City Council Seeks To Set Its Bonuses Apart from Reed’s
City Councilmembers have questioned the legality of bonuses given out by former Mayor Kasim Reed, totaling more than $500,000
Al Such / WABE
The Atlanta City Council wants to clarify the difference between bonuses to its staff and bonuses given by Mayor Kasim Reed late last year.
Most of the bonuses were given out by Mayor Reed. They included prizes at a holiday party and end-of-year bonuses.
City Councilmembers have questioned the legality of those bonuses, totaling more than $500,000. The City’s Ethics and Auditor’s Offices and the mayor’s office are both conducting investigations.
However, the biggest bonus last year went to the chief of staff of a former city council member. That member, Alex Wan said the $34,000 in holiday and retirement bonuses to Sheila Parrott were justified.
“One is for a solid year’s worth of work covering the weight of three people, and the other is for 27 years of service to the city,” he said.
Unlike City of Atlanta employees, council aides do not accrue sick or vacation time. Wan said the retirement bonus evened that out for Parrott, to put her “on par” with a full city employee. He said that practice has precedent, according to the finance department. He also pointed out that he only had one and a half staff, while other councilmembers had five.
“This is not like you wore an ugly sweater or you won a lip sync contest at one afternoon lunch,” Wan said
The City Council said city code does allow bonuses for council staff, if the members have the budget. Wan pointed out that he had about $600,000 leftover from his district allocation when he left, which he distributed to neighborhoods his district at the end of his term.
Top Stories
