Whistleblower: Ga. Taxpayers Paid For Pricey Groundbreaking Shovels

With state revenues collapsing more than a billion dollars in the past year alone, and with more cuts likely to come, a Channel 2 Action News whistleblower encouraged us to investigate why the Georgia National Guard spent more than $4,000 on fancy shovels and hard hats for a groundbreaking ceremony.

The whistleblower, familiar with the pricey purchase, sent a copy of the invoice for the shovels to Channel 2 Action News investigative reporter Richard Belcher.

Belcher obtained pictures and video of the groundbreaking ceremony from the Georgia National Guard’s Web site.

The groundbreaking occurred last fall at the Georgia National Guard’s new $29 million joint force headquarters on the site of the old Naval Air Station in Marietta. “Today is our chance to strike the site for a foundation that will become the Georgia National Guard's showcase facility,” said the head of Georgia's Army and Air National Guard at the event.

The whistleblower encouraged Channel 2 to pay particular attention to the shovels.

The whistleblower sent Belcher evidence that the shovels were chrome-plated -- 30 of them at $95 apiece. Factor in another $20 apiece for engraving plates for each shovel. Then add the hardhats, shipping and cost of giveaways – which totaled $4,380 by themselves.

Given the amount of the invoice, Belcher did a little shopping of his own and discovered very quickly that you can get a good, even handsome shovel, for $5.98, plus sales tax.

But evidently it was insufficient for such an important event. The organizers of the groundbreaking decided that chrome-plated shovels were what was needed.

In one of the pictures from the Guard’s Web site, Belcher counted 14 people hoisting soil. But the Guard purchased more than twice that number of chrome-plated shovels.

The $95 deluxe shovels with custom chrome plates were purchased from a company called Golden Openings in Urbandale, Iowa.

Belcher called a representative for the Georgia Guard, but no statement has been provided.