Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson on Tuesday asked the Augusta City Council to reimburse more than $40,000 in expenses to his personal credit card he claims were necessary for the city to conduct its business, including $10,000 to facilitate a visit from First Lady Jill Biden and more than $2,000 for a trip to the White House.
Johnson (pictured above) claimed to the city council on Tuesday that the expenses were within the city’s budget, and suggested he used his personal credit card as a matter of efficiency.
“As you know, it was my goal upon taking office to create more efficiency in government,” said Johnson, according to The Augusta Chronicle. He explained, “From time to time we have things we need to do, and we take action to get them done.”
The outlet explained that Augusta does not have a method to reimburse Johnson to his personal credit card, but that the city instead uses a “city-issued purchasing (P-card) or credit card” system that allows a card to be issued.
However, according to WRDW, these cards have a $500 spending limit per transaction and limit monthly spending to just $5,000, meaning it would not have covered the $10,000 for the First Lady.
The outlet did not report why Johnson claimed he needed to use his credit card for his $2,400 visit to Washington, D.C., for a state dinner.
Without following this method of approving purchases, Finance Director Donna Williams reportedly told commissioners she has no “sanctioned method of reimbursement” for Johnson.
The mayor explained on Tuesday that this would not have been nearly enough to cover the expenses required for the First Lady’s visit last November.
“We were looking at a close to $10,000 (in purchases) within 24 hours,” a member of Johnson’s administration explained, according to The Chronicle. “The teleprompter that was cleared by the FBI and the Secret Service, that was a $4,000 (rental) that we had to put in, not to mention the operator that needed to be brought in and her travel. The P-card wouldn’t have allowed us to make those purchases.”
Biden visited Augusta on November 8, 2023 “as part of the Biden-Harris administration’s Investing in America workforce hub tour,” reported WRDW at the time.
During her remarks, the outlet reported the First Lady briefly referenced Johnson when discussing a skills program for young people.
She questioned, “Mayor Johnson, don’t you remember how proud Patrick and Dustin were to show us how they had learned to fix an assembly line?”
Johnson took office after winning a runoff election on June 21, 2022. He won with 53 percent of the vote after coming in a narrow second place in the May 24 primary and non-partisan election.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
