Months ago, Atlanta’s top accountability officer took to the podium inside the City Council chamber and testified that her office’s misconduct investigations were being blocked by city department heads and staff.
The unprecedented speech from Inspector General Shannon Manigault sparked debate within City Hall about the position’s role and whether Atlanta’s government is riddled with unethical behavior.
On Monday, Atlanta City Council passed a resolution to establish a temporary task force that will review the procedures of the Office of the Inspector General, Ethics Office and how both boards are governed.
The legislation says the task force — made up of council members and top Atlanta lawyers — will conduct an extensive review of the offices’ duties, the rights of city employees questioned during investigations and how disputes between the accountability agencies and city officials are resolved.
“The Mayor and the Atlanta City Council recognize the need to develop these new policies and procedures thoughtfully, lawfully and with expert and independent input,” the resolution reads.
Council members Howard Shook and Marci Collier Overstreet will join Former Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears, David Dove, former executive council for the governor’s office, Georgia State Representative and lawyer Tanya Miller and lawyers Richard Deane and Norman Brothers.
The group will meet at least three times publicly and has 45 days to draft a report and make recommendations of any changes to city code related to the accountability offices.
The city’s Office of Inspector General was created in 2020, in the wake of a yearslong federal Department of Justice corruption investigation at City Hall, and independently investigates within Atlanta’s government. The office was “empowered to root out fraud, waste, abuse, corruption, and misconduct,” according to legislation.
Credit: City of Atlanta
Credit: City of Atlanta
Since May, Manigault has continually warned of a “concerted effort” within city departments to obstruct investigations.
She described an environment where the watchdog office struggles to access necessary documents for probes. Manigault also said her office uncovered emails from city department heads instructing staff to recount their interviews from OIG investigations.
This came on the heels of a report released by the Office of Inspector General detailing abuses of power by the former HR Commissioner Tarlesha Smith. The investigation found Smith created a city position for her daughter and she retaliated against a supervisor who raised concerns about the daughter’s hiring and work habits.
Smith was ultimately fired after an independent investigation by the city’s law department.
Odie Donald, the mayor’s chief of staff, gave a presentation to council members Monday that outlined a number of concerns the administration had with how the inspector general’s office conducts investigations. Those concerns include showing up to employees’ home or other non-work locations for interviews, prohibiting employees from having legal counsel present, seizing government-issued phones and computers and lack of clarity around when investigations are launched.
