ATLANTA — In her final townhall meeting with city residents, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms explained why she vetoed the city council's attempt to hire an outside firm to investigate the hiring of her campaign staff.
11Alive confirmed with the council earlier this week that they launched an investigation into Bottoms' hiring decisions prior to her being inaugurated as mayor in 2018.
The investigation stems from published reports alleging six staffers from Bottoms’ campaign were paid by the city during December 2017, before the city had officially offered them jobs. Those reports also claim some of the staffers were given job titles in departments and positions in which they had little or no experience.
After the City Council announced they would request an investigation, Mayor Bottoms sent them a letter on March 22, 2019. In it, she states the investigation would be unlawful because it violates the city charter in two facets:
- Hiring of an independent legal outside counsel for an investigation
- Expands the power of the City Auditor and/or Ethics Officer
In her letter to the council, Mayor Bottoms says it is unlawful according to the City of Atlanta charter to hire an outside attorney because the City of Atlanta Attorney is the chief legal advisor of the city. The letter also says expanding the power of the City Auditor and/or Ethics Officer is not permissible according to the City of Atlanta Charter.
Bottoms ultimately used her veto power, Monday, to stop the resolution by the council. She defended her decision during the Thursday night town hall, saying that the council legally has to go through the city attorney's office to hire an outside counsel.
Council President Moore told 11Alive News the investigation has already been launched and is ongoing without the use of outside help. Bottoms said she has no problem with that.
A spokesperson for the mayor previously said the hiring of campaign staff during the weeks between an election and an inauguration is standard operating procedure. Smith said it was the former Mayor’s staff that paid Bottoms’ staffers during that time. He points out that Bottoms would not have the ability to order they be placed on the City of Atlanta payroll because she was not mayor at that point.
The Atlanta City Council originally asked for the investigation to be completed in 60 days. Moore said she believes the City Auditors and Ethics Officer will try to work within that time frame, if possible.
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