Editor's note: This story has been updated to more accurately reflect 1st District Alderwoman Kesha Gibson-Carter's comments regarding the ongoing Local Option Sales Tax negotiations.
At the annual State of the City address, Savannah Mayor Van Johnson presented the City Council's work over the last year, and made a call for unity and civility as two council members hosted their own "response" event.
All council members except At-Large Post 1 Alderwoman Kesha Gibson-Carter and District 2 Alderman Detric Leggett were present. At-Large Post 2 Alderwoman Alicia Miller Blakely arrived late.
Johnson's nearly hourlong speech cast a wide net around the initiatives and changes made by his administration, now in its third year, including everything from crime, affordable housing and the opening of the new Enmarket Arena.
Gibson-Carter and Blakely later hosted a live video on the Better Savannah Facebook page titled "A Better State of The City Response w/ Alderwoman Kesha Gibson-Carter"
Gibson-Carter announced in January she would be running for mayor in next year's municipal election, presumably against an incumbent Johnson.
Credit: Will Peebles
Credit: Will Peebles
'Rejuvenation' was speech's theme
Wednesday night marked the first time since taking office that Johnson was able to give the speech in person. Through two years of COVID-19, he has delivered the State of the City address “to a screen,” as he put it. And the theme of the night was “rejuvenated.” Johnson opened his speech by describing the city as such.
He spoke proudly about this administration’s achievements, often encouraging the audience to clap for city staff and council members after noting their accomplishments: raising police salaries, building the arena, the many task forces and initiatives that have been put into place during his tenure.
He endorsed the Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, or TSPLOST, saying he was planning on voting for it, something Blakely and Gibson-Carter opposed in their rebuttal. Gibson-Carter called TSPLOST "a glorified slush fund."
“He publicly said he voted for TSPLOST. Some of the other council members said they voted for TSPLOST as well. I ain’t telling you what I think, I’m telling you what I know,” Blakely said in the video. “Who, in their right mind, wants to put a tax, even if it’s a penny, on citizens coming out of a pandemic?”
Talking up LOST
Credit: Will Peebles
Credit: Will Peebles
He highlighted the potential effects of the Local Option Sales Tax, currently going through mediation with the county, noting that if the negotiations fail, it will likely result in a property tax increase to make up for the tax revenue provided by LOST.
“But we know there’s more ahead to do. And we’re going to be transparent about it. We are faced with a serious and definitive Dec. 31 deadline to negotiate a new distribution agreement between Chatham County and eight municipalities for the local option sales tax,” Johnson said. “Without this funding, Savannah faces a loss of more than $55 million.”
In clarifying her criticisms of Johnson's negotiations with Chatham County regarding LOST, Gibson-Carter said on Friday that she does not endorse accepting Chatham Chairman Chester Ellis' LOST offer, which would have the county receiving about 50% of the revenue from the tax.
"I never endorsed this position, what I acknowledged was a failure of leadership by this Mayor to get this deal done - with due consideration of the meritorious policy arguments from the county (that Savannah places a burden on County specifically because of the justice system cost). I criticized both this Mayor's failure, and the Chairman's opportunism, within 45 seconds of each other in my speech. " Gibson-Carter said Friday.
"LOST is a once-a-decade negotiation, the failure to get these LOST negotiations done and out of the way - has forced the fate of the TSPLOST referendum to be a toss up. Consequently, I cannot support TSPLOST while the uncertainty surrounding LOST remains weighing on Savannahians," Gibson-Carter said.
Credit: Will Peebles
Credit: Will Peebles
Addressing council squabbles
To close his speech, Johnson made reference to the very public arguments that have made their way to the council bench recently, noting that his greatest frustration has not been with those who have a seat at the table, but with "the hosts of the table," Johnson said, gesturing to himself and the council members onstage.
At a public hearing regarding the removal of John Calhoun's name from Calhoun Square last week, Gibson-Carter and District 6 Alderman Kurtis Purtee took time to re-ignite an argument where they both accused the other of name-calling.
"This is not my first rodeo. I've been here for a minute, but in my 19 years as a member of city council and now as a mayor, I've never witnessed anything like this," Johnson said. "There were times where Mayor [Otis] Johnson and I disagreed, where Mayor [Edna] Jackson and I disagreed. Mayor DeLoach and I vehemently disagreed on the course of action for our city, but at the end of the day, we all knew what we wanted to do: the best for the city."
Johnson quoted Proverbs 17: 1-2: "Better is a dry morsel with quietness and peace than a house full of feasting with strife and contention."
"I believe and I know that we have the potential to be a house of both great feasting and a house of great peace," Johnson said. "Your city council all took an oath to serve this city, not our egos. Our neighbors are watching, the world is watching, our children are watching, our babies are watching. How can we expect better behavior from them when we're not providing a better example for them?"
Will Peebles is the City Council and County Commission reporter for Savannah Morning News, covering local Savannah and Chatham County decisions. He can be reached at wpeebles@savannahnow.com or on Twitter @willpeeblesSMN
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah Mayor touts 'rejuvenation' at State of the City speech, addresses council squabbles
