Eight team members were winners of a $1,000 each in a lip sync contest. Another person won $750 in an ugly sweater contest. These were some of the more than $500,000 gifts and bonuses awarded by former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed in his final days of office.
Records obtained by 11Alive detail the bonuses and gifts awarded in the mayor's last month.
In addition to the $1,000 awarded to the first-place winners of the lip sync contest, a nine-member second place team received $800 each, while 10 members of the third place team got $500 each.
And those were the amounts the prize winners actually saw on the checks; each pay was "grossed up" so that the net on the checks matched the prize. That means the actual amount paid ranged from $1480.39 for most first place winners to $740.19 for the most third place winners ("most" because some grosses were apparently a little lower in some cases, likely due to salary differences).
That's a total of more than $28,000 of taxpayer money paid out in the lip sync contest.
It was the same for the "Ugly Sweater" contest. The first place winner got $750 ($1110.30 before taxes), second place was good enough for $500 ($740.19 before tax) and third place scored $250 ($253.68). The grand total of money paid out in the Ugly Sweater contest amounted to more than $2,000.
It was the season of receiving for many other high-ranking members of Reed's office as well. According to the documents, the mayor awarded at least $335,000 of bonuses to numerous staffers. The biggest bonuses -- $15,000 -- went to commission of Human Resources Yvonne Yancy, COO Daniel Gordon, Chief of Staff Candace Byrd, City Attorney Jeremy Todd Berry, and Chief Financial Officer Jimmie Beard.
Others, including Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields, Watershed Commissioner Kishia Powell, Fire Chief Joel Baker and Parks and Recreation Commissioner Amy Phuong received $10,000 bonuses.
A handful of staffers, including the mayor's executive assistant and three schedulers, got $5,000 bonuses.
Nearly three dozen others apparently picked up bonuses ranging from $500 (for at least two interns) to $2,000 at the holiday luncheon, the documents indicate.
Yancy also awarded her staffers more than $57,000, according to the documents.
Jeff Dickerson, a spokesman for former mayor Reed said Wednesday told 11Alive in a statement Wednesday that the bonuses "were appropriate".
"At the end of Mayor Reed’s term, the city of Atlanta was on its best financial footing in 40 years," said Reed spokesman Jeff Dickerson. "Atlantans benefited from eight consecutive balanced budgets, zero property tax increases, zero water rate increases, nine consecutive credit-rating increases, more than $200 million in cash reserves and a 37 percent reduction in crime.
"As a result, Mayor Reed awarded performance bonuses to members of his cabinet and senior team, who all played a significant role in contributing to this record of achievement."
Dickerson said the practice of rewarding employees for service and performance isn't new and has been common practice in the City of Atlanta.
A spokesperson for current Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said the bonuses were made without input from the her administration.
