The Powder Springs City Council voted 3-2 on Aug. 17 to hire two consultants.

As is often the case, Councilwomen Nancy Farmer and Patricia Wisdom voted against this proposal.

In support were Councilmen Patrick Bordelon and Henry Lust and Councilwoman Doris Dawkins.

Wisdom and Farmer emphasized the need to conserve money.

Mayor Al Thurman countered that the consulting companies will help the city save money.

City Manager Pam Conner said the consultants are needed "to take a look at our technology and data ... to improve those processes" and deal with recruitment and retention for economic development.

"It can't be done in a matter of months. We need to come out of the 1990s and 2000s when we do everything by paper and hand," Conner said.

"We need to integrate those solutions into our workplace - a longtime process to work with our management team in the post-pandemic," Conner added.

Taylor English Decisions, LLC will be paid $5,000 per month for a one-year term with an option to extend for an additional year.

Though a time limit was not given in the resolution, Joe Tommie, CPPO, also will be paid $5,000 each month “to establish a centralized purchasing and procurement system and revise and update city purchasing policies and processes in order to increase efficiencies,” according to the resolution.

About the Author

Keep Reading

A man rides a bicycle in the rain along 10th Street in downtown Atlanta on Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025. (Ben Hendren for the AJC)

Credit: Ben Hendren

Featured

Inventor Lonnie Johnson stands with his Super Soaker water guns at JTEC Energy on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025, in Atlanta. Johnson, a former NASA engineer, is currently working on a new energy technology through his company’s JTEC device that turns thermal heat into usable energy. (Natrice Miller/AJC)