Augusta charter committee recommends city manager system to separate policy from operations

The Augusta‑Richmond County Charter Review Committee on Feb. 24 recommended changing the consolidated government's structure to a commission‑manager form of government, a move committee leaders said would separate policy making from daily administration.

Clint Bryant, vice chair of the committee, presented the recommendation, saying the change “clarify[s] those lines of authority and responsibility” by making the mayor and commission responsible for policy while a professionally credentialed manager oversees daily operations. He said the manager would hire and, if necessary, fire department heads and be directly accountable to the commission.

The committee argued the model promotes efficient decision making and accountability. “This is why we have selected the manager form of government to clarify those lines of authority and responsibility,” Bryant said, adding that more than 60% of U.S. cities with populations over 50,000 use this structure and that model‑charter guidance endorses it.

Committee leaders said the proposed charter will require a credentialed manager (a master’s degree in public administration, public affairs, or business; four years’ experience in an appointed managerial or administrative position in local government; and national credentialing or six months to obtain credentials after hire, per the draft language). The manager would oversee the consolidated government’s departments, prepare budgets for commission approval, and be subject to removal by the commission if not responsive.

Public commenters said the proposal raises tradeoffs. Marion Williams, a former commissioner, cautioned that elected officials are the mechanism voters use to hold government accountable and that “if you’re just gonna use the management style … then they need to be elected too.” Ben Hassan and others questioned whether the minimum qualifications described in the draft are sufficient to manage an approximately $1.4 billion budget and urged stronger, experience‑based qualifications.

Officials repeatedly said the committee is waiting for a draft from the Carl Vinson Institute in legal form; when the draft is received it will be circulated to the committee and posted on the committee website for public review. The committee has motions planned for its March 5 docket, and any final charter language would then be transmitted to the legislative delegation and follow the legislature’s timetable for ballot placement.

The committee emphasized that some details — such as job descriptions for the city attorney and department heads — are currently handled by ordinance and personnel policy and therefore would not necessarily be embedded in the charter itself. The committee also adopted a separate motion to require statutory charter reviews every seven years once a new charter takes effect.

Next steps: the Carl Vinson Institute draft will be posted when available; committee members said citizens would have several days to review the draft before motions on the March 5 docket are considered.