New attitudes abound near election

The Augusta mayor and commissioners should have to stand for re-election every year. They get a new attitude.

That's what Salvation Army Advisory Board Chairman Duncan Wheale said last week about commissioners' unanimous vote to support the local agency's pursuit of a Kroc Center grant to build a one-stop recreational, social service and ministry center in Harrisburg. The judge wasn't talking about the election or anything, but we are.

Just last week, they rolled back the property-tax millage; filled the Super District 9 seat on the commission by appointing Freddie Handy; adopted a disadvantaged business enterprise ordinance, despite a last-minute brouhaha over the difference between "shall" and "may"; and hinted that heads are going to roll if someone doesn't unmask the Phantom of the SPLOST.

In addition, interim Mayor Willie Mays is talking like a fiscal conservative, Commissioner Andy Cheek is on a personal mission to clean up Augusta and the real Commissioner Barbara Sims has decided to stand up.

A NEW ATTITUDE: They're feelin' good from their heads to their shoes

Know half are runnin' and don't want to lose.

They tidied up their bad reviews

They got a new attitude.

Runnin' hot, runnin' cold

They were runnin'. We weren't sold.

It was extreme, ex-ex-ex-ex-ex-extreme

Re-election was a dream

Somehow the message came across.

Shape up, guys, or face a loss.

Never knew they had such a lesson to learn.

They're in control, their worries are few

'Cause fools like us believe it's true

They got a new attitude

Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh

They got a new attitude

And Yet: Everything is not peachy keen at the Marble Palace. Commissioner dissatisfaction with their inability to get a correct and accurate accounting of projects and money from the first four phases of the special purpose local option sales tax has reached the boiling point. Some feel they must come forward with that information in order to get the tax package passed in November. In the meantime, they're having to spend so much time on the old tax packages they don't have time to work on the new one that must be completed by month's end.

At two meetings last week, to get to the bottom of which projects from the first four issues haven't been done and why, as well as how much of the unspent $153.6 million is not obligated and available for new projects, Mrs. Sims, Mr. Cheek, and Commissioners Tommy Boyles and Don Grantham let their unhappiness be known over not being able to get that information after months of asking for it.

Mr. Grantham said commissioners are "catching hell" from the public, who are asking why they should vote to give them more money when they haven't spent what they've given them.

"We're looking at 17 years of time to finish jobs," he said. "Everybody that was there then is not here now, but somebody was here to oversee the job for taxpayers."

Mrs. Sims is determined to see an accounting of projects in black and white. She's been so insistent in recent weeks, Administrator Fred Russell thinks she's a new Barbara.

"I like the old Barbara better," he quipped recently.

At the last meeting, Mrs. Sims said, "I want to see what hasn't been done, and I want to know why. I'm not picking on you, Fred. I asked you in May, and this is August. I really want to know what's not been accomplished. ... I want to be able to open a book and look and see exactly what is not done, what we have money to do and when we're going to do it."

Although Mr. Russell appears to be in the cross hairs, he's been in charge only a year. Many commissioners blame Engineering Director Teresa Smith for the mess because, as public works director for the past five years, she was in charge of road and drainage, which has $99.2 million of unfinished sales-tax projects.

They say all they get from her is the runaround.

And Mr. Russell says it's not as easy as it might seem to come up with the answers because records from the early tax issues are gone. Mrs. Sims, however, reasons there must be a money trail. But because the city finance department's and public works department's figures don't jibe, that might be problematic.

ANDY AND THE CHARTREUSE TV: Mr. Cheek sat a chartreuse 1979 Mitsubishi TV on the dais at last week's commission meeting to make his point that city property should be secured better. He said he noticed the door on the old depot at Sixth and Reynolds streets standing open, so he called the sheriff's office. A deputy came, and they went inside and found a cozy little bedroom with the TV hooked up to city electricity.

Not every commissioner appreciated their colleague's grandstanding.

"Stealing from a homeless man," Mrs. Sims said after the meeting.

STEVE MAY BE THEIR ATTORNEY NEXT YEAR, BUT SHALL HE?: The city's disadvantaged business enterprise director Yvonne Gentry and attorney Vanessa Flournoy worked on an ordinance that sets goals for minority and women participation in city contracts and vending. The final draft went before commissioners last week, but before the vote, City Attorney Stephen Shepard said he thought the word "shall," in one of the provisions having to do with grounds for revoking a contract, should be changed to "may' because "may" does not imply something must be done whereas "shall" does.

Mr. Mays almost went ballistic. And there was a public mini-trial right there in the chamber with Ms. Gentry and Ms. Flournoy called to testify. They said they'd just learned of Mr. Shepard's concerns.

Mr. Mays kept repeating he was "disappointed" Mr. Shepard hadn't brought up his concern before the public meeting.

If he weren't making so much money, we'd feel sorry for Mr. Shepard.

They went ahead and voted for the ordinance after Mr. Cheek reminded them that former City Attorney Jim Wall said there was no difference between "shall" and "may."

SOME THINK ABOUT IT; OTHERS DO IT: Former state Rep. George Brown says he'll run for the 22nd District state Senate seat. Mr. Brown was in the Legislature from 1983-95 and is now an international business and trade consultant. Augusta lawyers Ben Allen and Ed Tarver signed on earlier.

Former Richmond County Solicitor Robert "Bo" Hunter says he's thinking about running for the seat, too.

"Seriously?" he was asked.

"Seriously thinking about it," he said.

OSCAR NIGHT: The Committee For Good Government honored and roasted founder Oscar Baker last week, ostensibly for being the top barbecue ticket seller.

Superior Court Judges Sheryl Jolly and Duncan Wheale, former Sheriff Charlie Webster and former Mayors Pop Newman and Charles DeVaney were among the roasters.

Judge Wheale presented Mr. Baker with a big plaque with a hammer on it designating him as the best sign maker of all time. Mr. Baker, 79, was a State Court bailiff for 40 years and worked on all the current judges' campaigns. He also retired as a captain in the fire department after 24 years and was an Augusta city councilman for 15 years.

At the roast, Mr. Baker said Mr. Newman talked about a mayoral election between him and Hugh Hamilton.

"Pop Newman brought out that when he was running against Hugh Hamilton that I was on Hamilton's side," Mr. Baker said. "We lost by a real thin margin. But he said I was out getting absentee votes from invalids, and we were bringing them to the polls in wheelchairs and on crutches. And Pop said his son said, 'Daddy, why is it Hugh Hamilton got 40 something absentee votes in the 8th Ward and you only got three?'"

Mr. Devaney told about Mr. Baker challenging a board of elections decision to keep Mr. Baker from running again after his third term was up. Director of Elections Linda Beazley told him the board said it didn't matter that one of the elections had been held up for six months, and that he hadn't served three full terms.

Here's Mr. Baker's account of the court hearing:

"I got David Hudson to be my attorney, and we went before Judge Albert Pickett. And he said, 'Linda, Linda, I don't think you're doing Oscar right. Oscar didn't serve three terms. He only had two and a half on one of them.' So he ruled in my favor.

"Oh, I've had a full life," he continued. "It's been glorious, and real satisfying."

Reach Sylvia Cooper at (706) 823-3228 or sylvia.cooper@augustachronicle.com.