Stonecrest city manager ends 'professional service agreement'
Stonecrest City Hall (FOX 5)
STONECREST, Ga. - Stonecrest, DeKalb County’s largest city, is against seeing a major shakeup in government as it announces the departure of the city manager.
Janice Allen Jackson was hired as the acting city manager in April 2021 and used her consulting firm, Janice Allen Jackson & Associates, LLC, to help find candidates to fill key city positions in the past 17 months. The "professional service agreement" ended Tuesday, the city said in a statement.
"The Mayor and City Council would like to thank Ms. Jackson for her service to the City, its residents, and stakeholders. We wish her well in her future endeavors," that statement read in part.
Jackson saw the city of Stonecrest through a scandal that led to the resignation of its mayor. Jason Lary resigned from his position as mayor in January and was sentenced by a federal judge to four years for stealing COVID-19 relief funds in July.
In court, Lary admitted stealing nearly $1 million in relief money by requiring needy Stonecrest churches and businesses to kick back a portion of their grant money to companies he controlled.
The state legislature would subsequently strip the mayor’s position of most of its power, handing it over to the city manager.
"In the interim Deputy City Manager, Gerald Sanders and City Finance Director, Gia Scruggs will continue to oversee City administration, operations, and finance," the statement continued.
The city said it plans to conduct a search for a replacement.