Atlanta City Council members under scrutiny in Inspector General probe

This article has been updated to include that the City increased its small purchase discretionary limit.

An Atlanta Office of Inspector General (OIG) investigation focused on Post 1 At-Large Council Member Michael Julian Bond’s campaign manager and Bond’s former chief of staff sheds light on nebulous relationships between city officials, employees and vendors.

In addition to Bond, the investigation included an interview with District 10 Council Member Andrea Boone.

The OIG is responsible for rooting out fraud, waste, abuse and corruption in the city. After an investigation that finds some issue or wrongdoing, the OIG sends a letter to relevant city officials and departments detailing the investigation, findings and referrals of actions to address or mitigate the issues raised.

The OIG’s findings from the year-long investigation indicate that Bond’s campaign manager, Bernard “Bernie” Tokarz, a registered Georgia lobbyist, did not disclose financial and personal ties with various city employees and officials. Additionally, the OIG discovered that Vanessa Manley, Bond’s former chief of staff, utilized city resources for personal financial gain and submitted a false invoice approved by Boone and paid by the city with District 10 funds.

Bond’s campaign manager and advisor

The OIG’s investigation was prompted by a complaint submitted in January 2023 about a $20,000 reimbursement request Bond made for Hello Fresh food distribution expenses. The payment was directed to a post office box address linked to Tokarz. The City Council rejected Bond’s reimbursement request and ultimately approved donating the funds to a food relief organization instead of reimbursing Bond.

During the investigation, the OIG determined that, in addition to previously serving as Bond’s campaign manager, Tokarz regularly advises Bond on city matters and serves as the principal agent for multiple businesses with contracts with the City of Atlanta. In an interview with the OIG, Tokarz described Bond “as almost a second father,” according to the OIG report.

One of Tokarz’s businesses, Howell Mill Communications LLC, received $52,303 from the city between July 2021 and August 2023. Over $42,000 of those payments originated from Bond’s council account. The OIG also discovered that Howell Mill Communications paid over $13,000 to senior city employees for campaign consulting during the 2021 election season.

Tokarz also manages Cloverhurst Strategies LLC, which provides security officer services, according to the OIG report. Tokarz did not disclose his relationship to Bond when submitting a bid for Cloverhurst to obtain a 2022 security contract for the City.

City Ethics rules state that officials with even an indirect personal interest in any proposed legislation “shall not vote for or against, discuss, decide, in any way participate in considering the matter or seek to influence the votes or decisions of others on such matter.”

Bond did not recuse himself from considering the 2022 Cloverhurst bid despite his relationship with Tokarz and voted to approve the agreement. Cloverhurst was one of two companies awarded the contract.

The OIG report notes that the initial value of the contract was capped at $750,000 annually. The city paid Cloverhurst approximately $2.4 million in the first year.

The OIG report also states the office obtained subpoenas for “personnel records for employees and independent contractors hired by Tokarz, Cloverhurst, and Howell Mill Communications.” Tokarz did not comply with the subpoenas.

Longtime city employee violated ethics policy and submitted false invoice

Vanessa Manley is a City of Atlanta employee. Her LinkedIn page lists her title as “Chief of Staff” and says her employment with the city began in 2010.

During the bidding process for the 2022 security contract, Tokarz listed Manley as a reference. At the time, Manley was Bond’s chief of staff.

Manley co-founded Groundwork Consulting Agency LLC with a former city employee. She also serves as the chief financial officer of the nonprofit organization Shaking the Nations, Inc. Both organizations were registered at the same address during the pendency of the OIG investigation. According to the Secretary of State’s business registration website, Groundwork Consulting was administratively dissolved on Sept. 13, 2024.

The OIG found that Manley used her city email for both Groundwork Consulting and Shaking the Nations, including contacting officials to secure payments from the city.

City employees are required to complete an annual Ethics Financial Disclosure form. Manley disclosed her employment with Groundwork Consulting on her 2023 form but omitted Shaking the Nations. She also answered “no” to a question about personal involvement in acquiring or doing work related to city contracts, later claiming she misunderstood the question.

Since September 2021, the city has paid Groundwork Consulting over $43,000. Nearly half of that amount—$20,000—came from Council Member Andrea Boone’s office for the city’s Midnight Basketball League program.

The city had a $20,000 limit on discretionary purchases from a single vendor in a year without additional approval. The City Council passed legislation to increase that limit to $100,000 in May 2023.

Groundwork Consulting reached that limit with Boone’s office in March 2022. In April of that year, Manley submitted a $2,500 invoice from Groundwork Consulting to Boone, which Boone approved. However, the Department of Procurement rejected the payment because the city had already maximized its vendor spending cap on Groundwork Consulting. Manley then submitted a nearly identical invoice from Shaking the Nations, which Boone again approved.

The referral letter notes that Manley may have violated several Georgia laws by submitting a false invoice.

During a September meeting of the Governing Board of the Office of Inspector General and Ethics Office, the OIG said it filed a criminal referral for this case to a prosecutor’s office.

Boone questions importance of fraud probe

The OIG interviewed Boone, who stated she could not recall the details due to the time that had passed. She expressed concern about potential damage to the reputations of Manley and the Midnight Basketball League program.

The OIG referral letter states, “Boone indicated to the OIG that the relatively small amount of money on the invoice was not worth her or OIG’s attention.”

Council Member Boone heavily criticized Manigault after the inspector general spoke at public comment during an Atlanta City Council meeting in May, three months after the OIG interviewed Boone. Manigault told the council that high-level officials within the city government had been interfering with her office’s investigations. Boone questioned OIG’s investigation methods rather than address the IG’s concerns.

At that meeting, Boone said, “I definitely implore this body to do a thorough, deep dive of [the OIG].”

The OIG requested an interview with Bond during their investigation into Tokarz and Manley. Bond asked to respond to questions in writing. The OIG declined Bond’s request and did not interview him.

The OIG found that Bond committed no official misconduct or city rules or policy violations. Still, the referral letter notes that Bond’s “conduct may give the impression that a Council member was using City funds to enrich a friend’s business.” The letter also states, “Bond should have recused himself from voting on any legislation involving Tokarz and/or Cloverhurst.”

Tokarz investigation response prompted task force, OIG says

On Sept. 3, attorney Stephen M. Katz sent a letter to city officials in response to the OIG investigation of Tokarz and Manley. Katz called the accusations against Tokarz “factually and legally frivolous.”

The OIG said it believes the letter “served as an impetus for not only creating the Task Force, but also facilitated the rush to draft legislation that could potentially limit/hinder OIG’s ability to complete its investigations/work going forward.”

The same day Katz sent his letter on behalf of Tokarz, the mayor’s chief of staff, Odie Donald II, introduced legislation authorizing a task force to review the policy and procedures of the OIG. The City Council approved the legislation hours later, forgoing the two-week period most legislation undergoes.

However, the Atlanta Community Press Collective obtained a timeline document from an open records request showing preparations in the mayor’s office for the task force began in August 2024.

The timeline lays out the task force process from drafting the task force legislation to introducing a charter amendment to the city council. A charter amendment would be required to exert any internal changes onto the OIG.

The task force met for the first time on Sept. 24. It will meet again on Monday, Oct. 7, and for the third and final time on Oct. 16.