Stone Mountain City Council explores legal process for removing mayor

beverly jones stone mountain
Stone Mountain Mayor Beverly Jones stands on Main Street in the city’s central business district. (Dean Hesse/Decaturish)

STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. — The Stone Mountain City Council met on Friday and directed the city attorney to begin drafting an ordinance regarding procedures for removing elected officials.

While the council did not explain the vote, which occurred after a lengthy closed-door executive session, Mayor Pro Tem Ryan Smith confirmed to Decaturish that the intent is to set the groundwork for removing Mayor Beverly Jones, pending the results of an independent investigation into her conduct.

Jones is accused of taking control of both the city’s bank accounts and the Downtown Development Authority’s accounts without informing anyone.

Smith said that at Friday’s meeting, Jones signed the signature cards that would reinstate both himself and Councilmember Teresa Crowe as signatories on the city’s bank account. The city of Stone Mountain now has full control over its bank accounts, nearly a month after learning that Jones had removed Crowe and Smith, in addition to taking over DDA accounts, which the city does not control.