Atlanta officials discuss proposal to change Office of Inspector General, Ethics Office rules
The Atlanta City Council will hold a joint work session Thursday to discuss changes to the Atlanta Office of the Inspector General and the Ethics Office Charter.
The session will focus on recent legislation that would amend the Atlanta City Charter. The proposal, 25-O-1009, would adjust the processes and procedures of the OIG, Ethics Office and Governing Board of the OIG and Ethics Office.
The meeting is planned to start at 10 a.m. in the city council chamber.
The reason for the amendment has been the subject of ongoing debate between members of the city government and the inspector general, culminating in changes both say are needed but in opposite directions.
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On Jan. 15, six council members introduced the legislation to amend the charter, following recommendations made by a temporary task force ordered to review the processes and procedures of the relevant OIG-related offices and boards.
That task force was formed in September in response to what council members said were problematic issues of jurisdiction.
In 2022, an ordinance was published saying that 'despite the efforts of the Atlanta City Council to ensure that the Ethics Officer would maintain independent control over the jurisdiction and functions related to Ethics in the City of Atlanta within the Office of the Inspector General, the operation of the Ethics Division within the Office of the Inspector General in the manner established by 19-O-1729, has proven to be problematic both substantively and procedurally.'
Additionally, the ordinance said that 'the City of Atlanta has encountered difficulty with administratively ensuring that the Inspector General is able to exercise general management and control over the Inspector General/Compliance and Independent Procurement Review Divisions with the Ethics Officer exercising general management and control of the Ethics Division' and the overall process had resulted in administrative difficulties and unnecessary delays in some budget and personnel functions.
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To fix this, the council proposed removing the Ethics Officer and ethics function from the OIG.
However, the OIG Board of Governors and the Ethics Office said those listed problems were instead 'mischaracterizations and assumptions the Chief of Staff presented during the Committee on Council meeting,' saying that the board had made 'consistent efforts to address the Mayor's Office and the Law Department's concerns' about issues with how the OIG was functioning.
The board said they'd attended several public meetings to discuss these issues, but neither the Mayor's Office nor the Law Department attended. The board said their goal remained to allow the OIG and Ethics Office to be independent in order to perform their duties, but said the city was 'attempting to hinder the OIG's work,' saying it was acting in efforts to compromise the office's independence.
The OIG Board also said the city had low responsiveness to OIG recommendations, 'all of which affect its progress toward integrity, transparency and accountability.'
After the Jan. 15 ordinance proposal to amend the charter in Atlanta, the Association of Inspectors General, a national organization, said it had 'grave concerns' over the effects, saying it was legislation 'destined to render the OIG incapable of providing effective, independent oversight for the residents of Atlanta' and 'urged great caution' as officials worked through issues related to it.
The response from the Atlanta OIG staff to the ordinance was to list concerns over the revisions to the charter.
Among issues highlighted by OIG staff, the list focuses on the proposals to limit jurisdiction, removal of investigating corruption as an explicit duty of the office and the move to make board members mayoral appointees, thus eliminating its independence.
A full list of the OIG concerns can be found here.
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