Future mayors of Atlanta will have access to up to $100,000 in city funding in the weeks before they take office to help facilitate their transition and inauguration.
The City Council on Monday unanimously approved the funds, which include $75,000 designated for transition services like paying staff, and $25,000 for an inauguration ceremony for the next mayor and Council. The next Atlanta mayor is set to take office on Jan. 3, 2022.
The legislation introduced on behalf of Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’ office, which faced criticism in 2019 after an Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation found some members of Bottoms’ campaign were hired and retroactively paid with taxpayer dollars for work performed before she took office in January 2018.
No city-backed transition fund existed when Bottoms took office; historically, inaugural and transition expenses for Atlanta’s incoming mayors have come from their campaign coffers.
The next mayor will also have access to City Hall office space and security from Atlanta police before they are sworn in. Former mayors will be able to receive security services for up to six months after they leave office.
