AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – Five weeks into the new year, and Mayor Johnson is getting a $25,000 budget adjustment for office furniture.
“You’re talking about something that’s 16-year-old furniture from the previous mayors. I think it’s well deserved,” said Commissioner Wayne Guilfoyle.
But the mayor was also a leading voice for a 1% cut to all department budgets for this year.
“We told departments that the city needed to save money because we were going to have some kind of financial emergency, which amounted to not be true. now, we’re going into the coffers for office furniture. It’s unfortunate,” said Commissioner Jordan Johnson.
Commissioners voting 7-2 to add $25,000 to the mayor’s budget.
The mayor says he ended last year with a much bigger surplus than what he requested.
“As we entered the month of December, my staff made me aware we had more than $100,000 left in our budget; over $100,000,” said Mayor Garnett Johnson.