When will the lies stop and accountability begins. Neither the Mayor, any Council Member, Council by vote or any Staff Member has taken responsibility for organizing and requesting funding for the Wednesday Wind Down COVID-19 Heroes Fund Raising Event. Open records requests failed to disclosed who was responsible for authorizing the City of East Point to be billed $39,850 for Entertainment, and $24,248.19 for related costs for producing and sponsoring the Event. The total cost for the Event, that no one will take responsibility for organizing and using City’s funds to pay for the billed invoices, was $64,098.19. I was able to get a screen shot of a posting on the City of East Point Government Facebook showing $5,420 in donations and thanking Council Member Sharon Shropshire for organizing the Event. CLICK HERE:Wednesday Wind Down Heroes Donations
Mayor and Council need to provide East Point residents an explanation of how $64,098.19 was paid by the City for an Event without proper authorization by a Staff Member and for an Event that was not funded in the printed FY 2021 Adopted Budget posted on the City’s website. Who signed the many contracts for this Event?
Mayor and Council are responsible for allowing $64,098.19 of taxpayers’ money to pay for a fund raising Event where donations will be given to the Atlanta NACCP to be used to “support East Point restaurants impacted by COVID-19 to feed frontline healthcare workers and first responders”. According to the City Charter: CHAPTER 2.-REVENUE AND TAXATION: Sec. 5-201 through Sec. 5-209; CHAPTER 1. -BUDGET AND ACCOUNTING: Sec. 5-106,-Fiscal controls. (a), (b) and (c); and CHAPTER 5,-ETHICS: Sec. 2-502-Conflicts of interest (1), (2), (3), (4), (5) and (6); CHAPTER 1, – CITY COUNCIL AND MAYOR: Sec 2-109- Oath of Office; and Georgia State Gratuity Clause. The quote in blue is a violation of all of the laws and policies stated above because:
- The City cannot raise money by using taxpayers’ money.
- The City cannot spend taxpayers’ money without a VOTE by Mayor and Council.
- The City cannot spend taxpayers’ money without stating the funding source in the current FY 2021 Adopted Budget.
- The City cannot partner with any entity generating funds from City taxpayers to fund their projects. City and private partnerships must be for paid legally contracted services that the City cannot provide.
- The City cannot use taxpayers’ money to directly or indirectly support any private business that do not provide legally contracted services to the City that the City cannot provide. Bailing out private businesses is not a function of Chartered City governments in Georgia.
- No City taxpayers’ money can be used to provide food for anyone or group that does not meet the requirements of the Georgia Gratuity Statute.
- CM Karen Rene is an officer on the Atlanta NAACP Board and has a conflict of interest that was not disclosed.
The City has already provided additional hazardous pay for certain first responders that now must meet the guidelines set forth under the COVID-19 CARES RELIEF ACT. There are no frontline healthcare workers at the Grady Clinic and WellStar Hospital have not serviced any Coronavirus patients in East Point. So, who is the Atlanta NAACP going to spend the donated $5,420 and counting on and WHY?
If any information has come to light that will dispute any statements that I have posted, please provide the information for corrections’
