deputy raises will go into effect for sworn officers on their Jan. 18 paychecks, Jackson said.

The budget also includes 1.5 percent cost-of-living adjustments for all city staff, effective in January, but reduces the number of new general fund positions not in law enforcement from 22 to 15 and delays filling those positions until July 1, Jackson said.

The revised budget, which passed unanimously, also added $150,000 for the Augusta-Richmond County Library and $50,000 for the Augusta Boxing Club. Most non-government agency funding remains at 2018 levels. The commission's plan to seek proposals for privatized probation is expected to cover losses from an unsuccessful in-house program.

The general fund and law enforcement budget reflects an increase from the 2018 budget of $156 million to $162 million for 2019. The 2019 budget – with special revenue funds such as solid waste, sales tax and utilities included – shows a decrease from $960 million to $853 million this year.

After a tribute to Andrew Jefferson, the District 5 commissioner who died Nov. 4, the commission voted to go behind closed doors to discuss personnel and litigation. Returning a half-hour later, the panel took no action, but Commissioner Marion Williams inquired in open session about Conner.

"Is the HR director on administrative leave with pay?" Williams asked. Jackson said she is.

"If they are doing something wrong, why are they on leave with pay?" continued Williams. "If they aren't, why aren't they back at work?"

Commissioner Bill Fennoy said Conner's status is a "personnel issue" that should be discussed behind closed doors, and the discussion ended.

After the meeting, Williams said he believes the commission is doing wrong by trying to fire Conner.

Conner is the third HR director to work for Augusta since 2014. Prior director Tanika Bryant resigned in 2015 and her successor, Michael Loeser, resigned after less than two years in September 2017.

Conner was recommended by Jackson over three other finalists the commission interviewed in March, who included HR directors from Reading, Pa., and Pensacola, Fla., and an internal candidate. Conner had been the human resources director for Lancaster County, S.C., schools since 2008.

Also on Tuesday, the city's pension and audit committee authorized including certified personnel with the Richmond County Coroner's Office in its early retirement program for public safety workers. The workers must be 55 years old and must have worked for the county for 25 years. Coroner Mark Bowen said that with commission approval, the addition could affect five in his office.