By Michael H. McLendon
Follow-the-Money is a shorthandphrase for tracking financial transactions to ferret out wasteful spending and to find out who ultimately benefits from receiving those taxpayer $ (i.e., possible political corruption). That is the job of the DOGE – The Department of Government Efficiency in DC.
We urgently need a DOGE ATHENS effort in Athens. ACC and CCSD are flushed with cash and want to continue to raise taxes. They do not have financial revenue problems; they are addicted to wasteful spending.
DOGE
The magnitude of wasteful spending identified by the DOGE in just one federal agency, USAID, ismindboggling! What DOGE has found has captured the attention of the public, confirming what many observant taxpayers had thought. There is significant waste in government spending! Those running around trying to stop DOGE are addicted to spending and want to keep the public in the dark about where the money really goes.
It is amazing what a few dedicated computer savvy and expert data analysis nerds, motivated by the challenge, can ferret out from a maze of opaque financial transactions and contracts set up to defy transparency. They are applying their analysis skills and turning what they find into actionable information.
What a novel idea! What might a DOGE ATHENS bring into the light of public scrutiny?
ATHENS CLARKE COUNTY GOVERNMENT
The ACC government has distinguished itself by being opaque rather than transparent. When the mayor works in secret for three years to approve and commit Athen’s to be a refugee resettlement site, citizens are rightly skeptical of the motivation, actions, and the spending by officials.
The conflicts of interest that infect city hall also raise questions about why $ go to certain non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and private sector firms. There is reason to question the actions and transactions of ACC’s vast number of commissions, tax allocation districts, boards, and authorities like the Classic Center.
ACC is now a $415M a year enterprise ($283M in FY20). Not billions, but not exactly chump change either! This does not account for the millions of $ flowing thru entities such as the Classic Center, the Downtown Development Authority (DDA), and the Athens Housing Authority (AHA) where there is virtually no transparency to the public.
Recently, this author had to submit an Open Records Requests to obtain a copy of the AHA budget that was, to be charitable, lackingsubstance. Similar requests had to be sent the Classic Center Authority to obtain presentations made to the Board that should have been readily available to the public.
Even some commissioners have noted that the public does not trust ACC government. One factor driving this distrust is that there is no evidence the commissioners have an interest in the efficiency of local government if you read the ACC budget and observe commission meetings.
So where does the money go and who benefits? We do not know. ACC is now working on its FY 26 budget to start in July 2025, likely based on the view that the growth in the tax digest is their piggy bank to rob. It is business as usual.
An ACC DOGE project might start by looking at the taxpayers’ $’s that flow to:
• The myriad of NGOs operating in Athens, what they produce, and the duplication of services
• NGOs, developers, and builders for affordable housing and services for the homeless
• AHA and developers who appear to sell public property back and forth to each other
• The $800K+ People & Belonging Department (AKA the Inclusion Office and the DEI Office) plans to issue an ordinance on tampons,
• Draining $ from core infrastructure needs to maintain 58 grant funded EV charging stations when there are already 88 EV stations in Clarke County
• And the mall project where there is no visible evidence of any work going on as the developer quietly talks to commissioners about perhaps a government bailout to finance the project when ACC has committed over $180M in TAD financing.
DOGE FOR CLARKE COUNTY SCHOOLS
We all want to see the children in our community achieve academically. But it is obvious that far too many children are not succeeding in being proficient in the basics of reading, math, and science. It is also clear that the School Board does not have a revenue problem, but rather it has a chronic spending problem!
Since FY2019, CCSD spending per student has increased 68% to almost $22Kin FY2024. At the same time, CCSD’s financial reserve balance of $27.6M in FY2019 increased by 199% in FY2024 to $60.4M. And let us not forget the CCSD “Princely Taj Mahal” offices includes a grand performance when a “Butler Building” would have worked perfectly well.
The Board believes that any increase in the tax base is their piggy bank; a core belief they share with ACC’s Mayor and Commission. Tax and spending is their motto, and the word efficiency is not in their vocabulary.
When 62% of voters approved of HB 581 in November 2024, they were sending a message tothe Board of Education - reduce the spending and tell us where the money is going! The Board’s reaction? They doubled down to say they want to opt out giving the taxpayers the proverbial middle finger!
A massive DOGE wave needs to engulf the CCSD to expose the wasteful spending to the sunlight of public scrutiny. Taxpayers have the right to know how their $ are being spent and who benefits. Then we can hold the Board accountable to ensure $ are being spent wisely to educate our children.
TIME FOR COMMON SENSE ACTION
It is time for a grass-roots coalition of willing citizens to create a DOGEATHENS movement to put the public’s spotlight on wasteful spending.
DOGE ATHENS is feasible and can leverage the vast computer savvy,analytical expertise, and business acumen in our community. This effort can delve into CCSD and ACC public data along with aggressively using the Georgia Open Records Act to ferret out data and information that needs to be brought into the light of day to challenge our officials and hold them accountable!
Some might say we should encourage the School Board and the Commission to be serious about wasteful spending. That is a noble idea that will fall on deaf ears; even if one or more of officials agree that some action is needed.
The bottom-line is that if these officials were interested in reigning in wasteful spending, they would be taking credit for rooting out the waste long ago.
They are too vested in feeding their relationships with friends and favorite NGOs, virtue signaling to special interests, and perpetuating their ways of doing business to break their addiction to spending.
Just remember, while many in Clarke County are sitting around their kitchen table trying to figure out how to pay their bills and buy groceries, the ACC government and the CCSD are flush with $. They do not have financial revenue problems;they have a chronic spending problem.
Many citizens are frustrated thinking there is nothing they do not see how they can effect change. But you can. If you think it is time for some Classic City Common sense join the effort to Follow-the-Money as well as to report wasteful spending, email DogeAthensGa@gmail.com.
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