Finance Executive Committee approves consultant hire, tax refund, appointment and tree‑assistance donation

The City of Atlanta Finance Executive Committee approved several administrative and fiscal items during its Jan. 14 meeting.

Consultant hire for treasury implementation: The committee approved Resolution 26‑R‑3003 to engage retired City employee Karen Carter to assist the Department of Finance with implementing an automated treasury management system. Courtney Knight, the city’s treasurer, said Carter led the solicitation and staff expect the implementation will take an estimated “three to six months.” The resolution sets the appointment term at not to exceed 520 days and lists compensation at an annual amount stated not to exceed $37,682.32; the committee moved to approve.

Tax refund to Simply Protein: The committee approved a resolution authorizing the chief financial officer to refund an overpayment to Simply Protein for occupation tax; revenue staff said the company reported national gross revenue rather than Atlanta gross revenue, which triggered the larger tax amount. Lawrence Davis, revenue chief, said the Office of Revenue vetted the request. The transcript records the clerk closing the vote; the readback of the exact numeric tally in the transcript is corrupted and should be verified with official minutes and the resolution text.

Appointment to Office of Inspector General board: The committee approved Resolution 26‑R‑3005 appointing Charnell Bostick as the Atlanta Planning Advisory Board representative on the Office of Inspector General’s governing board for a three‑year term. Bostick introduced herself, described a background in litigation and government investigations with Jones Day and BakerHostetler and said she lives in Grove Park. The vote was recorded as seven yays, zero nays in the transcript.

Tree Trust Fund donation to Georgia Arborist Association: A referred resolution, 26‑R‑3006, was approved to donate up to $400,000 from the Tree Trust Fund to the Georgia Arborist Association to support hazardous tree removal for low‑income seniors and homeowners. The program includes a one‑for‑one replacement requirement intended to maintain canopy cover. Kent Strickland of the Department of City Planning said the item came to the committee by unanimous recommendation. Councilman Mays asked whether seniors who had been charged previously for tree replacement would be reimbursed; staff said they will follow up with a specific answer.

Votes at a glance: the committee approved the listed resolutions during the meeting; clerks recorded votes as closed for each item. The transcript includes clear tallies for several items (for example, seven yays, zero nays on the arts resolution and the appointment) but shows corrupted numeric readouts for at least two votes; reporters and stakeholders should consult the official meeting minutes or clerk’s certified roll call for exact tallies.

What’s next: implementation tasks include executing consultant agreements for the treasury system, processing the refund through the CFO’s office, executing donation agreements for the tree assistance program, and onboarding the new Office of Inspector General board member.