CORRECTION!
The previous title for this post had been EAST POINT MAYOR’S $1 MILLION PLUS BUDGET. THAT WAS A MISTAKE! I sincerely APOLOGIZE to Mayor Holiday Ingraham for my error and any damage that I caused. I will eblast all the recipients of my original email and request that they READ and SHARE the corrected information. When downloading the Budget information from the City’s website, I did not notice that following the Council Member’s Budgets was the City Manager’s Budget, then the Clerk’s and finally the Mayor’s. Again, to any resident who may have shared my email and readers who read my post, I sincerely APOLOGIZE to all of you. We all make mistakes and we need to apologize and correct them as soon as possible. Here is the corrected Budget information. CLICK HERE:2022 Mayor & Council Members’ Budgets
MAYOR and COUNCIL MEMBERS’S BUDGET
East Point Mayor and Council adopted the FY22 Budget in June 2021. I have downloaded their Budgets because of the many additions that are clear violations of the City Charter; State Gratuity Clause; Local Ordinances and the failure of Mayor and Council to VOTE on certain items before placing them in the budget.
NOTE # 1: COUNCIL and COMMITTEES
The Council and Committees Expenditures are for the full Council as a body and are specifically stated in the City Charter:
- Georgia Municipal Association (GMA) Membership Dues allows ALL City employees to participate in workshops; training classes; educational classes with access to GMA facilities and facilitators, and annual conventions applicable to their elected or job status .
- National League of Cities Membership Dues allows Mayor and Council access to its annual conventions, literature, and other resources.
East Point City Councils pays Georgia Municipal Association $3,500 for its Elected Officials and certain Employees to attend State Required and other Training and Educational Classes. CLICK HERE: GMA Required Classes
Although not stated in the City Charter, the Mayor may include the United States Conference of Mayors here or in the Mayor’s Budget for professional organizations.
However, any elected official who desires to join any of the Boards of either of these organizations he/she is responsible for his/her own transportation and fees that exceeds his/her travel/education Budget.
NOTE # 2: The Mayor’s salary is $20,000. The Mayor is allowed one Executive Assistant for a forty hour work week with all benefits due any East Point employee. The Mayor’s Executive Assistant’s salary cannot equal or exceed the salary of the City Manager’s Executive Assistant. The Mayor has the option to hire two part-time employees, with the benefits due any part-time employee, for the same salary as one Executive Assistant (This is what I did.). Salaries and wages for the Mayor and one Executive Assistant is $128,649. Her Executive Assistant should not be paid $108,649. The Mayor’s total Budget is $273,037, which is outrageous.
- Mayor and Council has to vote to create employee positions by Ordinance stating duties and responsibilities; and to delete employee positions by Ordinance. This has not been done.
- The City Charter is clear that the Mayor cannot have any Management role of staff or the expenditure of City funds that are not germane to the staffing and running of the Mayor’s Office, therefore the creation of:
- Mayor’s Initiatives are totally illegal, and
- Partnership with Southern Equity.
NOTE # 3: The Council Expense Allowance of $1,800 was repealed when Mayor and Council changed the Salaries of the Mayor and Council WITHOUT increasing the total amount already being paid to Mayor and Council. The salary of a Council Member was $9,200 with an allowance of $1,800 for local travel and communicating with the residents that had to turned into the Finance Director or else pay tax on it. Mayor and Council voted to add the $1,800 to the $9,200 salary for a new Salary of $11,000 and no documentation would have to be turned in for local travel. Mayor and Council then voted to provide the Mayor and Council Members with City paid cellphones services on the City’s plan and a computer to communicate with residents.
I would also suggest that Mayor and Council stop using the expression, ‘‘Council Expense Ward Account” as line item when it the actual name of their individual Budgets. Since all of the allowable expenses stated in the Ordinance are already listed in the line items of the Council Ward Expense Account, I suggest that Mayor and Council Members use Residential Communications to cover printed media/ townhall meetings. That amount should be voted on by Mayor and Council at a Council Meeting and definitely should not exceed $5,000. There is no City Charter provision for the addition of “Other Professional Fees” to the Mayor’s or Council Member’s Expense Accounts. I suggest that Mayor and Council review Resolution 022-09 that addresses expenditures and the accountability of those expenses.
CLICK HERE:020-13 An Ordinance to Amend Chapter 2 Mayor and Council Sec.2-2010 Salary and Expenses (3)
CLICK HERE: 022-09_Resolution for the Adoption if Council Guidelines for the use of Council Ward Expense Account Funds
NOTE # 4: The Georgia State Gratuity Clause and the City Charter prohibit the Council; Mayor; and any Council Member from engaging directly or indirectly with the expenditure of taxpayers’ fund for parties; social expos; food/clothing/school supplies give-a-ways; ethnic programs; and festivals. However, if a private donor or a grant is provided for any of the above items AND the Mayor and Council votes to ACCEPT the conditions of the DONOR/GRANT, then it becomes the responsibility of City Manager and his staff, if a nonprofit is not involved. However, under no circumstances should the items/events appear in the Council’s, Mayor’s, or Council Member’s Budgets.
NOTE # 5: Any item that requires a VOTE by Mayor and Council must be approved by Mayor and Council PRIOR to being adopted or paid for in the Budget.
CLICK HERE: GAG Budget Opinion
