Atlanta moves to next phase of inspector general overhaul
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Atlanta leaders are looking for fresh faces to serve on the Office of Inspector General's governing board a week after the City Council passed legislation to overhaul the agency.
Why it matters: Mayor Andre Dickens' administration says changes approved last Monday will ensure employees are informed of their rights, but critics argue say some of the changes will make it harder for the OIG to root out City Hall corruption.
The latest: Atlanta's Department of Labor and Employment Services on Friday released an Employee Bill of Rights, which outlines how employees should respond to investigations.
- Mayor Andre Dickens said Friday in a press release that the list (and an accompanying guide) "balances transparency and accountability for the city's public servants, while making clear their rights and responsibilities."
Zoom in: The governing board for the OIG, which also oversaw the Ethics Office, was disbanded immediately after the City Council passed the charter amendments and Dickens signed them into law.
- Both offices will now have separate governing boards.
- Letters were sent last Monday evening informing members of the dissolution.
- Organizations tasked with putting up nominations for the board were made aware of change and will now have to toss new names in the hat for consideration.
What they're saying: Former governing board chair Nichola Hines, who said she resigned on Feb. 14, before the council's action, told Axios the legislation is faulty because it allows the OIG to notify people if they are being investigated.
- Hines also said criticism from the administration about how former inspector general Shannon Manigault conducted investigations "has weakened the office because people are not going to feel comfortable regardless of who else you put in that space."
- "If I do my job, you're going to do the same thing you did to the last inspector general," she said.
The seven members of the governing board, which is tasked with hiring an inspector general, will serve three-year terms. The chair must be an attorney that has "no less than five years of investigative experience."
- Appointments to the board are required to be confirmed by the City Council and approved by the mayor.
- Any employee interviews done by the OIG must take place during their working hours and in city-owned buildings.
- The office is prohibited from using "convert surveillance technology" as part of its investigations.
Between the lines: The inspector general is now required to give quarterly reports to the board, submit standard operating procedures — including its investigative policies — to the board for approval, and provide an annual report to the mayor and city council.
The other side: The new ordinance is needed because it gives the governing board more responsibility over the Office of Inspector General, said former board member Todd Gray.
- The old ordinance did not have any protocols for how the inspector general should report to the board, he told Axios.
- "I don't feel, as a board member, I should find out in the news what's going on in the OIG office," he said. "That's not where I should find out spy pens were purchased."
What we're watching: It's possible that nominating organizations could select the same people who served on the governing board before it was dissolved.