ATLANTA — On Monday, Atlanta’s Inspector General stepped up to speak before the City Council.
She was not invited, instead, she took the nearly unprecedented step of using time during public comment to speak directly to the Council that created her office.
“We are trying to do our job of investigating fraud, waste, and corruption. We are encountering obstacles in our path,” said Shannon Manigault, Atlanta Inspector General.
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Manigault provided Channel 2 Action News with redacted emails showing a supervisor asking a recently interviewed employee to provide details of what he/she told investigators.
The Inspector General also claims that access to some data has been revoked and requests for documents have been treated like records requests. She says that these actions both slow down investigations and threaten their effectiveness.
“These actions are working to create a shell of an office of inspector general and a façade of oversight,” said Manigault.
However, some city council members expressed their frustration with the Inspector General. Especially, after they learned about the results of an investigation last week through the news.
“As the governing body of the city, I think we should have been given the report before we heard about it on Channel 2,” Councilwoman Andrea Boone said during Monday’s meeting.
Last week, an Office of Inspector General investigation found that the commissioner of Atlanta’s Department of Human Resources used her position to get her daughter a job. The report further claims that when a supervisor tried to discipline her daughter, the commissioner directed an investigation towards that supervisor.
The mayor’s office says they have directed City Law to do an independent review of that investigation. That investigation expects to interview multiple people who did not speak to the Office of Inspector General.
Councilwoman Boone also expressed concerns over the tactics used by the office. She says multiple city employees have complained about the Inspector General “confiscating” cell phones, going through cash apps, and showing up at the homes of employees. Boone said that felt more like law enforcement activity.
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“Taking people’s equipment, taking people’s phones, knocking on people’s doors, that’s what the FBI does,” said Boone told the City Council on Monday. “I implore this body to do a deep dive of your office.”
Manigault responded saying those tactics are common for an office whose job is to investigate.
“That’s what entities tasked with carrying out investigations do. That is just what they do,” Manigault said.
Manigault told Channel 2 Action News on Tuesday that her office needs these powers to do its job.
“In the case of city records, there is no question that we should have access to all city records because we should be able to find corruption wherever it resides in the city,” Manigault said.
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