Atlanta City Council President announces Inspector General position to fight corruption

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    ATLANTA, GA (WGCL) — Atlanta City Council President Felicia Moore has announced that the City of Atlanta may soon have an official Inspector General position opening soon. She says the move is in an effort to fight corruption in City Hall.

Moore told CBS46 this week that she does not believe that all city employees who were involved in or aware of recent bribery and contract scandals have all been brought to justice.

“There are others that I would question whether or not they were knowingly and willingly a part of it,” Moore told CBS46. “They kind of know about some of those things because they had to be around and they were in the position of knowing. So, no, I don’t think City Hall is clear, and think that’s another reason why it’s important for us to move so we can build public confidence but we are trying to ferret this out and get an investigative unit that can help us, beyond what’s already being done by the federal government, to help clear up City Hall,” Moore went on.

The new position comes at the recommendation of the city’s task force for promotion of public trust that was created by the Mayor and City Council. The inspector would report directly to the Board of Ethics and Compliance. The task force is asking that an inspector general have subpeona power and that he or she will be able to make suggestions to move some violations to criminal investigation

“There are aspects of an Inspector General that we may be need to ask for state authority for but the majority, over 90% to 95%, is already in place right now,” Moore said, adding that there are only a few more council meeting left this year to push the effort forward before 2020. “We need to get that office fully funded and allow the board of ethics and compliance to start seeking candidates for the position,” Moore added. She wants the effort funded by next year.

Moore says the city already has a compliance officer and an office to deal with ethical matters but not an official to handle matters beyond that scope.

“What if people violate the charter or violate the code? violate processes and procedure?” Moore questioned. “What the citizens want is someone who is going to hold people accountable, fine them, sanction them, reprimand them, recommend that they they be fired,” she went on.

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