The Stonecrest City Council gave first reading Aug. 25 to a proposed home-rule charter amendment that would modify Section 3.12 (city internal auditor) to permit the internal auditor function to be filled either by a city employee or by a contracted firm and to change reporting requirements to no less than biannually. The amendment was presented as a first reading; the second reading is scheduled for Sept. 22. Grace Reed summarized the change in plain language: “The charter amendment for the section of the internal auditor, today says that the internal auditor must be a direct employee of the city. The change that we're making is just to allow it to be either a direct employee or a contractor,” she said, and noted the reporting frequency change to “no less than biannually.”

City leaders said the advertised home-rule amendment followed state-required public notification. Council members discussed logistics and the timeline for two required readings under state law; there was no final vote on Aug. 25. City Clerk read the ordinance caption for the record as a home-rule ordinance to amend the charter, codify the change and provide severability and effective dates. Council members and staff indicated that the amendment is intended to provide flexibility in how the city meets its internal-audit obligations and to ensure continued compliance with OCGA requirements. The city’s legal and clerk’s offices confirmed advertising steps had been completed in multiple dates in August to satisfy state timeline requirements.

If adopted after the second reading, the amendment would permit the city to procure professional services for internal auditing rather than maintaining the role strictly as a city employee; the council discussed how that possibility intersects with the FY2025 budget amendment and the internal-audit funding lines. The charter amendment caption read to council referenced Article 3, Executive Branch, Section 3.12 and noted codification and severability language. The matter will return to council for vote at the scheduled second reading.