Atlanta takes first step in clarifying inspector general's authority
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The Atlanta City Council is overhauling how the Office of Inspector General goes about its business of fighting employee misconduct.
Why it matters: Atlanta officials created the inspector general's office in 2020 to root out corruption and waste within city offices.
- But now, the city wants to provide some guardrails on how the agency investigates allegations of wrongdoing by employees.
Driving the news: Council members on Monday unanimously approved the first reading of an ordinance that does a number of things, including: specifying the inspector general's authority, providing guidelines on accessing city-owned and personal devices, and notifying employees of their rights.
- The adoption came hours after the city released a cease-and-desist letter City Attorney Patrise Perkins-Hooker sent to Inspector General Shannon Manigault, informing Manigault that disclaimers on about 50 subpoenas issued by her office violated Georgia law.
- Mayor Andre Dickens' administration has been leading efforts to rein in the powers of the OIG, which has said its independence is vital to its mission.
- Manigault's office told Axios in a statement that it "initiated measures to comply and preserve account holder protections."
- "Accountability is important and [the] OIG owns its missteps," the office said, adding the subpoenas issued to financial institutions were related to "criminal matter(s)" that have been referred to prosecutors.
What they're saying: Some Council members expressed alarm upon hearing from members of the public that their financial records were obtained by city employees without their knowledge.
- Council member Michael Julian Bond said Manigault "abused this office."
- "I think as fiduciaries of the city of Atlanta — not just elected representatives — we have an obligation to protect the city from any employee who would open us up to ... liability," he said.
- Marci Collier Overstreet introduced an amendment, which the council accepted, that prohibited the OIG from using covert surveillance devices as part of its investigations.
- She said at a recent work session, "we saw invoices where that could have possibly been the case."
The big picture: The ordinance was drafted months after a task force created to review the office's operations released its recommendations for fine-tuning the agency's responsibilities and limits.
The bottom line: "We've all had a snoot full of this," Council member Howard Shook, who represents part of Buckhead and said he's actually excited to tackle other thorny municipal issues instead of dealing with the OIG issues.
- "I've never looked forward more in my life to taking on the tree ordinance than I am today. I hope we — I think we're real close."
What's next: The ordinance goes back to the Committee On Council where it will be vetted for final approval.