College Park council meeting sparks transparency review
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Two people were handcuffed and later released with citations at a recent meeting. Photo: YouTube/City of College Park
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr's office is stepping in after residents say College Park elected officials violated transparency laws at a recent meeting.
Why it matters: If you made a list of metro Atlanta's most dysfunctional city governments, College Park might rank No. 1.
- Mayor Bianca Motley Broom is embroiled in a lawsuit with the city council, and bickering over whether Broom can weigh in on legislative items has resulted in meetings ending early or dragging on for hours.
- Councilmember Jamelle McKenzie has been targeted by a resident-led recall effort.
Catch up quick: In a special-called meeting last Friday, the council voted to censure Broom in a nearly empty auditorium after College Park Police chief Connie Rogers ordered the public to clear the room.
- City attorney Winston Denmark told the elected officials he'd never seen that happen before in his 20 years of serving.
The intrigue: No sponsor was listed on the resolution censuring Motley Broom, and no councilmember or members took credit when she inquired.
Zoom in: Georgia's open government laws mandate that all meetings be open to the public unless a statutory exemption applies, such as for discussions on real estate, hiring and firing decisions or litigation.
- Richard Griffiths of the Georgia First Amendment Foundation told the AJC the city could face monetary damages if found liable. He called the incident an "outrageous abuse" and "an illegal act by the city."
State of play: Carr's office sent a letter yesterday to Denmark asking him to respond to concerned citizens' complaints related to the heated council meeting.
- "We take seriously any alleged violations of Georgia's open government laws, and we're continuing to evaluate appropriate next steps regarding this matter," Kara Murray, Carr's communications director, told Axios in a statement.
- The complaints aren't new, she added. The AG's office has received "several prior complaints" in recent months, which she said they share with Denmark.
Zoom out: Unlike Atlanta, College Park has a "weak mayor" system.
- Council sets policy, the mayor oversees meetings and acts as a figurehead for the public, and an unelected city manager makes sure trash gets picked up.
Threat level: "We've reached a crisis in College Park," Denmark said Friday before urging the council again to suspend the meeting. "Some would say we reached it a long time ago. We've certainly reached it now.
- "At some point sanity has to prevail. Ladies and gentleman, it's apparent there is no path forward presently. I don't know whether we can conduct business [like this]."