Atlanta taxpayers may have little way to know how a $35,000 public-safety donation to a Chicago-based nonprofit was spent after city officials apparently failed to collect required spending reports.
The City of Atlanta gave the money to the Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN) as part of $205,000 in 2023 donations to four nonprofits meant to support public-safety patrols, off-duty police officers, neighborhood watches and other safety work, James Magazine reported, citing a Center Square investigation. The other recipients were the Buckhead Public Safety Foundation, the MLK-Ashby Merchants Association and the Cascade Business Association.
Atlanta City Council records show lawmakers considered Resolution 23-R-3752 in June 2023, authorizing up to $205,000 in donations for “public safety patrols and other public safety initiatives.” Each nonprofit signed agreements requiring annual reports detailing how the money was used, according to The Center Square.
Those reports were not found in the mayor’s office, Contract Compliance, Finance, Procurement, the Law Department, City Council or the Atlanta Police Department after more than a half-dozen Georgia Open Records Act requests, the outlet reported.
The issue could create legal headaches because Georgia’s Gratuities Clause generally bars governments from giving away public money without receiving something of value in return. Former State Bar of Georgia President Lester Tate told The Center Square city executives who entered the contracts should have enforced them.
IMAN’s website says its Atlanta work includes housing stability, job training, advocacy and support for returning citizens. The Center Square reported Atlanta paid IMAN more than $250,000 in FEMA grants while the group was raising money for Anera, which Israeli watchdogs have accused of aiding Hamas.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens’ office did not respond to The Center Square, and IMAN did not answer the outlet’s questions. That leaves one basic issue unresolved: whether taxpayers got the public-safety work they were promised.
