“As damaging as one could imagine,” City Council introduces legislation to weaken oversight 

Proposed amendment ousts Governing Board Chair and League of Women Voters nominee after her vocal support for independent oversight in the city.    

ATLANTA — A long-expected charter amendment that could weaken the independence of the City of Atlanta Office of Inspector General (OIG) included a surprise proposed change that would remove the League of Women Voters Atlanta-Fulton County position from the office’s governing board and, along with it, Board Chair Nichola Hines, who has been a vocal supporter of Inspector General Shannon Manigault. 

Atlanta City Councilmember Howard Shook introduced the charter amendment legislation on Monday to implement changes to the OIG, the Ethics Office, and the current governing board of both bodies. The legislation was cosponsored by six other council members, including District 5 Councilmember Liliana Bakhtiari, who did not respond to a request for comment.  

In August, the mayor’s office developed a temporary task force that recommended some of the changes introduced in Shook’s legislation. Those changes include removing the OIG’s ability to independently publicize investigative findings, limiting how investigations are initiated, and requiring the OIG and Ethics Office to inform interviewees whether they are the subject of an investigation. 

“This legislation is nearly as damaging to Atlanta as one could imagine,” Inspector General Shannon Manigault told the Atlanta Community Press Collective in response to the proposed charter amendment. 

The potential for a weakened OIG has been a concern in the office since the start of the temporary task force, one that Inspector General Shannon Manigault called “prescripted” by the mayor’s office to silence oversight in the city.   

“If passed,” Manigault said, “the people of Atlanta would be left with an oversight body that can provide no genuine oversight—one governed by a board constituted by the mayor; one barred from investigating all municipal fraud, waste, abuse, and corruption; one prevented from maintaining the confidentiality of its investigations; one without full access to City records.” 

Vocal ally of the OIG could be removed from the governing Board 

The proposed legislation would create separate governing boards for the OIG and Ethics Office, as recommended by the task force. Currently, a single nine-member governing board oversees the operations of both offices.  

Other changes, including removing two positions from the governing board, came as a surprise.  

The current governing board comprises members nominated or recommended by the city’s civic, academic, business and legal organizations. The proposed charter amendment removes the League of Women Voters of Atlanta-Fulton County and the seven major Atlanta-area universities from among the nominating organizations.  

Nichola Hines was nominated to the Board by the LWV of Atlanta-Fulton County in 2016 and again in 2022. She is one of three current Board members who served when the OIG was created in 2019. Hines became Board chair in 2020 and has retained that position since then. 

Hines told ACPC she was not informed that the proposed legislation would remove the League’s position prior to its introduction Monday.  

“This change was not discussed or even hinted at during the Temporary Task Force meetings or official recommendation document,” Hines said.  

Before and throughout the three-month temporary task force process, Hines remained a vocal supporter of the OIG. She consistently appeared before task force meetings to call for a more substantive process and for the task force to bring in experts from other inspector general offices.  

Hines was, at times, openly critical of the temporary task force process.  

Now, Hines’ ability to protect and help lead a strong OIG is at risk.  

“If this decision is in any way connected to our unwavering support for the OIG,” Hines said, “it raises significant concerns about the commitment to maintaining transparency, integrity, and a truly collaborative approach to governance in our city.” 

Hines said she does not know if her vocal support of the embattled OIG played a role in removing the League’s position on the OIG/Ethics board(s) from the city charter.  

“While I cannot speculate on the motivations behind the decision to remove the League of Women Voters recommended position, I find it deeply troubling,” Hines said. “The League’s support for the Office of Inspector General has always been grounded in our commitment to ethical governance and fostering public trust.” 

What happens next? 

Amending the City Charter is more complex than passing regular legislation. After being introduced, the charter amendment must be approved at two consecutive regular meetings. Rather than the typical two-week period, the process will take closer to a month. 

First, the amendment must make it through the committee process. The amendment was referred to both the Finance/Executive Committee and the Committee on Council.  

The Finance/Executive Committee meets Wednesday, Jan. 15, at 1:30 p.m., and the Committee on Council meets Tuesday, Jan. 21, at 11:00 a.m.