Council presses for discipline, outside review after Parks & Recreation ad investigation; mayor accepts responsibility

Councilors at the Nov. 3 Baberton City Council committee-of-the-whole sharply debated an internal report on a Parks & Recreation advertisement and pressed for accountability and outside review. Mayor Judge said he had not approved or seen the ad until it was mailed to his home and said, "I'll take the blame. I'm the mayor."

The dispute centered on findings in a recently completed internal review that staff used city resources in ways some council members said violated the employee handbook and possibly state law. Several councilors pointed to the handbook's acceptable-use language and said the report includes admissions about work-hour use of city computers and staff time to handle matters related to the ad. "There's obviously violations with, you know, not only…