Columbus Council gives deputy city managers $25,000 bonuses

Columbus Council has voted to give each of the city’s two deputy city managers a $25,000 bonus. The money recognizes the time they spent covering for a city manager the city did not have.

The vote came late in the Oct. 27 meeting, after Council returned from a closed executive session. It is recorded in the summary minutes of the Oct. 27 meeting, which the Clerk of Council has now posted.

What Council approved

Councilor Charmaine Crabb made the motion. It was to pay “each Deputy City Manager” a $25,000 bonus “in recognition of their service, going above and beyond their regular duties during the time in which the City Manager position was vacant.” Councilor Toyia Tucker seconded it.

The motion carried unanimously, 9-0. Councilor Travis Chambers was absent for the vote, according to the minutes.

The city has two deputy city managers, according to the city manager’s office:

• Lisa Goodwin, deputy city manager for current operations, who runs the city’s day-to-day services
• Pam Hodge, deputy city manager for finance, planning and development, who oversees the finance, community reinvestment, engineering, planning and inspections departments

That puts the cost at $50,000. The summary minutes do not say which fund the money comes from. The full minutes of the meeting have not been posted yet.

How long the job was empty

Isaiah Hugley is listed as city manager in the minutes of Council’s May 27, 2025, meeting. By the June 3, 2025, meeting, a speaker on the public agenda addressed Council about his termination, according to the summary minutes of June 3, 2025.

Council approved a resolution appointing Tyson Begly as city manager June 9, 2026. The summary minutes of June 9, 2026 list both deputies at that meeting and no city manager. Begly is listed as city manager from the July 14 meeting on.

What else Council did Oct. 27

The same meeting settled several items we reported on before the vote. The summary minutes record each as approved, without a vote count:

• the $2.2 million eVTOL vertiport and charging station at Columbus Airport
• the $3.7 million change order that takes the Public Safety Building renovation to $8.2 million
• the $8.61 million construction price for the 25-court pickleball complex on 3rd Avenue

Council also asked the local delegation to the Georgia General Assembly to support state money for the RiverCenter for the Performing Arts and the Liberty Theatre Cultural Center. Members said the Liberty Theatre request needs a dollar amount before it comes back as a formal resolution, according to the minutes.

The minutes also show an emergency repair the city manager approved Oct. 22. Freeman & Associates of Columbus will fix concrete steps and a stairway retaining wall at A.J. McClung Memorial Stadium for $70,003. The minutes say the repairs had to be finished before the Fountain City Classic football game. They call the stairway’s condition “a public safety issue.”

What it means for you

• If you pay Columbus taxes, this is a $50,000 one-time payment to two senior city employees. Our property taxes page has the city’s millage rates and who to ask about the budget.
• If you have a view, contact your council member. Numbers and emails are on our who to call at City Hall page.
• If you want to watch Council, regular meetings are held in the Council Chambers at the C.E. “Red” McDaniel City Services Center, 3111 Citizens Way. Agendas and minutes are posted on the city’s meeting portal.