A new report by Atlanta’s Office of Inspector General found that officials within the department of city planning took bribes to expedite application reviews.
The investigation was prompted by an employee who raised alarms about permit technicians offering “express review” to applicants in exchange for a payment through the popular app, Zelle.
According to the report, two former permit technicians and their supervisor within the Light Commercial Division of the Department of City Planning Office of Buildings accepted payments ranging from $50 to $1,200 in return for faster permit approval.
The IG’s office found that Sheaner Magee, a former permit technician with the department, accepted at least five payments from customers ranging from $75 to $450 from January 2022 through February 2023 in return for application approval.
Similarly, another permit technician in the same unit, Shaniecia Tucker, accepted four payments from customers from $200 to $1,200 with the same conditions from November 2022 through April 2023.
After reviewing the entire team, the IG found the technicians’ former supervisor, Angela Epps, also received five payments ranging from $50 to $200 from July 2021 through August 2022.
The bribery payments were labeled with various notes from “permits” to “expeditor,” according to the report.
Atlanta’s Inspector General Shannon Manigault referred the findings to the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office for potential criminal charges.
“Records indicate these individuals capitalized on their positions as public servants to enrich themselves,” the report says.
The investigation found other instances of misconduct during the permitting process, including submitting invalid license documentation, misusing approval stamps, other offers to pay staff and, in one instance, a third-party inspector soliciting a bribe to pass an inspection.
During the investigation, the inspector general’s office learned from other employees that the same division within the city planning department was “put under the microscope” years prior, for allegations of bribery schemes. But nothing came of the prior complaint.
The report says the office also doesn’t take action against customers who try to commit fraud. In one instance, a license was granted to a contractor who had died six months prior.
“What can we do?” one employee told city investigators. “Can we stop this person from submitting applications? No. We are public facing. Our office drives the money for the city, we have no recourse.”
In a letter obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Department of City Planning Commissioner Jahnee Prince told Manigault that the investigation “confirmed numerous violations of our policies and procedures, as well as potentially criminal conduct of a couple of our employees.”
Prince said that since the investigation was launched, one employee involved had already been fired and another resigned.
When asked for comment, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office did not address the report findings directly, but said “the leadership at the Office of Buildings reported the matter to the OIG themselves, and the City had already taken action.”
Atlanta City Council President Doug Shipman responded to the investigation by saying that the report highlights policy changes likely needed to combat future instances of corruption within the permitting process.
“Corruption at any level undermines government credibility and public trust,” he said.
The new allegations come as the Office of Inspector General is locked in a heated battle with the Dickens administration over how much power the agency has to investigate misconduct.
One of the flash points during debate is how much access the inspector general’s office has to employee interviews, government issued devices and public records. Critics of the watchdog office have said Manigault shouldn’t seize employee phones and laptops and have more limited access to records.
But the inspector general argues that without broad access, investigations are being blocked. In previous testimony, she mentioned the need to access employee accounts for payments apps like Zelle, Venmo and Cash App.
A task force approved by Atlanta City Council is currently reviewing the procedures of the Office of the Inspector General, Ethics Office and how both boards are governed.
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