Marriott chief opposes sheriff’s downtown crime district | The Augusta Chronicle

The general manager of one of the largest properties within Sheriff Richard Roundtree’s proposed Continually Patrolled District says his company already does enough, and pays enough.

Roundtree’s proposal, to tax landowners within the boundaries of the former Clean Augusta Downtown Initiative an extra six mills to keep six additional law enforcement officers on the street, has seen mixed reviews among property owners in the district since he unveiled plan details last month.

Darryl Leech, the general manager of Augusta’s 22-year-old riverfront hotel and conference center – and starting last year, the new Augusta Convention Center and Augusta Marriott at the Convention Center – said Marriott works hard to ensure guests feel safe, and the 84,000 room nights they book each year indicate they do.

“These people wouldn’t continue to come here if they didn’t feel safe,” Leech said in a Wednesday interview.

via Marriott chief opposes sheriff’s downtown crime district | The Augusta Chronicle.