DRUG TEST DETAILS REVEALED

Almost Half of Staff Subject to Routine Screening

Two utility workers caught smoking marijuana with undercover officers
last fall were not subject to random drug tests.

However, Augusta does routinely screen about 1,300 of its about 2,775
personnel, and last year nine lost jobs after testing positive for
marijuana, cocaine, opiates or alcohol, according to Augusta's Risk
Management Division.

Responding to an open records request, the office released the names
of departments where employees failed the tests. On the advice of the
Augusta Law Department, it refused to reveal their names or the
positions they held, saying the records did not exist at the time the
request was made.

The most prevalent illegal substance turning up in drug screenings
last year was cocaine, with four employees testing positive. Two
worked for Augusta Utilities, one worked for the Richmond County
Sheriff's Office and the fourth was an Augusta firefighter.

Second most prevalent was marijuana, with three positive tests
resulting in terminations. Two of those employees worked for the
utilities department; the third worked for the sheriff's office.

Two other utilities employees lost their jobs last year after testing
positive for alcohol and opiates.

Augusta's personnel manual specifies that employee urine samples be
tested at a minimum for marijuana, cocaine, opiates, phencyclidine
(PCP) and amphetamines. Risk Management Manager Sandy Wright said the
randomly drawn samples are rarely tested for other drugs such as
steroids, because of the high cost.

Random testing isn't the only way an employee can be selected for a
drug screening. Wright estimated that half of 2010's positives turned
up in mandatory testing performed after an employee was injured,
involved in an accident on the job or turned in by a supervisor who
suspected drug use.

Among public safety personnel, Augusta randomly screens all certified
law enforcement officers, jailers, 911 operators, firefighters,
airport rescue employees and correctional officers.

Safety-sensitive personnel subject to random screens include employees
who maintain airfield facilities or vehicle traffic controls,
supervise children, coordinate public food concessions, service or
repair city vehicles or operate vehicles requiring a commercial
driver's license.

In the utilities department, which has about 300 employees, only those
who mix chemicals with water, operate control rooms or use a
commercial driver's license to operate heavy equipment are subject to
random tests.