Georgia City Leader Says He Was Forced To Resign After Exposing City’s Spending Violations

The Atlanta suburb of College Park enforces strict spending policies, but some former employees say officials failed to follow them.

A former College Park (GA) city employee says he was forced to resign after exposing widespread violations of the city’s spending rules.

Former Procurement Manager Jerrel Jones notes that his job responsibilities included overseeing contracts, purchase orders, and solicitations to ensure the city was compliant. After starting the job nine months ago, he quickly encountered tension. “One of the reasons it was rocky in the beginning because I’m dealing with a city now that did not abide by policies at all,” Jones told WSB-TV.

About two weeks ago Interim City Manager Michael Hicks forced him to resign, Jones said.

Jones said he was asked to step down because he did not allow Hicks to approve large contracts without the council’s approval, which would have broken the city’s policies. According to College Park’s purchasing policy, the mayor and council must approve all contracts totaling $10,000 or more.

He added that th ecity manager who hired him, Lindell Miller, was fired during a city council meeting.

“If they did it to the city manager on live TV, then the chief quits, your finance director walks up out of here, those are like your four, these are your positions of power,” he said. “I was waiting my turn.”

Miller, who held the position for only two months, accused the council of terminating her for refusing to participate in “illegal activity.”

In a statement to WSB-TV, College Park Mayor Bianca Motley Broom described the allegations as “deeply troubling.”

“This is the second grievance brought by a former employee in recent weeks, and it comes on top of the concerns raised by former City Manager Lindell Miller. Given the pattern and seriousness of all of these allegations, I again stress the need for an independent agency to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation…,” the mayor wrote.

Officials have not confirmed whether they will proceed with an independent investigation.