Legislation introduced by Council member Marci Collier Overstreet to create the city of Atlanta’s first-ever Task Force for the Promotion of Public Trust passed out of the Finance/Executive Committee Wednesday.
“The city of Atlanta has worked tirelessly over the past 13 months to restore public trust. Efforts to ensure transparency in our business practices and accountability for compliance at every level of our organization is vital to our success as a city,” Overstreet said. “We are looking closely at where we are in terms of transparency, ethics, accountability and compliance as a city. This task force will use its expertise to elevate our accountability. I’d like to thank Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms for her proactive approach to this legislation as well as her swift donation of pro bono services from Bloomberg.”
The task force will consist of ten appointees from the public and private sectors who are experienced in government, corporate ethics and/or compliance. The council and mayor will each get five appointees.
“Over the past year, we have done many things to head in the right direction. We established a transparency officer, lobbying policies, strengthened the credit card policies and program, identified open records custodians and codified procurement practices,” Overstreet said. “I want to make sure that all of the things we’re doing independently aren’t overlapping in any way so that we can better address the needs and concerns of our city employees and Atlanta residents.”
The legislation now moves to the Committee on Council, where it will be discussed Monday, Feb. 18 at 11:15 a.m. in Committee Room No. 1.
If it passes out of the committee, the legislation will go before the full council at 1 p.m. Monday in the Council Chamber.
Disclosure: This article may contain affiliate links, meaning we could earn a commission if you make a purchase through these links.
