East Point City Council: A Very Shaky Start!
East Point City Councils have a long history of infighting, allegiance to certain groups/residents/businesses; natural/cultural dislikes; greed, currying favor with the City Manager/employees; and downright wrongdoings. This new Mayor and Council seem to fall in place with their predecessors with one exception, too many of them are not prepared/unwilling to do their jobs. Where is the change you may ask? Mayor Keisha Chapman is settling in after some bullying and unnecessary foolishness by some Council Members and a lack of support by others. This could have been avoided with proper legal guidance from the City Attorney. There are only two Council Members with more than two full years of service on the Council. Hence, a lack of knowledge and experience account for many missteps. Additionally, egos and temperament play a large part in the dynamics of this elected body with inadequate support from the “City Attorney”.
The Council did vote to delay the Summer Electric Rate until a Rate Study was done. The delay in reinstating the Higher Summer Electric Rate ensures that the Lower Winter Rates will remain in place. Council Members Mitchell, Cummings, Martin Rodgers, and Caldwell “YEA” votes mean that the Lower Winter Rates will remain in place. CM Friedly walked out of the Meeting without being excused by Mayor Chapman, so his vote became an automatic “YEA” providing the fifth vote needed to pass the motion. CM Hemming was not physically present in the Council Chamber, so her unexcused absence was also a “YEA” vote although she voted “NO” by zoom! CM Atkins, Ziegler, and Hemming voted “NO”. Residents caught a break! That’s GOOD!
East Point City Council: The Bad!
“THE CITY ATTORNEY”
“City Attorney” L’Erin Wiggins is not an employee of the City of East Point. She does not have a Contract nor an Agreement with the City of East Point. She is the head of her law firm and that is whom the Mayor and Council hired in 2023. I prepared a request of Mayor and Council based on the facts in the following document. CLICK HERE: City Attorney Position
There should not be any doubt in anyone’s mind that the Section in our Ethics Ordinance disqualifies Attorney Wiggins from being hired as the City Attorney period. At the time that she was “HIRED”, former Mayor Holiday Ingraham and the Council was told of her many conflicts and concerns. Attorney Wiggins told them that she was the City Attorney for three other cities, and that she would be late/absent to East Point City Council Meetings/Work Sessions due to other commitments. East Point City Council hired her Law Firm anyway at the unheard-of salary of $20,000 per month and another $5,000 per month for Planning & Zoning Meetings. These combined salaries of $25,000 per month OR $300,000 a year made her the highest paid “employee” in the history of the City. The City Manager’s salary is $203,000 per year and he is expected to be in the City and on the job everyday with few exceptions!
Mayor & Council have been poorly served by not having access to the City Attorney five days a week from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Due to this lack of access, and Attorney Wiggins’ lack of knowledge of the City Charter, CM Hemming led other Council Members to question and hinder Mayor Chapman from hiring an “EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT” who would be supervised solely by the MAYOR! After a three months delay, Mayor Chapman finally took matters into her hands and hired an “Executive Assistant”.
Attorney Wiggins caused another problem that could have had long-term and costly liabilities for the City when she told CM Hemming that she could attend the Council Meeting by “ZOOM” on Monday, April 20, 2026. The Council was told that a procedural rule by Georgia State Legislature had recently passed for digital attendance under certain circumstances. State legislative Procedural Rules are only binding on the Legislature and is not a State Statue/Law binding any other governing body to follow it! Attorney Wiggins did not inform the Mayor & Council that CM Hemming was not allowed to participate in Executive Session because she was using a recording device, and they could not verify her being the only person in her immediate area. That is a STATE violation and should have been noted in the Council Minutes when they returned to regular order in the Council Chamber.
Equally concerning is Attorney Wiggins signing contracts, agreements and other legal documents as the City Attorney of East Point! Mayor & Council should correct this problem by firing Attorney Wiggins Law Firm at the next Council Meeting and immediately hire an Acting City Attorney using the Emergency Professional Procurement Procedure! NO cases litigated in Superior Court by attorneys hired by Attorney Wiggins on behalf of the City of East Point should be affected. It is past time for the Mayor & Council to do their jobs!
