City council presses staff for public briefing after forensic auditor declines to present

Councilmember Carla Mitchell led an extended discussion Aug. 11 about a recently released forensic audit prepared by Plante Moran and the city’s ability to present and publish its findings to the public.

Councilmember Mitchell said residents paid for the audit and should be able to view it without making open-records requests, and she read an email from Plante Moran in which the firm said it "will not present at Monday's meeting." City Manager Jones said the manager’s office only received the audit a week earlier and was still reviewing the material.

The audit was originally coordinated through the city attorney’s office, the council heard. Council members said the present city manager and city attorney were not involved in the audit work and asked staff to prepare an on-the-record response addressing each finding. City Manager Jones told the council he needed more time to prepare a complete staff reply and asked that the public presentation be scheduled for the Sept. 8 work session.

Councilmembers debated whether to immediately publish the forensic report online. Some members urged immediate posting because the document is already public and citizens can request it under Georgia open-records law; others said the report contains information that may require redaction of personal or account details and recommended waiting until staff presents remedies at the Sept. 8 meeting. The city attorney advised council that open-records law allows redaction where required but that the city cannot withhold a public record from an open-records request.

Mayor and council agreed to place a council agenda item for Monday (Aug. 18) to consider a formal resolution or vote about posting the audit and to schedule the city manager’s presentation of staff responses and proposed corrective actions for Sept. 8. The council also asked staff to identify when and how the report was distributed internally and to document communications with the auditor that led to Plante Moran’s decision not to appear to present.

Councilmember Mitchell filed a police report after a separate incident this month in which an AI-generated robocall used a synthesized voice; the council asked police and legal staff to review local enforcement options and scheduled a Sept. 8 work-session discussion on whether the city can adopt local prohibitions or penalties that are not preempted by state or federal law.

The council’s decisions on publishing the audit, the Sept. 8 staff presentation, and the follow-up legal review mark the next steps for public accountability and for staff to explain planned operational changes in response to the audit’s recommendations.