CM Sharon Shropshire is an elected official and not an employee of the City and is not under the supervision of the City Manager. There is nor has there ever been any legal or ethical reason for CM Shropshire recording robo calls that the City used Federal STIMULUS FUNDS to pay for to contact INDIVIDUAL East Point residents. In fact, CM Shropshire violated Federal law, the City Charter and the City’s Ethics Ordinance by recording those calls to go to INDIVIDUAL East Point residents.
FEDERAL and STATE LAW VIOLATION
No Federal Funds or State Funds can be used by any individual elected official to gain access to individual residents outside of public meetings that provides information for the use of those Funds. A robo call is not a public meeting. Neither Federal Funds nor State Funds can be used to provide any elected official undue access to individual voters or potential voters. Unless, CM Shropshire can provide documents of a private funding source, she has violated federal and state laws.
EAST POINT CITY CHARTER and ETHICS ORDINANCE
Sec. 2-102. -Mayor (a) of the City Charter states: “The mayor shall serve as the chief spokesperson for the city and chief advocate of formally approved and adopted city policy.” The Mayor can not make robo calls to access individual residents using Federal Funds even if the Council were stupid enough to vote for her to do so. The Council cannot vote for any single Council Member or group of Council Members to be the Spokesperson or the VOICE of the City to gain access to individual voters or potential voters.
Furthermore, it is a violation of the City’s Ethics Ordinance, Sec.2-502.- Conflict of interest which states: “No elected official, appointed officer, or employee of the city or any board, commission, or authority to which this charter applies shall knowingly : (1) Engage in any business or transaction, or have a financial or other personal interest, direct or indirect, which is incompatible with the proper discharge of that person’s official duties or which would tend to impair the independence of the official’s judgment or action in the performance of those official duties;”. CM Shropshire has “a direct and indirect financial and personal interest” in recording those robo calls. In becoming the VOICE of the City’s response to getting information to individual residents, CM Shropshire:
- Gained access to individual residents who are voters or potential voters without using her own money or campaign funds.
- Used a firm to send out the robo calls that she previously used to make her campaign robo calls. (The City did not use the bidding process to hire this firm.)
- Performed the duty of the City’s Public Information Officer, who is a paid employee under the supervision of the City Manager, which is a duty that is incompatible with the proper discharges of her official duties.
The DUTY of the City’s Public Information Officer is to provide public information to the residents under the supervision of the City Manager. The Public Information Officer is a paid employee who has access to the City’s Newsletter in the Electric Utility Bill that goes to every electric user in the City. That means the City’s outreach and access to residents is greater than those robo calls access. The Public Information Officer could have established a Hot Help Line to provide all the information that residents needed to access information about help from the Federal Stimulus and Recue Programs to include a dedicated Hot Line phone number with twenty-four hours access with pre-recorded messages. Also, the only additional funding from any of the Federal Programs should have been for postage if the Newsletter was more than one page.
Mayor and Council lack the authority to make one of their own the VOICE of any subsidized Federal Program period. CM SHROPSHIRE NEEDS TO STOP CAMPAIGNING USING TAXPAYERS MONEY REGARDLESS OF THE SOURCE PERIOD!!!!!!!!!!
Residents should know that the City of East Point did not spend one penny for the food from the Atlanta Community Food Bank that was distributed via nonprofit organizations (churches) and other private groups. Yet, emails, and other publications from the Mayor and some Council Members would have residents believe that they were somehow behind the help that was being given. They are liars and prostituted their elected offices for free publicity and personal gain. SHAMEFUL!!!.
