How City Hall Works

Every one with a how attached, a label saying who has to agree, and where it applies, something countable you can hold me to.

1. 7.1

   You'll Know Before and After

   What's on the agenda, posted ahead of the meeting. And a plain-language recap afterward: what came up, how I voted, why. Before and after, every time, so you never find out about a decision once it's already made.

   Hold me to this

   Every meeting, within 48 hours. No exceptions.

   First 90 daysI can do this alone

2. 7.2

   Posted Hours You Can Find Me

   Set times, same place, published. Not 'call me sometime.'

   Hold me to this

   Operating within 30 days.

   First 90 daysI can do this alone

3. 7.3

   Confirm we Can Even Apply

   Georgia requires Qualified Local Government standing through the Department of Community Affairs before a city can access many state and federal programs. It is the gate in front of most of the money.

   What it unlocks

   Every grant in this plan. A city that can't apply doesn't lose grants — it never gets counted.

   Hold me to this

   Status verified and reported publicly within 30 days.

   First 90 daysI can do this alone

4. 7.4

   Build a Grant Pipeline

   Identify every state and federal program Ashburn is eligible for, what each requires, and when deadlines fall. Publish the list. And understand we are competing — Tifton, Cordele, and Fitzgerald are applying for the same programs every cycle.

   What it unlocks

   A filing calendar instead of finding out about deadlines after they pass.

   Hold me to this

   List published within 120 days. At least four applications filed in year one.

   First 90 daysI can do this alone

5. 7.5

   Show up to the Regional Commission

   The Southern Georgia Regional Commission provides planning support, technical assistance, and help accessing grants — to the governments that participate. Turner County's own comprehensive plan runs through SGRC. But recent county liaisons stopped attending and city representatives haven't been in those rooms either. Somebody goes. That's the whole mechanism.

   Hold me to this

   Attend every meeting and report back publicly. Ask the city to name a consistent representative.

   First 90 daysI can do this alone

6. 7.6

   A Close Look at City Finances

   Not an accusation. A look. Read three years of audited financials and the current budget line by line, and publish a one-page plain summary. In a city our size the opportunities are usually the same few: contracts nobody rebid, fees nobody collected, utility rates that don't cover cost, and grants nobody applied for.

   What it unlocks

   A short list of specific, arguable savings — and the budget literacy to know what's actually possible.

   Hold me to this

   Summary published within 90 days.

   First 90 daysI can do this alone

7. 7.7

   Sit in on Budget Work Sessions

   The real decisions happen before the vote. Attend the sessions where the budget actually gets built, and report what's under discussion while it can still change.

   Hold me to this

   Every session attended, and what's under discussion reported while it can still change.

   First 90 daysI can do this alone

8. 7.8

   A Technology Audit

   What systems the city runs on, what they cost, what breaks, and how residents access records, agendas, permits, and payments. We are in 2026 and some of our systems are not.

   What it unlocks

   A prioritized upgrade list with costs, so modernization becomes a budget line instead of a complaint.

   First yearNeeds a council vote

9. 7.9

   Invest in City Staff

   A real budget line for training and certification. You don't keep good people by hoping. Cheapest retention tool a small city has, and it directly serves the staffing problem in public safety.

   Hold me to this

   A training line proposed in every budget cycle until it exists.

   Years 2–4Needs a council vote