Mayor Keith Gaskin promised Columbus Rotarians no topic would be off-limits if they had any questions during his remarks to the club Tuesday at Lion Hills Center.
Over the ensuing 40 minutes, he made as good on that promise as time would allow – touching on his frustrations with potholes, citizen comments on Facebook and the continued dormancy of the Sen. Terry Brown Amphitheater, among other things.
He also resurrected a call for a forensic audit of the city’s finances, something the council shot down three times during Gaskin’s first year in office.
Gaskin’s 2021 election shortly followed former Chief Financial Officer Milton Rawle’s conviction for embezzling more than $280,000. State Auditor Shad White said the unaccounted for sum might be larger, but it would require a forensic audit to determine that.
Then two months into Gaskin’s term, a discovered clerical error in the proposed budget meant the city had to cut $1 million in expected spending to avoid a budget deficit.
“I think the city still needs a forensic audit,” he said to a smattering of muted applause. “I think it should include my administration. That’s not to say that anybody’s done anything wrong, but municipality budgets are difficult. We’ve had a lot of different people in the CFO role over the years, and I think there’s still a mistrust in the community over some of this.”
Gaskin, who announced last week he would not seek reelection, said he hopes the new mayor and council will consider a forensic audit. He also called on citizens to encourage their elected officials to do it, which led Gaskin to chide Rotarians for airing their complaints on Facebook instead of contacting him or the council.
“I hope y’all will always reach out to your mayor and your council member(s) to let them know how you feel about things,” Gaskin said. “You don’t do that a lot because when I tried to work with the council on decisions I thought were popular in the community, they’d just say, ‘Nobody’s called me. Nobody’s told me.’ If they don’t hear from you, they feel like they are making a decision that’s OK. And I know that y’all don’t feel that way about me or them because I see what you put on Facebook.
“It’s real easy to get on Facebook and make your comments,” he continued. “It’s a lot harder to meet with someone face-to-face or call them up.”
Gaskin noted some highlights of his administration, including establishing a $5 million capital projects fund, landing $6 million in federal funds for blight elimination, hiring a dedicated grant writer and improving relations between the city and Lowndes County.
He also pointed to continued challenges he’s seen, particularly in public works and the police departments.
“I get calls every day about things not being picked, or certain potholes in certain areas. It’s constant,” he said, noting public works needs to be more efficient.
Where the police department is concerned, Gaskin said the city in recent years has raised pay and reduced the number of budgeted officers to 55 in an effort to hire more experienced officers and reduce turnover. That hasn’t been fully successful, he said, as the department only has 44 officers and turnover remains high.
Gaskin mentioned his continued frustrations with the city’s drainage problems, for which he has often criticized the council for not addressing more robustly with American Rescue Plan Act funds. He circled back to the city’s problems with potholes, which he blamed on flooding.
“When you don’t take care of your infrastructure, which we’ve known about since the 1970s and we’ve done nothing about it, this is what you get,” Gaskin said.
Opening the Amphitheater
Gaskin told Rotarians the amphitheater on the Island needs to be finished as soon as possible, and it needs to be open for public use now.
Built in 2017, the amphitheater has sat idle while the city waits for more money to build seating, a concession stand, more restrooms and fencing. The city received $1 million in state funds this year and has asked for $3 million more from federal sources to finish the facility.
But Gaskin is tired of waiting.
“It could be used now,” he said. “People are building amphitheaters without seating … without (concessions), and they are bringing food trucks in. It’s a different day. That amphitheater could be open, and it should be open.”
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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