EAST POINT: A PEOPLE IN CRISIS-PART 1!
The New Year began with a new Mayor and two new Council Members. Mayor Keisha Chapman, and CM Andrea Caldwell and CM Japera Hemming joined six Council Members from the previous Administration. East Point’s new governing body and the all the Residents must work together to make our City the best that it can be. We must face the facts that the previous Administration was ineffective and uncaring about following the Charter, Related Policies, and Ordinances. The Residents did little to help change the situation. ACCOUNTABILITY was held in low esteem by the previous Administration and the Residents. If we are going to have a better City, then the current Administration and the Residents must make ACCOUNTABILITY our hallmark.
The roles of our current Mayor, Council Members and the City Manager must be clearly known and adhered to. There cannot be any crossing of the lines. Let’s begin with the Mayor’s position. The MAYOR is the highest-ranking position in our Council-Manager Form of Government. She is the Ceremonial Head of the City for all State Communications, Chief Spokesperson for the City, Chairman of the City Council Meetings and the Face of the City. She was duly elected MAYOR!
As the Mayor, she is afforded certain perks that are not available to any of the Council Members. She has to have a staffed Office as the Head of the City. The “STAFF MEMBER” is “PRE-SELECTED” by the Mayor. However, since this “Staff Member” is also an employee of the City, he/she must comply with the City’s hiring process. The Mayor is “allotted one entry-level Executive Assistant Position on the City’s Payroll”. Although, he/she is hired by the City, he/she is Supervised Solely by the Mayor. The Mayor may choose to have one-full time staff member OR two part-time staff members for the same salary as one “entry-level Executive Assistant”. The salary and benefits of the Executive Assistant is determined by the City current policies. Neither the Council Members nor the City Manager have any “AUTHORITY” over the Mayor’s Office or her Staff. The Mayor does not have any “ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITY” outside of her OFFICE. The Mayor’s Office is expected to operate on the time schedule required of all OFFICES in the CITY.
The BUDGETS for the Mayor and each Council Member is voted on by the Mayor and Council. There are some expenditures that are the same for both the Mayor and individual Council Members. The Charter requires the City to be a Member of the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA) and the National League of Cities (NLC). Therefore, money is provided for the “Educational, Travel and Training” offered by these two Professional Governmental Associated Organizations. A line-item allocation is stated in the BUDGET for “Travel & Training” and “Educational Training”. Later, another “EXPENDITURE- “Communicating with Constituents” was added. There should be exactly THREE EXPENDITURES for which the Mayor and Council Members can USE the CITY CREDIT CARD! Since the Mayor has an OFFICE and is expected to serve as the HEAD of the City additional reasonable “EXPENDITURES” are allocated.
PLEASE READ THIS CAREFULLY: CREDIT CARD USE IS ONLY ALLOWED FOR THE THREE LINE- ITEMS STATED ABOVE FOR COUNCIL MEMBERS PERIOD. EVERY expenditure made must be for EDUCATIONAL, TRAVEL AND TRAINING TO ANY GMA /NLC CONFERENCE, SEMINAR, WORKSHOP, OR COMMITTEE SPONSOR ACTIVITY! ALSO, NO MONEY ALLOCATED FOR “COMMUNICATING WITH CONSTITUENTS” CAN BE TRANSFERRED FOR ANYTHING ELSE!
The FY’26 BUDGET needs to be amended to include “EXPENDITURES” for MEAG, and the City rejoining the South Fulton Municipal Association (SFMA) . These are expenses of the City and not the Mayor and individual Council Members unless the MEETING is a CONFERENCE or DINNER MEETING.
The City Manager can be a strength or a burden. The City Manager has absolutely no “GOVERNING, POLICY-MAKING, OR LEGISLATIVE AUTHORITY”. The City Manager is an ADMINISTRATOR who is SUPERVISED by VOTE OF THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL! MAYOR AND COUNCIL, AS INDIVIDUALS CANNOT MAKE CONTACT WITH ANY EMPLOYEES UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF THE CITY MANAGER WITHOUT CONSENT OF THE CITY MANAGER! Likewise, the CITY MANAGER CANNOT MAKE CONTACT WITH MEMBERS OF ANY APPOINTED AUTHORITY, BOARD, COMMITTEE, OR TASK FORCE THAT MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
East Point Mayor and Council Members are in a CRISIS because of a lack of ACCOUNTABILITY by the Mayor and Council Members to hold each other ACCOUNTABLE! RESIDENTS are also responsible for holding the Mayor and Council Members ACCOUNTABLE as well as themselves. Residents have to support those who govern them by being ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS in ADVOCATING for POLICIES and LEGISLATURE that matter to them.
I will not be as detailed in my discussions on my WEBSITE. I have a PODCAST on the Second and Fourth Tuesday of each month from 3:00 pm- 4:00 pm. I am not going to prepare a detailed discussion on the same subjects for my Website and Podcast. Many Residents have complained of problems with their eyesight and a few others with their hearing. I will email the “LINK” to my Podcast for those who are unable to see it live at the designated time. Residents may view and listen to my Podcast on the following media: W.C.E.G. Media Enterprises: Log onto WcegTalkRadio.com, Smart TV, ROKU Cable Channel, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, FANBASE, BLUESKY, Twitch, download our FREE WCEG MOBILE APPS, ~Say, “Alexa, Play WCEG Talk Radio”.
I believe in factual information and the discussion of new ideas. The Mayor and any Council Member, and Community Activists are welcome to speak on my Podcast. I spoke about the legal reasons for Mayor and Council Members not having taxpayers sponsored EVENTS on my January 27th Podcast. I will email the “LINK” to anyone who requests it at: edpittman26@bellsouth.net OR visit one of the sites above.
A CITY IN CRISIS-PART 2 will cover the following: 1) HOW THE MAYOR & COUNCIL GOVERNS, 2) THE ROLE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY, 3) HOW MAYOR & COUNCIL LEGISLATES, AND 4) THE ROLE OF THE CITY MANAGER. THESE FOUR ITEMS WILL BE “BASED” ON EXACT LANGUAGE THAT IS WRITTEN IN THE CHARTER!
