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AUGUSTA, Ga. — In a significant move that took place in Atlanta, a Georgia Senate Committee has given the green light for Augusta residents to vote this November on a potential amendment to the city charter.
“I’m genuinely thrilled about this development. The essence of our democracy is empowering voters to make the final call. I’m excited about that,” remarked Mayor Garnett Johnson.
The proposed charter change would shift the responsibility for hiring and firing department heads from the commission to a city manager, centralizing executive authority.
“I believe this is a positive step forward. It’s an issue we’ve been deliberating for some time—transitioning to a city management system,” stated Commissioner Catherine Smith Rice.
Although the Charter Committee has advocated for adopting a manager-led government, dissent exists. Two members traveled to Atlanta this week to express their opposition, citing unresolved questions about the scope and duties of the proposed city manager position.
“The devil is in the details that is sort of where the apprehension for this bill came from we can want something but if we don’t have the details how it’s going to be implemented there in lies the problem,” said Dr. Sheffie Robinson, Charter Review Committee member.
The Charter Committee recommended the mayor nominating candidates for manager and then taking part in the vote. However, the senate committee changed that to say the mayor could only vote on the manager if there was a tie, even though a referendum gave the mayor a vote in 2024.
“So here we are again having a discussion about in the event of a tie, how does the mayor break the vote, how do you remove the abstentions,” said Mayor Johnson.
This is not the final step, but Augusta voters are a step closer to a vote on changing the charter after 30 years.