Politics & Government
Mayor Bottoms Wants An Inspector General To Address Corruption
Atlanta Mayor Bottoms has issued an executive order to urge City Hall to create a new office of inspector general.
ATLANTA, GA — Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is taking action to bring back public trust after a federal corruption scandal under ex mayor Kasim Reed. One of those ways is by issuing an executive order that urges the Atlanta City Council “to act with all deliberate speed” to create a new office of inspector general, Bottoms tells WSB.
The mayor’s public trust task force recommended the office be created, the outlet reports.
“I knew that we had already done so much, but it was very clear that we needed to make sure that we had done enough,” Bottoms said.
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The person appointed the role would act independently and be given subpoena powers. No one from city council or the mayor would be able to terminate that individual.
The executive order details the inspector general’s role within the city. Bottoms would still have to work with the city council to finalize details.
Find out what's happening in Atlantafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
On Jan. 7 former top city official Larry Scott was sentenced to two years for his role in an Atlanta bribery scandal. A federal judge sentenced Larry Scott, Atlanta's former director for the Office of Contract Compliance to two years in prison, reported WSB-TV. Scott admitted to receiving more than $220,000 over a five year period on the sly. In return he helped companies secure both government and city contracts. He was ordered to pay $124,000 in restitution.
Scott resigned before pleading guilty last September to charges of wire fraud and filing false tax returns. He was the sixth person to plead guilty in the scandal case that dates to at least mid-2015.
Three other people, including two construction company CEOs, have pleaded guilty in connection to the federal probe. The city’s former director of human services and a third contractor have been indicted, pleaded not guilty and await trial.
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