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Atlanta mayor's task force recommends changes to inspector general's operations

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Published  November 19, 2024 6:09pm EST
Atlanta
FOX 5 Atlanta

Atlanta OIG meets recommendations with friction

The City of Atlanta's Inspector General Shannon Manigault claims recommendations by the mayor's task force would make her job less effective.

The Brief

    • Tensions are continuing to rise between the Atlanta mayor's office and the Office of Inspector General (OIG).
    • A newly created task force designed to review the IG's tactics and procedures has made several recommendations that the IG claims would limit the effectiveness of her job.
    • Inspector General Manigault criticizes the recommendations as potentially weakening her office's authority, while task force member Councilman Shook defends the thoroughness of their work; city council to revisit the issue.

ATLANTA - It has been no secret that the Atlanta mayor's office and the inspector general (IG) do not always see eye-to-eye.

Now, that riff may be widening.

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) was created in 2020 after a federal probe into corruption at Atlanta's City Hall led to several people going to prison.

RELATED: Atlanta shaken by new 'pay to play' scandal involving city officials: report

Many city employees, and even the mayor's office, have complained about IG Shannon Manigault's tactics and procedures. That is why the mayor created a temporary task force to take a closer look at her office.

Some residents do not like the task force's recommendations to the city council.

"NPU-N voted unanimously to authorize me to communicate with council our strong support for the office of the Inspector General and our absolute objection to recent efforts by the Dickens administration to defame our watchdog. I urge you to vote against resolution 24.R4518," NPU-N chair Amy Stout told the council.

The task force's recommendations are numerous. To name just a few, they have suggested the OIG have its own board, separate from the Ethics Office, to report to.

The recommendations also clarify that the IG must notify an employee if they are a target of an investigation and the employee is allowed to have counsel present during an interview.

The task force also recommends that an investigation can be initiated only if clear justification can be defined, not suspicion. 

Inspector General Manigault did not mince words.

"The approval of the recommendation to have the city attorney craft legislation and policies and procedures pursuant to the findings of the body. All of these things are serious. The short of it is, many of these recommendations, if implemented, would render this office, Office of Inspector General, in name only," said Inspector General Manigault.

Task force member and Atlanta City Councilman Howard Shook said a lot of work went into the recommendations.

"She sees that as her needing the most authority she can possibly have to do the best job she can do, but we found no model where the Inspector General operates entirely independently of anybody or anything," Shook explained.

The council held the measure on Monday. The recommendations are expected to be revisited again in two weeks.

The Source: This information was reported by FOX 5 Atlanta's Aungelique Proctor.