Last week, Atlanta City Council members shot down legislation that would have allowed the city attorney to craft recommended operational changes for the Office of Inspector General.
The Dickens administration has pushed for a tamp down on Atlanta’s top watchdog after IG Shannon Manigault voiced concerns publicly in May that her investigations were being blocked internally by high-ranking city officials.
The mayor’s office led the creation of a task force to review how much power the inspector general has to root out corruption. The recommendations that came from the expedited process, Manigault has said, would severely jeopardize the inspector general’s independence.
Legislation presented to council members last Monday would have given the city law department the power to write draft legislation on operational changes to the inspector general role.
Based on the language in the legislation, if it had passed, it would have authorized the city attorney to “prepare any draft legislation and/or draft standard operating procedures needed” to the inspector general’s office.
The city attorney is Patrise Perkins-Hooker, who was appointed to her position by the mayor and confirmed by City Council. Perkins-Hooker has joined top aides in the Dickens administration in advocating for substantial change to the office.
In September, Perkins-Hooker joined mayor’s Chief of Staff Odie Donald in front of the inspector general’s governing board and pushed board members to assert more authority over the watchdog office.
“You can’t expect the administration to say, ‘okay, whatever she wants, it’s fine’ — that’s not it,” the city attorney said at the time.
But council members ultimately voted down the legislation out of concerns that the clauses giving the city attorney that power were inappropriately included. Manigault also asked council members to press pause on the proposal.
“The notion of the approval of the recommendations, of having the city attorney craft legislation and policies and procedures pursuant to the findings from the body, all of these things are serious issues,” she said.
So, what will Inspector General Shannon Manigault do if there’s an overhaul to her office?
When asked if she’d consider resigning if the task force recommendations are approved as is, the inspector general told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that she “will not lead an Office of Inspector General that cannot serve the people.”
“The proposed changes as identified in the task force report would do just that. It would really, really significantly hinder the independence and effectiveness of the office in multiple ways,” she said.
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Credit: Ben Gray
Credit: Ben Gray
Two candidates vying for the open Atlanta City Council seat were grilled on transit issues last week, our new transportation reporter, Sara Gregory, says.
One of arguably the city’s fiercest debates is whether or not a light-rail system should be installed along Atlanta’s iconic Beltline. The long-proposed streetcar extension, which would expand the line along the Eastside Trail to Ponce City Market, has come under criticism by groups that say it would destroy the character of the existing trail.
At a forum hosted Thursday by two pro-transit advocacy groups, MARTA Army and Beltline Rail Now, council candidates Eshé Collins and Nicole Evans Jones said they support following the plans for transit on the Beltline.
Collins, an Atlanta school board member, said voters expected light rail when they approved a half-penny sales tax in 2016 to be used for transit projects. She said it’s critical for the city and MARTA to agree to a plan and a phased approach to bring those projects to fruition.
”This is an opportunity for us in city leadership to really reset the tone and bring groups together to truly talk about… a comprehensive plan of moving all these pieces forward,” Collins said.
Jones, a longtime educator and business owner, said she views transit on the Beltline as a civil rights and accessibility issue. She said it’s frustrating that more progress has not been made.
”I’m a visionary but I’m also a do-er. Why has this sat for so long? Why are we backtracking on this?” Jones said. “We need to look at that because we promised our residents.”
Both acknowledged the ultimate decision isn’t theirs or City Council’s, but the mayor’s and MARTA’s.
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Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
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