“EAST POINT CITY COUNCIL”
East Point City Council Members spend entirely too much time on their cellphones inside of the Council Chambers and social media outside of the Council Chambers. Their conduct is downright disgraceful. All cellphones should be on vibration and out of sight of the Council Members. Mayor and Council Members should attend Council Meetings prepared to discuss and when called for debate the MOTIONS on the floor. The lack of MOTIONS made by Council Members underscores their lack of knowledge of how they are supposed to govern. They are supposed to be LEGISLATORS!
Mayor & Council are the City’s “Lawmakers”, and they are “Elected” to make sure the “Laws” are “Implemented” and “Obeyed” by everyone including themselves! This is definitely not the case with the majority of the Council Members. Too many Council Members use the City’s credit as their personal credit card. I have previously posted credit card statements for all the non-newly elected Council Members except for CM Sean Atkins, CM Carrie Ziegler, and CM Tremayne Mitchell. Out of these three, CM Sean Atkins’ credit card use was very concerning with many violations. Also, CM Carrie Zigler’s role as a co-founder of the “Ward A Leadership Group” needs further investigation in how she used the City’s credit card. It is a grave violation to use any “public funding” for a private organization. To see some of CM Sean Atkins’ City credit card expenditures, CLICK HERE: ORR-62-2026_Atkins Statements
By Ordinance, Mayor & Council have specific access to $2,500 for communicating with their constituents/residents using consumable goods/rental space. When was the first or last time you received a FLYER, NEWSLETTER, a ROBO CALL or a Townhall Meeting informing you of current City Policies and the need to Amend, Repeal or Create a New Policy altogether with residents’ input? A TOWNHALL MEETING is not a meeting where employees from the City’s fire/police/code enforcement attend with a monthly report. Those are COMMUNITY MEETINGS! A TOWNHALL MEETING is a meeting where policies concerning your UTILITIES, WATER/SEWER, PROPERTY TAXES, BUDGET ITEMS, SANITATION/WASTE/RECYCLE, FIFTY WORST PROPERTIES, SPLOSTS UPDATES, MONTHLY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, USE of CITY PROPERTY, and any other CITY BUSINESS!
The former Mayor and some Council Members used the Council Chamber for their personal agenda. Some City employees also used the Council Chamber for their personal use. However, NO EAST POINT RESIDENT can rent or use the Council Chamber for anything that would help the public. This is a blatant misuse of power and violates the City Charter based on Federal and State Law as defined in “Sec.2-504- Use of public property. No elected official, appointed officer of the city or any agency or entity to which this charter applies shall use property owned by such governmental entity for personal benefit, convenience, or profit except in accordance with policies promulgated by the city council or the governing body of such agency or entity.”
NO Mayor & Council have proposed or passed any Ordinance concerning the use of the Council Chamber. Mayor & Council with residents’ input should CREATE an ORDINANCE addressing this problem. CM Japera Hemming is aware of the Section of the Charter concerning the “Use of public property” because we had a discussion about it. Yet, she keeps using the Council Chamber. She also used the Annex which is governed by a “RENTAL” Ordinance. She did not pay to rent the Annex. Mayor and Council are violating their “Oath of Office” and the “Use of public property” Section in the City Charter when they VOTE to waiver that “SECTION” in order for the Mayor or Council Members to use the Council Chambers/Annex that is denied to residents using the same request. Mayor & Council Members should follow the LAWS or PAY the CONSEQUENCES just like any ordinary citizen!
ACCOUNTABILITY NOTES!
In an effort help the new Mayor & Council Members, I provided the Mayor and all Council Members with documents covering a wide range of information that should help them as Legislators and Policy makers. This same information can also be used to help residents hold Mayor & Council accountable. CLICK HERE. Accountability Notes
In Part 2 of East Point City Council: Time to Pay- Up: Part 2, I shall address the Mayor & Council and the City Manager Roles.
