A newly published investigation by the Atlanta Community Press Collective revealed public funds were used to pay consultants promoting Mayor Andre Dickens’ Neighborhood Reinvestment Initiative, including over $100,000 from the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
According to the ACPC’s findings, $373,000 has been spent on consultants who spoke in favor of the plan in public meetings and on social media, all without disclosing their ties with city funds.
The article, published Tuesday, prompted an exchange during a Community Development and Human Services Committee meeting, in which Councilmember Kelsea Bond questioned City of Atlanta’s chief of staff Courtney English. English said the money pulled from the affordable housing trust fund was just a “clerical error” but defended its use, saying the mayor’s plan to expand tax allocation districts is an historic housing investment facing misinformation.
“Even if it would have been from the affordable housing trust fund … we would have stood by that too,” English said.
Bond, however, said the news still raises concerns about ethics in transparency by the mayor’s office. Councilmember Matt Westmoreland, who chairs the CDHS committee, told “Closer Look” that he agrees with Bond.
